Use of Polymer for Rehabilitation of Uneven Settlement in Concrete Roadbed Slabs of Tunnels

Abstract

In some tunnels of railway lines located in water-rich region, due to the long-term water leakage and erosion, the foundation of railway lines showed large uneven settlement deformation, so the above concrete roadbed slabs also experienced uneven settlement accordingly. The smoothness of railway tracks diminished, and the speed of passing trains had to be limited to ensure safety. To restore the smoothness of the tracks, a dedicated polymer injection technology for quick uplift rehabilitation of uneven settlement concrete roadbed slabs was studied on site just within the specified daily skylight time (about 3 hours every day) of the railway lines. A hydrophobic polymer with low-viscosity, quick-setting and high-strength properties was used for injecting, filling and uplifting the concrete slabs in water-rich foundations. The high-precision electronic levels were adopted to monitor rising height of the tracks in real time. After rehabilitation, the filling quality of polymer injection under roadbed slabs was examined using Φ50 mm core samples and the strength of hardened polymer was verified by compressive strength test. Results indicated that the polymer could uplift the concrete roadbed slabs effectively and restore the smoothness of railway tracks accurately even in the water-rich environment. The research can provide some valuable references for quick rehabilitation of uneven settlement concrete roadbed slabs in water-rich tunnels.