56
Geotechnical News December 2011
THE GROUTLINE
was cast in massive blocks, which due
to drying shrinkage, requiring grouting
of the joints.
The joint grouting became of most
interest to Clive; unlike the founda-
tion, movement of the grout could be
followed and observed in the exposed
joints. The massive undertaking con-
tinuing for about four years with
“a
crew of 60 men operating the various
valves under my direction from a con-
trol centre. It was ticklish work!
” He
did a lot of experimentation including
the use of dye testing to identify leak-
age paths, pre and post injection obser-
vation by use of a borehole periscope,
use of different grout consistencies,
and vacuum injection. But the peri-
scope examination was of most inter-
est; even though the thinnest grout used
was 3:1 water to cement (thick by U.S.
standards of the time), he observed
many bleed pockets which convinced
him that thicker grouts were better.
Clive became the Countries grout-
ing expert. As such he became em-
broiled in a huge controversy in 1962.
An American engineer from the USBR
was consulting on the Snowy Moun-
tains Hydroelectric Project and insisted
very thin (12:1 w/c) grout should be
used. Clive was adamant; nothing thin-
ner than 3:1! This led to an extensive
test program wherein subsequent in-
spection disclosed the thicker grouts
provided superior results. Clive went
on to oversee all grouting operations at
his agency, but his duties expanded to
directing all site investigations, speci-
fication preparation, and head of the
Dam Safety Unit.
He has consulted on projects
throughout the world, was a speaker
at numerous technical events, and
from 1980 to 1995, provided the rock
grouting portion of the week long An-
nual Short Course on Grouting, now
sponsored by the Colorado School of
Mines. He was a Keynote Speaker at
the 1st International Conference on
Grouting in 1982. He is the author of
numerous technical presentations and
the landmark book, Construction and
Design of Cement Grouting, a Guide
to Grouting in Rock Foundations, John
Wiley & Sons, 1990. But perhaps most
notable is his internet presentation
ROCKGROUT
.
au. houlsby1) which in spite of failing
health, he continued to improve until
his recent hospitalization. The com-
prehensive ROCKGROUT site even
includes a variety of grouting simula-
tors, and can also be accessed through
the ASCE Geo-Institute, Grouting
Committee website (
.
org). Clive Houlsby is truly a Grouting
Great!
Jim Warner
The Gin Method Discussion
Continues
I received also an additional comment
from Dr. Donald Bruce related to the
past 2 articles about the GIN Method,
as an answer to Dr. Lombardi article
published in September 2011 issue.
“I am delighted that my article has
stimulated debate on the current
challenges facing the evolution of
