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Geotechnical News • March 2013
29
THE GROUT LINE
to reduce liability for Contractors—
“That’s not my grout, it’s the wrong
color!” A review of grouting textbooks
reveals near-silence regarding the use
of dyes in cement grouts. Future edi-
tions could be updated with informa-
tion on grout dyes.
Background
A review of grouting textbooks reveals
little information regarding dyes,
which are also known as pigments
or colorants. The US Army Corps
of Engineers Grouting Manual, EM
1110-2-3506 (USACE, 1982), men-
tions iron oxide and chromium oxide
dyes for grout on pages 6-30 and 6-31.
Houlsby (1990) mentions colored/
dyed grout only in passing on page 4
of his text; dyes are excluded from his
discussion on grout materials [Chap-
ter 3]. Weaver (1991) mentions dye
on page 7, referencing O’Neill and
Lyons (1963). Warner (2004) does not
mention dyes in his chapter on grout
materials [Chapter 3]. Weaver and
Bruce (2007), in Chapter 4, entitled
grout materials, do not mention dyes.
ASCE (2010), the Consensus Guide
for Compaction Grouting, does not
mention dyes.
O’Neill and Lyons (1963) is the most-
often referenced paper on grout dyes
in textbooks. This paper, published in
the 1960’s, pre-dates the publication
of ASTM C 979 in 1982, and adverse
impacts on grouts by some trial dyes
were noted. This paper is significantly
out of date with respect to grout dyes.
The ASTM standard labeled ASTM C
979, entitled “Standard Specification
for Pigments for Integrally Colored
Concrete” was introduced in 1982
(ASTM 2010). The ASTM Standard
requires that dyes be tested for chemi-
cal properties to ensure they are com-
patible with water and cement (ASTM
2010). The ASTM C 979 standard
requires that colorants not degrade the
setting times, air content and com-
pressive strength of the concrete [or
grout] mix (ASTM 2010). In addition,
the percentage of dye is limited to
ten-percent, by mass, of the concrete
[or grout] mix (ASTM 2010). Since
1982, dyes have become widely used
in the mass concrete business (Forgey,
2005). However, a literature search
reveals the use of dyed cement grout is
either rare or never publicized.
Trial location
Wolf Creek Dam is a combination
concrete gravity and earthfill structure
located at mile 460.9 of the Cumber-
land River near Jamestown, Kentucky.
Wolf Creek Dam contains a hydroelec-
tric powerhouse. Wolf Creek Dam’s
5,736 feet of total length, includes the
concrete section, which is 1,796 feet
long, ties into the left abutment, and
extends across the old river channel
toward the right abutment. It has a
maximum structural height of 258 feet
(dam crest to base of concrete dam)
and contains a gate control section, a
powerhouse section, and non-overflow
sections on both ends. The earth
embankment is 3,940 feet long and
includes a section which wraps around
both the upstream and downstream
sides of the right end of the concrete
monolith. Normal storage in Lake
Cumberland, created by the dam, is
about four million acre-ft. Up to six-
million-acre-ft can be impounded at a
maximum pool elevation of 760. It is
the largest reservoir east of the Missis-
sippi River (by volume), and the ninth
Figure 1. Location of the grout lines.