Hillsborough County Florida is using a mix of expanding polyurethane foam and conventional cement grout as a more cost effective means of filling sinkholes. Officials say the mix uses 30 to 40% less grout adding up to a 30% cost savings. The article in the Tampa Tribune did not indicate the contractor or product name that they are using but apparently several agencies in California and other states are using the same material. Story via ASCE SmartBrief.
Press Releases
Minnesota Company Transforming Highway and Bridge Repair by Using NCFI Engineered Polyurethane Foam
August 11, 2011 MOUNT AIRY, NC—Gary Molstre, owner of Mudpumpers Mudjacking, Moorehead, MN, says there is no chance they are changing the company name, but they are definitely changing the material they use to repair highways and bridges to an engineered polyurethane foam system and they’ve coined a term for it: “foamjacking”.
Mudjacking, also called slab jacking, concrete lifting, concrete raising, and slab leveling, is the traditional method of fixing damaged concrete highways and bridge approach panels. The process was developed in the 1930s and involves pumping “mud” (everything from clay, sand, and loam, to Portland cement, fly ash, lime, casting plaster, and hot asphalt have been used) beneath concrete slabs that have become uneven, sunken, and/or pulled away from bridge approaches due to soil erosion and/or the soil being compacted or compressed from the sheer weight of the slab. Mudjacking involves drilling holes in the concrete and pumping “mud” and pressure beneath to lift the slab to its original place and keep it there. [Editor] Click th rough for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]
Geologic Hazards
NFL’s Titans eye $250k Compaction Grouting fix for sinkhole at LP Stadium
Hayward Baker will be the geotechnical contractor for the compaction grouting. The article draws a HORRIBLE comparison between compaction grouting and the ‘top kill’ that BP tried to stop the oil leak in the gulf. […]
Failures
Man swallowed by a Sinkhole in Shenzhen city, China
A frightening moment was captured on video when a security guard in Shenzhen city, China was swallowed by a sinkhole. The video indicated that residents complained of vibrations or tremors from a nearby construction site […]