Application of Mixed Slurry Control

Method in Rotary Drilling

Yao Hongyun1, Wang Junzhao2*, Chen Jingxian2,

Zhou Changqun2
1. School of Traffic & Transportation, Chongqing Jiaotong University,
Chongqing 400074, China
2. School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing
400074, China
*Corresponding Author: Wang Junzhao (1991-), Assistant Engineer, Master
of Chongqing Jiaotong University, research direction: Road and Railway
Engineering. e-mail：wjnzhao@foxmail.com

ABSTRACT
Combined with site construction experience, through to the traditional chemical mud, mud
construction technology of economic performance, the construction quality of pile foundation, the
comparison of construction progress and so on, puts forward Mixed Slurry Control (MSC). This
method is used to solve the problems such as collapse hole, oblique hole, shrinkage and neck in
the construction of complicated geological condition. Through the control of the chemical mud
weight and viscosity, the ratio of the mud is 1.05 ~ 1.10, and the viscosity is 30 ~ 50s. MSC
method can improve the ultimate bearing capacity of the pile with its advantages of economy,
cleanness, quick construction speed, fast sediment speed and low mud thickness. It can be used
more widely.

KEYWORDS: pile foundation; rotary drilling pile; mixed slurry control method

INTRODUCTION
Today, the safety of the foundation of the bridge is more important, the use of pile foundation is
more and more extensive. The construction quality, safety and progress of the pile foundation
construction process have restricted the construction of the bridge platform, the pier column and the
superstructure. Pile foundation in the construction process often more and more problems, the pile
foundation in the construction process of the collapse, shrink (expansion) diameter and the bottom of
the sediment is too thick, the treatment of these issues is particularly important. Mud is the most
important factor in the influencing factors of bored pile, and the various parameters of mud control

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 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4460

are also important prerequisites for improving the quality of pile. This paper mainly introduces the
mixed mud control method and its problems in the construction of pile foundation in the soft soil
pebble foundation.

GENERAL SITUATION
This project describes the pile foundation of a platform of a special bridge of Harbin to Mudanjiang
railway passenger line. The bridge is 66 holes, single span of 32.7m span of the bridge, the design speed
target value of 250km/h, line for the two lines, line spacing 4.6m.

Hydrogeological Conditions

According to the geological investigation report, bridge site exploration depth stratum of
Quaternary Holocene artificial stack filling soil (Q𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
4 ), miscellaneous fill and quaternary Holocene
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎+𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
impact layer clay (Q 4 ), silty clay, silt, silty sand, sand, sand, sand and fine gravel soil, gravel soil,
underlying late Variscan (𝛾𝛾43 ), granite. The bridge area where groundwater is mainly the type of
Quaternary pore water and fissure water is mainly composed of angry, meteoric water. The basis of
this study is in the transition period between pond and paddy field. There is a lot of water
accumulated all the year round, the surface is silty soil, and the groundwater is rich.

This project is located in the northeast cold area, 3.50 meters above the surface with level-V of
frost heave, gravel soil with level-IV of frost heave, the maximum frozen depth of 1.91 meters.
1

1 2 3 4
2,8

5 6 7 8
1

1 2,8 2,8 2,8 1

Figure 1: distribution of pile cap and pile foundation

According to the prospecting report, the stratum in this foundation belongs to seasonal frozen
soil, the surface layer is more than 3.50 meters with frost heave, the muddy pebble soil layer is buried
7.30 meters deep, the strong weathered granite is 13.53 meters, and the groundwater level is 0.8~8.0
meters, the water level varies by 2-3 meters.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4461

Figure 2: dimensions of pile foundation and geological condition map

Basic survey
Most of the pile foundations of the bridge choose the bored piles, in which the repeated pile
foundations such as pile hole collapse and enlarged neck are chosen to impact the bored piles. The pile top
elevation 300.334 meters, the pile foundation diameter 1 meters, the pile length 20.90 meters, the concrete
uses C30, the reinforcement is: the main reinforcement is 26, the 16 millimeters steel reinforcement, the
stirrup uses 10 millimeters of thread bars. The pile foundation is a group of pile foundation under the cap
of 8, the lateral length of the cap is 10.40, the longitudinal length is 4.80 meters, and the cap height is 2.20
meters.

PREPARATION

Construction
Familiar with construction drawings, and further investigation of the site, by looking at drawings and
construction site survey, understanding of the construction site hydrogeological conditions. The cap is in
the transition position of paddy field and pond, and the upper layer is mainly organic muddy pebble soil.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4462

The ground water is abundant and the water level is 1.224 meters deep. The lower layer is a strong
weathered granite, and the strength is about 300KPa. In the process of rotary drilling in the upper muddy
pebble soil occurred easily in the necking and hole collapse, therefore in the construction of buried before
proper depth of steel tube.

Equipment
The bridge foundation of this project adopts a cast-in-place pile foundation with a diameter of 1
meters, and the pile is 20.90 meters long. As the construction period of this project is short, the rotary
excavation drill is taken into consideration. Select the rig as follows:

Table 1: Drilling and Drilling Parameters

Back
Geological Way of Speed(r/min Drilling
Diameter Drill Footage(m Model
Conditions Pressure ） Speed
）
Single
Silty soil,
bottom Cylinder +
Sandy soil,
d=1m rotary Deadweight 20~40 ≤0.5 ≤0.6 SR360~III
Loose
drilling pressurization
gravel layer
cone drill

Space

The site is leveled, and the paving platform for the construction of the mining leather is adopted.
According to the design requirements of the drawings, the operation platform height shall be higher
than the original ground 1.0m, and the construction bearing capacity value of the platform is greater
than 150KPa. The drill can be adjusted within the scope of the mast tilt is less than 2 degrees; clean
and protect the construction site over the power lines and underground military fiber; dig a pit in the
two piers, and the drainage grooves are arranged in the construction site; paving a road construction,
for the construction of vehicles.

Steel Casing

The slurry retaining pile shall be made of steel tube with a wall thickness of 18mm, the diameter
of the pile at 1 meters, the diameter of the retaining tube is 1.2 meters, and a grouting (overflow)
opening at the upper part of the steel shield. In order to ensure the continuity of pile foundation
construction, 4 steel cylinders of the same type are prepared at the construction site, so that the rotary
drilling machine can work continuously and speed up the construction progress.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4463

Slurry

The chemical slurry stabilization solution is made from the caustic chemical pulping agent. It is
stirred by groundwater and chemical polymer slurry, and some suitable industrial alkali materials are
added according to the water quality. Chemical polymer mud viscosity, can increase the proportion of
mud, and then the maximum drilling slag stick and precipitation; loess is to increase the proportion of
mud, mud enhancement effect, effectively reduce the hole head. Double sheets of plastic sheeting are
laid around the bottom of the mud tank and the mud pool to prevent the mud stabilized liquid from
permeating into the local soil and to ensure the stability of the slurry. The performance indexes of
slurry stabilizer shall meet table 2.2 below.

Table 2: performance index of stable liquid

Performance Index of Stable Liquid
Geological Specific Gravity of Sand Colloid
Funnel
Conditions Slurry Content Ratio PH Value
Viscosity(s）
(g/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐3 ） (%） (%）
Gravel Formation 1.05~1.25 19~28 ≤4 ≥ 95 > 6.5

TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF SLURRY

The Role of Mud

The main functions of mud are as follows:

1) Wall Stabilization
During the construction of the pile hole, the stability of the pile hole is kept. The pile hole in the
mud where the groundwater pressure is higher than the formation pressure, the mud hole wall into the
soil, the finer particles into the pores, coarse particles attached to form mud hole in the wall, so as to
ensure the stability of the pile hole.

2) Suspending and Carrying Drilling Slag

The slurry has a certain viscosity, yield value and gel strength. It can suspend a certain size of
drilling slag without precipitation and make drilling continuous. At the same time, drilling slag is
carried out by mud and excluded from the hole.

3) Cooling the Drilling Bit

 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4464

During drilling, the impact, cutting and friction of the bit to the rock or soil at the bottom of the
hole, most of the energy is converted into heat energy, and the drill bit temperature is rising, which
requires slurry to be cooled.

Mud type
Conventional Slurry
The traditional mud is made of bentonite, loess and other additives by mixing with a certain
proportion. The advantage of traditional mud is that the mud composition is stable, the wall protection
time is long, and it can be recycled to ensure the quality of the mud. But the speed of pulping of
traditional mud is slower, the occupation area is large, the cost is high, the mud ratio is great, the
thickness of the mud is large, the viscosity is small, and the drilling slag is not easy to precipitate.
Because of the large thickness of the mud, the shear strength of the contact surface between the pile
and soil is low, and the limit side friction resistance is low, especially for the friction pile. The ratio is
(1 water) clay: bentonite: =74%: 7%~10%: 20%~35%. The specific gravity of mud is 1.1~1.15, and
the viscosity is 10~25s, and the sand content is 4%~8%. The traditional mud filling piles are often
used in the soil which is easy to collapse.

Chemical Mud
Chemical mud is a new form of mud which mixes water with chemical polymer slurry in a certain
proportion and mixes with proper amount of admixture. Its advantages are summarized as follows:

(1) The utility model can rapidly precipitate the drilling chip, and the thickness of the slag is
small after the hole is formed, so the hole forming efficiency and the quality of the pile are effectively
improved.

(2) Viscosity: traditional slurry, the index for 10~25s, chemical mud in 35~78s, viscosity is high,
easy to wall and slag.

(3) Specific gravity: traditional slurry, the index is 1.10~1.15, the proportion of chemical mud is
about 1, the proportion is small, easy to clean holes.

(4) Environmental Science: city construction, the mud is always a big problem, especially in
recent years, local governments have increased the intensity of environmental governance, chemical
slurry of low pollution, high environmental protection advantages compared with the traditional mud
more wins.

The chemical slurry shortcomings in high viscosity caused by concrete and reinforced with weak,
the influence of pile quality; chemical composition is not stable, the thickness of the slurry is too
small, the slurry time is short, easy to cause the hole collapse and necking of mud; the proportion of
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4465

small, high viscosity, poor ability of drilling waste slag replacement. Chemical mud is suitable for the
stability of soil and is difficult to collapse.

MSC
Mixed mud refers to the preparation of chemical mud in the construction of bored piles, and the
construction method of using artificial hole to send loess when drilling. The specific gravity of mud is
1.05~1.10, and the viscosity is 30~50s. This construction method inherits the advantages of chemical mud,
also introduces the advantages of traditional mud wall protection, such as long time, strong carrying
capacity, and reduces the use of loess, reduces pollution and reduces cost. The thickness of the mud is
small, which can not only reduce the collapse of the hole, but also improve the lateral friction of the pile.
Under complicated geological conditions, the occurrence of pile foundation disaster can be reduced and
the construction efficiency of pile foundation will be improved.

TEST PILE AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

The geological condition of the pile foundation is the loose pebble soft soil foundation of the upper
7.30m, the lower layer is a strong weathered granite, and the groundwater depth is 0.8~8.0m. For this
purpose, the underwater pile construction technology is adopted for the construction of the pile foundation.

Test pile

Before construction, three kinds of construction technology are put forward to test the pile under
the condition of poor geological condition:

Table 3: pile testing technology

Number Slurry Steel Casing(m） Equipment Test quantity

A Conventional 3 SR360~III 8
B Chemical 9 SR360~III 8
C MSC 3 SR360~III 8

The test process of underwater pile test is shown in figure 4:

 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4466

Choose One

Determine
Prepare

Test
Yes
optimum

No

Figure 4: process flow diagram of test pile

Pile Test Result

The result is obtained by test pile:

(1) A short retaining tube with a length of 3 meters is adopted, and the construction process of
traditional clay and bentonite slurry making technology is adopted. The pile is successful, but large
quantity of bentonite high cost; pile hole drilling slag thickness measurement to be qualified, concrete
pouring, again measured the thickness of slag drilling serious failure, need to clean the hole, time-
consuming.

(2) The construction technology of slurry made of ordinary chemical polymer slurry is made by
using long retaining cylinder with a length of 9 meters. The test pile is successful, and the retaining
tube plays the role of retaining wall, which reduces the influence of groundwater. Meanwhile, the
supporting role of the retaining tube to the pile hole is also the main reason for the success of the test
pile. Although the test pile is successful, but the construction process of buried tube time-consuming,
affect the construction schedule, the time-consuming; underwater concrete perfusion, pulling the tube
with two cranes of 28 tons of work at the same time to pull out tube, a lot of work and effort.

(3) Adopting the construction technique of length 3 meters short retaining cylinder and mixed
mud control method. This is a breakthrough in the construction of pile foundation in this project, and
it is also the focus of this paper. The successful test pile, time-consuming than the previous two
programs short, less construction machinery, rapid progress, low cost.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4467

Table 4: comparison of construction technology

Mud Wall
Propor Viscosity Sediment Area
Slurry Material Thickness Protection Cost Schedule
tion (s） Velocity Covered
(mm) Time

Chemical
Convent
pulping 1.10 35~78 ≤1.5 short fast lower Small Fast
ional
agent

Chemical
pulping 1.05~1
Chemical 30~50 2~2.5 middle middle Low Small Middle
agent, .10
Loess

Bentonite, 1.10~1
MSC 10~25 ≤4 long slow high Big Slow
Loess .15

CONCLUSION
Mixed slurry control method as the construction process of a novel, as well as adopting new
chemical polymer mud, and combined with the traditional pulping technology, its main advantage is
to speed up the progress of construction in complex geological conditions, the construction cost is
reduced, reducing the use of clay and bentonite, and reduce the material cost of soil and the cost of
transportation, also can make the best use of local area is suitable for the soil. It is faster than the
construction of impact bored piles, and reduces the occurrence of collapse, shrinkage and expansion
of the neck. At the same time, it also reduces the damage and pollution to the surrounding
environment, and makes the construction site more clean and civilized.

The construction method of the economy, strong adaptability, mud, mud thickness, moderate
viscosity, slag carry drilling ability, enough mud pile soil contact surface shear strength increased,
resulting in the increase of ultimate side friction pile ultimate bearing capacity has improved, can be
extended to artificial pile dump, slag field and natural slope stability of highway, railway and building
pile foundation construction plays an important role. The mixed slurry control method of construction
process of continuous construction in Ha Mu high wire, accumulated certain experience, provide a
strong reference for the engineering complex.
Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4468

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© 2017 ejge
Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 11 4470

Editor’s note.
This paper may be referred to, in other articles, as:
Yao Hongyun, Wang Junzhao, Chen Jingxian, and Zhou Changqun:
“Application of Mixed Slurry Control Method in Rotary Drilling”
Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 2017 (22.11), pp 4459-
4470. Available at ejge.com.