Laboratory Study on the Effect of Water-Cement Ratio on Strength Characteristics of Jet Grouting Columns

Jet grouting is one of the most widely applied soil improvement techniques. It is suitable for most geotechnical problems, including improving bearing capacity, decreasing settlement, forming seals, and stabilizing slopes. One of the difficulties faced by designers is determining the strength and geometry of elements created using this method. Jet grouted soil-cement columns in soil are a complicated issue because they are dependent on a number of parameters such as soil type, grout and water flow rate, rotation and lifting speed of monitor, nozzle jetting force, and water to cement ratio of slurry. This paper discusses the effect of the water-cement ratio on the physical and mechanical characteristics of soilcrete. In the laboratory, sandy soil mixed with cement grout with water-cement ratio varies from (0.7:1 to 1.4:1). To evaluate the characteristics of soilcrete, 96 specimens were prepared in the laboratory and tested at different curing times. The results indicate that the Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) of soilcrete decreases with increasing the (W/C) ratio of the grout, where the soilcrete strength of W/C ratio of 0.7 is higher about 237% of W/C ratio of 1.4 at 28-day; the evolution of the (UCS) is proportional to the logarithm of the curing time; the ratio between the modulus of elasticity (Etg50) to the maximum UCS varies from 113 to 175; when the water-cement ratio increases, the dry density of soilcrete decreases, as a result, the (USC) of soilcrete decreases.