Grout Made with River Water

[DaveAtkins]

I am working on a project where diagonal soil anchors are being used to restrain the top of a steel sheet pile bulkhead along a river. The contractor has asked if he can use water from the river as mix water for the grout which will be used in the soil anchors. We had the water tested, and it has a suspended solids concentration of about 13 ppm.

Has anyone done this before? If so, what are your suggestions?

DaveAtkins

 

[cvg]

4. Mixing water: ASTM C1602.

C. Water:
1. Water shall be sampled and tested in accordance with the requirements of AASHTO T 26.
2. Water shall be clean and free from harmful amounts of acids, alkalis, and organic materials.
3. Water shall not contain more than 1,000 parts per million of chlorides as Cl or of sulfates as SO4.
4. Potable water obtained from Public utility distribution lines is acceptable without testing.
5. Additional water other than that specified in the approved mix design, either at the plant, in route or at the site shall not be allowed.
6. Water obtained from Lake _______ may not be used for concrete mixtures without meeting all other quality requirements.

 

[PEinc]

The Post-Tensioning Institute's Recommendations for Prestressed Rock and Soil Anchors states in Section 4.11.2 that "Water used in grout shall be potable (suitable for public consumption), clean, and free of injurious quantities of substances known to be harmful to portland cement or prestressing steel. In areas where potable water is not readily available, local water may be used provided the water is tested to ensure that it is not detrimental to the prestressing steel or grout." Section 6.11 says, "When aggregates or non-potable water are used in direct contact with prestressing steel, the constituent materials shall be such that the acid-soluble chloride ion content of the grout shall not exceed 0.08% by weight of portland cement as measured by ASTM C1152/X1152M. Performance characteristics of grout, especially when supplemental cementitious materials and admixtures (one or more) are used, shall be fully investigated to determine if there are any adverse interactions or deleterious effects." The section's commentary states, "Because material and material combinations will vary from location to location, the chloride ion content should be determined by independent analysis of the combined materials used at the site before grouting operations begin." This PTI reference is the "bible" for ground anchors.

http://www.PeirceEngineering.com

 

[cvg]

the problem with approving lake water is that one day it is fine, the next day it is not. depends on the weather, the current, the tides, boat traffic, etc. testing for suspended solids only is not sufficient in any case.