Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 44, No.

6, 2007

EXPERIENCE WITH SOIL STABILIZATION BY VIBRATORY GROUTING

M. N. Ibragimov, V. I. Mitrakov, UDC 624.138.232.1:624.138.22

and N. T. Fateev
Scientific-Research Institute of Foundations and Underground
Structures; and, OOO Ukrepraion; and, GUP VIOGEM.

Experience with a new vibratory-injection procedure for the cement-grout stabilization of

sandy soils in the bed of an industrial building under construction, slope stabilization of a
dike surrounding a cooling basin, and the stabilization of natural slide-prone slopes is dis-
cussed.

Grouting of soils was first employed in the 19th century in France to suppress the influx of water
during the opening of shafts. As a method, grouting has since come into widespread use in hydraulic engi-
neering to create anti-seepage curtains, and impart a monolithic character and impermeability to the concrete
masonry of structures; in mining during the opening of shafts, adits, and other workings; and, in foundation
engineering to strengthen existing foundations of buildings and structures, and also to stabilize the soils in
their beds.
Technical simplicity, convenience of use, and high reliability of results obtained are basic merits of
the method of grouting. Moreover, the method is sufficiently economical, and does not require complex
equipment, and is also ecologically friendly to the surrounding environment.
The essence of grouting consists in the fact that a cement grout is injected under pressure through
predrilled holes into the pores of sandy soil, or cracks in rocky and semi-rocky soils, as well as in deformed
concrete or foundation masonry; after hardening, the grout will have imparted the required strength, mono-
lithic character, and when necessary, impermeability to the medium injected.
A criterion that determines the feasibility of cement-grout stabilization of sandy and fissured rocky
soil is its impermeability, and also the dispersivity of the cement suspension. Grouts prepared from cements
classed as ordinary with respect to fineness of milling, the specific surface of which is 2,500-3,000 cm2/g,
and whose content of particles coarser than 100 m attains 6-10%, have the capacity to stabilize only coarse
gravelly sands with a filtration coefficient over and above 80-100 m/day, fissured rocks, and deformed con-
crete with crack openings over and above 0.1 mm [1].
In sandy soils where their permeability is low (less than 80 m/day), a cement grout, instead of
impregnating the pores, will separate the soil and propagate along the separation, moving a considerable dis-
tance from the point of injection. The pressure under which separation occurs will depend only on the depth
of injection and the mechanical properties of the soil. It will be independent of the soil's permeability, the
viscosity of the grout, the diameter of the hole, and the radius of influence of the injection.

Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 6, pp. 21-23, November-December, 2007.
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0038-0741/07/4406-0210 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
 1

7 5 6 3

Fig. 1. Process-flow diagram of soil stabilization by

vibrogrouting.

Fig. 2. Schematic construction of vibratory injector.

This paper sets forth experience gained with the stabilization of sandy and sandy-loam soils by
cement grouts based on a procedure called "vibrogrouting."
The essence of the stabilization of soils by this method consists in the fact that a cement grout is
injected simultaneously as the injector sinks into the ground through use of a vibrator [2].
As studies have indicated, metallic rods (in our case, metallic tubes-injectors) are readily depressed
into a sandy soil using vibration, since the frictional force between the sand particles under the action of
vibration is completely eliminated, and the sand acquires the mechanical properties of a viscous liquid [3].
Disturbance of the structure of the sand in the vibration zone of the injector will lead to a pronounced
increase in its permeability and free low-pressure impregnation by a cement grout prepared even with ordi-
nary building cement, which is distinguished by a low specific surface. The rate of embedment of the injec-
tor will depend on the power of the vibrator, the physico-mechanical characteristics of the soil, and the
depth of embedment.
The following enter into the production complexes used for the stabilization of soils by
vibrogrouting (Fig. 1): a vibratory-injection device for embedment of the injector, which consists of trav-
eling pile driver 1 with suspended vibratory driver 2, and winch 3; injector with hollow hose 4; and,
grout unit for preparation of cement grout, which is complemented by grout mixer 7 and grout pump 5
with flexible hose 6. A specially designed injector is used to stabilize soil with a diameter of 0.6-0.8 m
(Fig. 2).

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 The process of stabilizing soils by vibrogrouting includes the preparation of a cement grout of a
given composition, and its delivery from the grout pump to the injector via a flexible hose, swivel, and hol-
low hose. The flow rate of cement grout is regulated as a function of the rate of embedment of the injector
into the grout, which is 0.4-1.0 m/min on average. As a result, a soil-cement pile with a strength (depend-
ing on the cement consumption) of up to 10 MPa and higher is formed around the injector. In terms of
strength, it corresponds to a soil-cement pile prepared by the drill-and-mix method. To form a pile of this
strength, cement grout is injected repeatedly into the soil by multiple reciprocating passes of the injector.
When necessary, the piles can be reinforced with a cage by impressing it with a vibrator prior to the initial
set of the grout. When the injector is used (see Fig. 2), a column is formed with vertically projecting guide
fins, which are capable of increasing the bearing capacity of the pile by increasing its lateral surface. As
field tests on a number of projects have indicated, the bearing capacity of these pile columns 0.6 m in diam-
eter and 7-8 m long is 200-300 kN.
The vibratory-injection procedure makes it possible to inject cement grout into both sandy soils,
including fine-grain and silty, and also sandy loams, as well as clayey loams existing in a fluid state.
Piles formed from stabilized soil cement with a diameter of up to 0.3-0.8 m and length to 20 m and
longer can be installed as a function of the design of the injector employed and the mechanism used for its
vibratory embedment.
Grouting of soils by the vibratory-injection process can be used to stabilize weak beds by installing
foundations formed from soil-cement piles beneath buildings and structures under construction, stabilization
of the slopes of railroad embankments, dikes of cooling basins, and natural slide-prone slopes. Positive
experience has been gained with the strengthening of foundations under existing residential buildings by
soil-cement piles.
The examples cited below attest to positive experience gained with the stabilization of soils by
grouting in accordance with the vibratory-injection process.
Application of this technology for the stabilization of the 6-8-m-thick bed of the building housing
the polymer-coating department at the No. 2 Novolipetsk Metallurgical Combine is of interest. The bed is
comprised of loosely structured concertal sands. The frame building is 21.3 m high, and possesses planform
dimensions of 312
24 m. The foundations are columnar with dimensions of 2.1
2.7 m beneath the bear-
ing columns, and monolithic with dimensions of 6.6
3.6 m beneath the production equipment.
1,500 soil-cement piles 0.6 m in diameter were installed in the beds of the foundations and beneath
the floors [4].
Five experimental-industrial soil-cement piles 0.6 m in diameter and up to 7 m long were prepared ini-
tially at the site. 70-80 liters of cement grout with a W/C = 1, or approximately 60 kg of cement and 0.1 kg
of plasticizer were consumed for the preparation of 1 m of pile. The uniaxial compressive strength of the sta-
bilized soil extracted from the body of the piles was 10-13 MPa. Results of field tests have indicated that the
computed load on the pile was 205 kN, and the limiting load 254 kN, having caused neither failures of the
material, nor inadmissible pile deformations.
In 1995, work involving stabilization of the sandy fill in the slopes of a dike retaining a cooling
basin at the Zaporozh'ye nuclear power plant in the zone of pumping station PS-1 [5] was carried out on the
basis of this procedure. Development of slide-induced deformations of the slope had resulted from dynamic
effects during start-up and operation of the units at the pumping station. Two rows of retaining walls formed
from a grout-stabilized soil were built in the displacement prism of the slopes in accordance with a design
developed by the FGUP BIOGEM. The soil-cement wall had a depth of 9.5 m and width of approximately
7 m in the lower section of the slope, and a depth of 12.5 m and width of approximately 10 m in the upper
section.
In 1997, work was performed on stabilization of the natural slide-prone slopes of the Sengileevsk
Reservoir in the zone of the No. 5 pumping station on the Stavropol' water conduit [6]. The soil conditions
in the slope are represented by interbedded sandy and slightly and highly plastic clayey-loam soils. Three
interrelated slides along two slip planes, which had threatened to destroy the pumping station, had formed
as a result of a change in hydrogeologic conditions. The soils were stabilized by grouting performed in

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accordance with the vibratory-injection procedure in combination with the installation of cast-in-place piles
with underground blast-induced widening on the boundary of the slip plane.

REFERENCES

1. M. N. Ibragimov, "Soil stabilization by cement grouts," Osn., Fundam. Mekh. Gruntov, No. 2, 24-28
(2005).
2. M. N. Ibragimov et al., Patent No. 2256028-E02D3/12. A method of weak-soil stabilization.
3. D. D. Barkan, Vibratory methods in Construction [in Russian], Gosstroiizdat, Moscow (1959).
4. N. T. Fateev et al., Control system for geologic-engineering processes to ensure fail-safe operation of
entities at the Zaporozh'ye nuclear power plant, Materials Presented at the Sixth International Symposium on
the Exploitation of Mineral-Resource Deposits and Underground Construction under Complex Hydrogeologic
Conditions [in Russian], Part 2, Belgorod (2001), pp. 444-449.
5. I. V. Rubtsov et al., Soil Stabilization of Earthen Highway and Rail Beds [in Russian], ASV, Moscow
(2007).
6. N. T. Fateev et al., Anti-slide protection of slopes based on deep of soil-stabilization geotechnology,
Materials Presented at the Sixth International Symposium on the Exploitation of Mineral-Resource
Deposits and Underground Construction under Complex Hydrogeologic Conditions [in Russian], Part 2,
Belgorod (2001), 342-348.

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