Aim of Dissertation is to try and find a basis, which relates the strength, achieved

after repair to the penetration of the grout in the crack. The strength achieved in
shear through the filling of the hole alone will be constant. BUT difference in
strength achieved will depend on the ability/workability of the grout to
penetrate in the crack and to re-establish the compressive, tensile, aggregate
interlock between the two sides of the crack. This will act in conjunction with
the central fully filled core, thus aiming to form a rectangular area, size of which
depends mainly on the amount of penetration.

The penetrability will mainly depend on:

The size/width of the crack – which depends mainly on the yielding of the steel

The workability of the grout – Using sika 312, the grout workability was varied
from 4lt water content to 4.5lt water content, increasing the flowability of the
grout BUT also decreasing the strength. The mentality used was that achieving
higher flowability thus greater penetrability would give us higher strength than
simply increasing the strength of the grout.

The decision to use an off the shelf product was to ensure that a method could be
achieved with the use of a product which is readily available for the users. SIKA
312A is the most renowned and the most highly flowable grout available with a
very good strength achievement.

The aim of the dissertation is to try and find whether such a method would be
ideal as a form of shear repair for planks. The strength achieved by the repaired
planks will be compared to the original strength of the plank and compared to
the amount of penetration of the grout, the try and achieve a relationship
between penetrability, grout strength and original to repair strength.