A new generation of self-healing detectable grouts

全世界每年都有数十亿吨水泥被注入地面，以增加地面强度并形成水流障碍。在建筑中使用它的例子包括建筑地基、水库大坝和隧道墙。这种活动被称为“渗透灌浆”。渗透灌浆的使用可以追溯到1802年，当时水泥灌浆被注入到Dieppe水闸下的地面洞中，以稳定正在崩溃的地基。最近，为建造阿联酋竞技场和2014年格拉斯哥英联邦运动会的Chris Hoy Veladrome爵士，英国花费了500万GB向地面注入超过42,000吨水泥浆液，以稳定矿山巷道。虽然在过去的两个世纪里，技术有了很大的进步，但水泥灌浆的基本原理基本保持不变。该项目的一个主要目标是通过开发第一个可检测的灌浆来彻底改变灌浆行业。所有注浆的一个根本问题是，一旦注浆进入地面，就无法检测到注浆到哪里去了。这种知识的缺乏可能会导致大量的灌浆浪费，钻探不必要的油井，缺乏有效注射的数据，以及无法发现灌浆墙中对水的控制至关重要的“缺口”，例如在大坝和周围的垃圾处理场。在注浆过程中和注浆后检测地下注浆位置的能力将改变行业实践。它将允许更有效地设计灌浆墙，将减少岩石中未灌浆的‘缝隙’的风险，通过这些缝隙可以渗水，并将最大限度地减少所需的水泥用量。水泥生产每年向大气排放的二氧化碳占全球的5%，因此这项研究将对实现全球气候排放目标产生积极影响。

Billions of tons of cement are injected into the ground world-wide each year to increase ground strength and to create barriers to water flow. Examples of its use in construction include building foundations, reservoir dams and tunnel walls. This activity is termed 'permeation grouting'. Use of permeation grouts are recorded as far back 1802, when cement grout was injected into holes in the ground beneath a sluice at Dieppe to stabilise the foundations, which were failing. More recently, £5M was spent injecting over 42,000 tonnes of cement grout into the ground to stabilise mine workings for the construction of the Emirates Arena and the Sir Chris Hoy Veladrome for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Whilst technology has substantially improved over the last two centuries, the basic principles of cement grouting have remained largely the same. A key aim of this project is to revolutionise the grouting industry by developing the first 'detectable' grout. A fundamental issue with all grout injection is the inability to detect where the grout has gone once it has been injected into the ground. This lack of knowledge can result in significant grout wastage, drilling of unnecessary wells, a lack of data for efficient injection and an inability to detect 'gaps' in grout walls where containment of water is critical; for example in dams and surrounding waste disposal sites. The ability to detect the location of grout beneath the ground, both during and after grout injection will transform industry practice. It will allow for more efficient design of grout walls, will reduce the risk of un-grouted 'gaps' in the rock through which water can leak, and will minimise the volume of cement needed. Cement production accounts for 5% of the worlds CO2 emissions to the atmosphere each year, hence this research will have a positive impact on meeting global climate emission targets.