A Numerical Study on the Cement Slurry Penetration Performance of the Cyclic Grouting Method with High-Frequency Pulsating Pressure

Abstract

The performance of traditional steady grouting is sometimes limited; therefore, a new high-frequency pulsed grouting method is proposed. Through the CFD method, this paper studies the cement slurry penetration performance of cyclic grouting under the influence of pulsating pressure and steady pressure. Firstly, the penetration shape and flow fields of the two grouting methods are investigated. Secondly, the effects of pulsation parameters on penetration performance are studied. Finally, the influence of various working conditions, such as soil properties, grout parameters, grouting pipe length, and back pressure, on penetration distance is also investigated. The results show that pulsating grouting achieves better penetration performance compared with steady pressure grouting. With the increase in frequency, pulsating grouting exhibits superior performance, while with the increase in pulsation amplitude, the penetration distance initially increases and then decreases. This is because part of the pulsating pressure is lower than the back pressure, which weakens the pulsating effect. As viscosity and back pressure increase and as porosity and particle size decrease, the proportion of lateral diffusion in pulsating grouting relative to steady pressure grouting increases. This indicates that lateral penetration performance achieves optimal results under high-flow-resistance conditions. However, when the flow resistance becomes excessively high, the vertical penetration distance may be affected. This study is expected to improve the grouting efficiency and provide a better understanding of pulsating grouting design and operation.