Drilling and Grouting as a Versatile Tool at Boone Dam-PPT Presentation

PPT Presentation

Pdf Summary

The presentation describes how drilling and grouting supported seepage remediation at Boone Dam, where erosion-prone geological features—including epikarst—complicated the foundation. The original treatment used a cutoff trench upstream of the embankment centerline, compacted clay backfill, a single grout-hole line along the trench, and consolidation grouting across the foundation footprint.<br /><br />The contemporary program applied drilling and grouting in several stages. Low-mobility grouting (LMG) targeted voids and soft soils, while high-mobility grouting (HMG) addressed open features. These methods provided pretreatment and interim risk reduction, informed cutoff-wall design through slurry-cell testing, and helped evaluate construction risks. An additional HMG program was designed to treat groutable defects beneath the cutoff wall, using a two-line curtain with holes spaced no more than 20 feet apart, extending from the wall’s base to elevation 1150. Separate verification activities supported cutoff-wall quality control and acceptance.<br /><br />The initial drilling and grouting program included 539 LMG holes and 276 HMG holes, totaling about 21 miles of drilling. Grout takes were concentrated largely in the epikarst: for example, 53% and 64% of the grout take on the A and B LMG lines, respectively, was injected there; the C and D HMG lines also had most drilling and grout take in the epikarst.<br /><br />Overall, the presentation shows drilling and grouting as a flexible tool—not only for direct ground treatment, but also for reducing interim risk, validating designs, managing construction uncertainty, and complementing a deep-rock seepage barrier.

Keywords

drilling

grouting

seepage remediation

Boone Dam

epikarst

cutoff wall

low-mobility grouting

high-mobility grouting

embankment foundation

grout take