Transient Analysis of Grout Penetration With Time-Dependent Viscosity Inside 3D Fractured Rock Mass by Unified Pipe-Network Method

• Main Authors: Zizheng Sun, Xiao Yan, Rentai Liu, Zhenhao Xu, Shucai Li, Yiming Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: grout penetration; transient analysis; time-dependent viscosity; unified pipe-network method
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/9/1122

Grouting is widely used for mitigating the seepage of underground water and enhancing the stability of fractured rock mass. After injection, the viscosity of the grout gradually increases until solidification. Conventional multifield analysis models ignoring such effects greatly overestimate the penetration region of the grout and the stability of the grouted rock structures. Based on the 3D unified pipe-network method (UPM), we propose a novel numerical model considering the time-dependent viscosity of the grout, therein being a quasi-implicit approach of high efficiency. The proposed model is verified by comparing with analytical results and a time-wise method. Several large-scale 3D examples of fractured rock mass are considered in the numerical studies, demonstrating the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. The influence of the time-dependent viscosity, fracture properties, and grouting operation methods are discussed for the grout penetration process.