Chemical injection to prevent building damage induced by ground water drainage from shallow tunnels

Abstract

Progressive developments in the application of chemical injection have been acquired through out the centuries, starting from the ancient Romans. The method of silica based injection has been employed for a long time and has replaced the polyurethane injection method since the 1970s as a remedy in difficult ground conditions including fractured rock. Currently, various applications of chemical injections are available in civil and mining engineering, including ground stabilization, support anchoring, strata sealing, reduction and diversion of ground water flow and water ingress and creation of a load-bearing ring in tunneling. Drainage of the ground water in the overburden during tunneling will result in an increase in ground settlement by the evacuation of water and closure of the pores in overburden. In this research, the ground water level was decreased to 3 m from the original level and the ground settlement was recorded to reach 25 mm, while the inner tunnel vertical convergence was 6.5 mm after the drainage of 3.5 l/s ground water from the tunnel. Subsequent field measurements and observations indicated that the ground water drainage in the tunnel was reduced to 0–0.5 l/s and the surface settlements were stopped after the chemical injection.