Rock grouting is performed to decrease the hydraulic conductivity around underground structures, such as tunnels and caverns. Cement grouts are often used and pumped into joint and fractures of the rock formation. Piston type pumps are mostly used for high pressure rock grouting. A pulsation effect is inevitable when using this type of pump due to the movement of the piston. The effect of this pulsation on rock grouting is yet to be known but believed to be benefi-cial for the penetration of the grout. Current flow meters used in the field are not accu-rate enough to determine the fluctuation of the flow rate when it is less than 1 l/min. In addition, currently available flow meters measure the average of the flow over a cer-tain period of time, hence the true fluctuation of the flow rate due to the pulsation of the piston remains unknown. In this paper, a new methodology, the so called ‘Ultrasound Velocity Profiling – Pressure Difference’ (UVP+PD) method has been introduced to show the pulsation effect when using a piston type pump. The feasibility of this method was successfully investigated for the direct in-line determination of the rheological properties of micro cement based grouts under field conditions (Rahman &amp; Håkansson, 2011). Subse-quently, it was also found that this method can be very efficient to measure the fluctu-ation of the flow rate for different types of pumps. From a grouting point of view the UVP+PD method can be used to synchronize the pressure and flow of a piston type pump by measuring the pulsation effect. Conse-quently it can be used as a tool for the efficiency and quality control of different types of pumps. / <p>QC 20121221</p>

In underground construction grouting is performed to seal tunnels and caverns against excessive water inflow or to reduce the lowering of the ground water table. The rheological properties, such as viscosity and yield stress, of the used grouts play a fundamental role in grouting. No method has been developed yet to measure these properties in-line in the field during grouting. Methods used today are rather primitive and not robust enough for field use and they are mainly performed in order to verify and fulfil stipulated quality criteria. Modern grouting rigs are today equipped with continuous measurement of flow and pressure but instruments for continuous monitoring of rheological properties and their changes with time in the field are still lacking. A relatively new method, known as ‘UVP-PD’, for continuous in-line measurements of the rheological properties of cement grouts, was tested in this work. Standard grouting equipment (UNIGROUT) and flow meter (LOGAC) was used to ensure field conditions. The objective of this work was to determine the feasibility of the ‘UVP-PD’ method for cement based grouts. After performing full scale experimental works, this method was found feasible for measuring the rheological properties of cement based grouts directly in-line.

L'objectif de ce travail est d'étudier le phénomène de ségrégation des coulis cimentaires sous cisaillement et de déterminer un critère rhéométrique quantitatif capable d'évaluer leur ségrégabilité pendant les essais de caractérisation rhéologique.Pour répondre à cet objectif, un protocole expérimental spécifique a été développé permettant, d'une part, la caractérisation rhéologique des coulis cimentaires sous cisaillement et, d'autre part, le suivi de leur état de stabilité au cours de la caractérisation. Un rhéomètre à cylindres coaxiaux de type Couette a été employé pour la mise en œuvre d'un essai rhéométrique composé de deux cycles et de différents paliers de taux de cisaillement, permettant la caractérisation rhéologique des coulis. L'essai rhéométrique a été effectué systématiquement deux fois en faisant varier le rapport du volume cisaillé – volume non cisaillé dans le rhéomètre. La caractérisation rhéologique des coulis a été associée à plusieurs mesures de masse volumique dans les différentes parties du rhéomètre à des moments caractéristiques de l'essai rhéométrique permettant le suivi de sa stabilité et l'évaluation quantitative d'une éventuelle ségrégation.Les relations possibles entre le comportement rhéologique spécifique des coulis ségrégatifs et l'évolution de la fraction solide du coulis dans le volume cisaillé du rhéomètre ont été recherchées. L'influence des différents paramètres de formulation tels que le rapport E/C, la nature et le dosage en adjuvant fluidifiant, le dosage en agent de viscosité et l'introduction d'additions calcaires en substitution du ciment sur la ségrégation dynamique des coulis cimentaires a été étudiée de manière détaillée. L'ensemble des résultats a permis, en premier lieu, de déterminer la spécificité du comportement rhéologique des coulis ségrégatifs et, en deuxième lieu, de définir un nouveau critère basé uniquement sur les mesures rhéométriques permettant de quantifier la ségrégabilité des coulis cimentaires pendant la caractérisation rhéologique à cause du cisaillement. Ce critère rhéométrique est très fortement corrélé à la diminution de la fraction volumique dans la partie haute du volume cisaillé dans le rhéomètre pendant l'essai rhéométrique indépendamment des paramètres de composition du coulis. / This work aims to study the phenomenon of segregation of cement grout under shearing and determine a quantitative rheometric criterion which can evaluate their segregability during the rheological characterization tests.To meet this objective, a specific experimental protocol was developed, firstly, for the rheological characterization of cement grout under shearing and secondly, for the flowing-up of their state of stability during the characterization. A rotational rheometer with coaxial-cylinder geometry (Couette type) was used for the implementation of a rheometric test composed of two shearing cycles with various steps of shear rate allowing the rheological characterization of the grout. The rheometric test was systematically performed twice by varying the ratio of the sheared volume and un-sheared volume in the rheometer. The rheological characterization of the grout has been associated with several density measurements in different parts of the grout in the rheometer at the characteristic times during the rheometric test allowing the monitoring of its stability and/or quantitative segregability.The possible relationship between the specific rheological behavior of segregative grout and the evolution of solid fraction in the sheared volume in the rheometer was studied. The influence of different mix designs such as the W/C, nature and dosage of superplasticizer, dosage of viscosity modifying admixture and the introduction of limestone additions on the dynamic segregation of cement grouts was researched in detail. The overall results allowed, firstly, determining the specificity of the rheological behavior of segregative grout and, secondly, defining a new criterion based only on the rheometric measurements to quantify the segregability of the cement grout during the characterization rheology and resulting from shearing. This rheometric criterion is strongly correlated with the decrease in the volume fraction in the upper part of the sheared volume in the rheometer during the rheometric test, and independent of the mix design of the grout.