Anisotropic Propagation of Chemical Grouting in Fracture Network with Flowing Water

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the propagation of chemical grouting in a two-dimensional permeated fracture network with various aperture widths. As grouting engineering is often concealed in most experiments, the propagation of grout in fractures is not fully understood. The anisotropic permeability of geological masses with different aperture widths was found and has been investigated since 1960. The deflection flow effect was first found by Tian for groundwater flow in two groups of fractures with different aperture widths. Field grouting indicated that the grout propagates along a group of fractures with larger apertures that are longer while propagating a shorter distance along fractures with small apertures. This phenomenon implies a deflection for grout propagation in fractures with different aperture widths. The results of our study confirm this and indicate that there would be an anisotropy of grout propagation when the two groups of aperture widths are different. The water flow conditions also cause the difference in grout propagation length. When the aperture widths of the two groups of fractures are the same, the propagation shows symmetrical ellipse propagation. The results show the anisotropy of the grout increases as the aperture width ratio increases. This study helps in understanding the mechanism of chemical grouting in fractures with different apertures and flowing water and outlines some implications for grouting design in a fractured rock mass.