Penetrability of microfine cement grouts: experimental investigation and fuzzy regression modeling

One-dimensional injection tests were conducted on sand columns with a height of 134 cm for the penetrability evaluation of microfine cement grouts. Three ordinary cement types were pulverized to obtain microfine cements having nominal maximum grain sizes of 20 and 10 μm, and these cements were used in the present investigation. Suspensions with water to cement (W/C) ratios of 1, 2, and 3, by weight, were injected into 13 clean sands with d 15 ranging from 0.17 to 2.25 mm and C u ranging from 1.19 to 6.67. Pulverization of the ordinary cements to produce microfine cements extends the range of groutable sands to “medium-to-fine”. Cement fineness; suspension W/C ratio and apparent viscosity; and sand grain size, gradation, and relative density are very important parameters, as they substantially affect both grout penetration and maximum injection pressure. The penetration length of cement grouts was correlated to parameters pertinent to the suspension, sand, and injection process by performing fuzzy and ordinary linear regression analyses of the injection test results. The resultant fuzzy regression models provided successful penetration length predictions for the majority of the cases analyzed, while the best ordinary regression model exhibited a correlation coefficient not higher than 0.363.