Research on the Infiltration Effect of Waterborne Polyurethane Cementitious Composite Slurry Penetration Grouting Under Vacuum Effect

To address the issue of restricted grout diffusion caused by seepage effects during grouting in sandy soil layers, this study proposes an optimised grouting method for water-based polyurethane-cement composite grout (WPU-CS) under vacuum-pressure synergy. By establishing a porous medium flow model based on the mass conservation equation and linear filtration law, the influence mechanism of cement particle seepage effects was quantitatively characterised. An orthogonal test (L₉(3⁴)) optimised the grout composition, determining the optimal parameter combination as the following: water-to-cement ratio 1.5:1, polyurethane-to-cement ratio 5~10%, magnesium aluminium silicate content 1%, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose content 0.15%. Vacuum permeation grouting tests demonstrated that compared to pure cement slurry, WPU-CS reduced filter cake thickness by 80%, significantly suppressing the leaching effect (the volume fraction δ of cement particles exhibited exponential decay with increasing distance r from the grouting end, and the slurry front velocity gradually decreased). Concurrently, the porosity ϕ in the grouted zone showed a gradient distribution (with more pronounced porosity reduction near the grouting end). When vacuum pressure increased from -10 kPa to -30 kPa, slurry diffusion distance rose from 11 cm to 18 cm (63.6% increase). When grouting pressure increased from 20 kPa to 60 kPa, diffusion distance increased from 8 cm to 20 cm (150% increase). The study confirms that synergistic control using WPU-CS with moderate grouting pressure and high vacuum effectively balances seepage suppression and soil stability, providing an innovative solution for efficient sandy soil reinforcement.