Geotechnical News December 2011
65
THE GROUTLINE
responsible for the method and who
will pay for the fix. It is far better to
find out and handle such problems ear-
ly. As a wise man once said, “Bad news
does not improve with age.”
Conclusions
Karst can be very complex and
important
features
are
largely
invisible from the ground surface.
Geologic investigations together with
geotechnical engineering evaluations
can produce a viable characterization of
conditions, but rarely can they provide
a complete 100% picture of conditions.
The characterization is as important, if
not more important, than the findings
of the tests, borings and geophysics.
Variable conditions are likely in karst
and should be anticipated in setting the
project criteria.
The grouting programmust be based
on a clearly defined goal for the grout-
ing program and tactical selection of
materials and methods to achieve that
goal. The goal should relate to required
performance and not just to an arbitrary
objective such as filling voids. The tac-
tical solution should focus on meeting
the required performance with a com-
posite economic evaluation of materi-
als, drilling, and injection processes to
meet the required performance goal.
Adequate controls must be in place
to monitor all aspects of the grouting
including the grout properties, drill-
ing conditions and results, grouting
parameters including rates, pressures,
volumes and depth. Automated drilling
records and grouting that can be easily
communicated in real time enhances
the ability to make on-the-fly adjust-
ments to the grouting to achieve opti-
mal performance and to adapt to unan-
ticipated conditions.
All of the data collected from the
initial investigation must be considered
together with real-time field data from
the drilling and grouting operations
to form a feedback loop. Continuous
evaluation of the actively acquired data
must be used to evaluate the effective-
ness and performance of the grouting
operation and to make appropriate ad-
justments to improve the effectiveness
where appropriate.
References
Bruce, D., Naudts, A., and Smoak, G.
(1998) . “High Flow Reduction in
Major Structures: Materials, Prin-
cipals, and Case Histories.”
Grouts
and Grouting. Proceedings: Geo-
Congress 98
. Boston, MA. pp. 156-
175.
Berry, M.A., M.J. Byle, and T.F. Haid-
er. (2001) “Wastewater Trickling
Filter Sinkhole Remediation with
Limited Mobility Displacement
Grouting.”
Proceedings of the
GeoInstitute 2001, A Geo-Odyssey:
Foundations and Ground Improve-
ment, Blacksburg, VA, June 2001,
ASCE, Reston, VA.
Byle, Michael. (2001) “Grouting for
Karst Mitigation.”
Proceedings of
Central Pennsylvania/Pennsylva-
nia Department of Transportation
Conference
, May 2001.
Doctor K.Z., Doctor, D. H., Kronen-
feld, B., Wong, W.S., and Brez-
inski, D. K. (2008) “Predicting
Sinkhole Susceptibility in Freder-
ick Valley, Maryland Using Geo-
graphically Weighted Regression.”
Published in
Sinkholes and the En-
gineering and Environmental Im-
pacts of Karst; Proceedings of the
Eleventh Multidisiplinary Confer-
ence
, ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 183, Reston , VA,
243-256.
Kaufmann, James E. (2008) “A statis-
tical approach to Karst Collapse
Hazard Analysis in Missouri.”
Published in
Sinkholes and the En-
gineering and Environmental Im-
pacts of Karst; Proceedings of the
Eleventh Multidisiplinary Confer-
ence
, ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 183, Reston , VA,
pp 257-268.
Perlow, Michael Jr. (2008) “Knowl-
edge Based Geologic Risk assess-
ment for Municipal, Transportaion,
Energy, and Industrial Infrastruc-
ture” Published in
Sinkholes and
the Engineering and Environmen-
tal Impacts of Karst; Proceedings
of the Eleventh Multidisiplinary
Conference
, ASCE Geotechnical
Special Publication No. 183, Res-
ton , VA, pp 233-242.
Waltham, Tony, Fred Bell, and Martin
Culshaw, (2005)
Sinkholes and Sub-
sidence: Karst and Cavernous Rocks
in Engineering Construction.
Spring-
er-Praxis, Chichester, UK
Warner, James, (2004)
Practical Hand-
book of Grouting
John Wiley &
Sons, Hoboken, NJ, pp 508-510.
Warner, James (2008) “Grouting in
Karst – Time for New Thinking.”
Published in
Sinkholes and the En-
gineering and Environmental Im-
pacts of Karst; Proceedings of the
Eleventh Multidisiplinary Confer-
ence
, ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 183, Reston , VA,
pp 660-669.
White, William B. (1998)
Geomor-
phology and Hydrology of Karst
Terrains.
Oxford University Press,
New York, NY
Zisman, E.D. (2008) “A Method for
Quantifying Sinkhole Risk.” Pub-
lished in
Sinkholes and the Engi-
neering and Environmental Im-
pacts of Karst; Proceedings of the
Eleventh Multidisiplinary Confer-
ence
, ASCE Geotechnical Special
Publication No. 183, Reston , VA,
pp 278-287.
Michael J. Byle, D. GE, F. ASCE,
Tetra Tech EC, Inc.
820 Town Center Dr., Langhorne, PA
19047
Last but not least a reminder to
everybody interested in Grouting, Jet
Grouting and Soil Mixing. This is the
last issue before the 4th International
Conference on Grouting and Deep
Mixing, so an important occasion
before the next grouting conference
that will be held in
10 years time, or
2022! Register now. (PS. I did!)
With that I close this issue, wishing
everybody a Merry Christmas and a
phenomenal 2012.
Remember that, if you have addi-
tional comments or interesting grout-
ing stories or case histories, you can
write to me: Paolo Gazzarrini, fax 604-
913 0106 or
or
Ciao!
