Characterization of effective transmissivity for cement grout flow in rock fractures

Abstract

Cement grouting has been widely used in rock engineering. Proper characterization of the effective transmissivity for cement grout flow in rock fractures is primarily important for the design of rock grouting. In practice, the hydraulic transmissivity of groundwater flow in rock fractures characterized by hydraulic tests, i.e., pumping or slug test, is often used for the design of rock grouting. However, cement grouts used in rock grouting practice are typical non-Newtonian fluids contain yield stress, which has different effective transmissivity from the Newtonian groundwater. Therefore, using the groundwater transmissivity characterized by hydraulic tests may cause significant uncertainty in modeling and design of cement rock grouting. In this study, we focus on the effective transmissivity of non-Newtonian cement grout flow in a single fracture, aiming to illustrate the difference between the effective transmissivity of non-Newtonian cement grouts and the hydraulic transmissivity of the Newtonian groundwater. The cement grout is assumed as a Bingham fluid. The theoretical solution for the effective transmissivity of Bingham grout for homogeneous fractures is presented. This solution is compared with the theoretical hydraulic transmissivity, i.e., the cubic law. The results generally illustrate the significant differences between the effective transmissivity of non-Newtonian cement grouts and the hydraulic transmissivity of groundwater. The effective transmissivity of non-Newtonian cement grout is nonlinear which a function of injection pressure. Using the hydraulic transmissivity for rock grouting may underestimate the propagation length of the cement grout in rock fractures. The obtained result is helpful for rock grouting design in practice to reduce the potential uncertainties caused by using the hydraulic transmissivity.QC 20190917</p