Application of soil improvement by sodium silicate-based grouting on Indonesian sand

In recent years, demand for infrastructure development is increasing due to satisfy the high rates of economic growth in Indonesia. Therefore, it is desired to introduce the chemical grouting which is widely used in Japan as ground improvement in underground construction. The chemical grouting constructions have been prohibited since the accidents, because of polymeric chemicals pollution. Considering it, in order to reduce environmental issues, sodium silicate chemicals as lowest toxicity material is considered in the chemical grouting. Furthermore, there is no study about sodium silicate chemicals in Indonesia. Hence, in this paper, applicability of the chemical grouting of sodium silicate chemicals in Indonesia is discussed from the aspects of its functions. In this study, the chemical grouts were injected into the samples of Indonesian sands. After solidification of the chemical grouts, permeability and strength of the samples have been measured by falling the head hydraulic conductivity test and UCS test. As the conclusion, the study shows that chemical grouting is applicable to improve Indonesian sand.