Mechanical Behavior of Grouted Rock Joints

Grouting is one of the most widely used reinforcement methods in geotechnical engineering. In this work, the mechanical behavior and in particular the shear properties of rock joints due to grouting were investigated using direct mechanical tests. It was demonstrated that the initial vertical stresses were related to the initial status of rock joints but hardly influenced by grouting. The normal stiffness was increased with grouting, the peak shear stress was evident after grouting, and the residual shear strength was higher than that without grouting. These results indicate that the grouting strongly affected the shear properties of rock joints. Based on the analysis of these effects, further mechanisms were revealed, and finally, a strength model that considered various grouting parameters for the mechanical behavior of the grouted rock joints was further proposed and discussed. Keywords: grouted rock; joints; mechanical properties; shear behavior.