July 29, 2024

Grout backfill has a higher density than water-filled casing. During installation, when the grout is still a fluid, it exerts an uplift force on the bottom cap of the casing. This uplift force is greater than the down force exerted by water-filled casing. The net uplift can be calculated as the density of grout minus the density of water filled casing x depth of casing x area of bottom cap. Lateral forces do not contribute to uplift.

The density of water-filled casing is about 62.4 pounds per cubic foot or 1000 kg per cubic meter. The density of ABS casing and the density of water are nearly the same. The density of bentonite-cement grout is about 80 pounds per cubic foot or 1280 kg per cubic meter. The area of the bottom cap of 2.75″ (70mm) inclinometer casing is 0.0412 square feet or 3.8485E-3 square meters. Thus if the bottom cap is 100 feet deep, the uplift pressure on the 2.75 inch bottom cap will be about 72.5 pounds or 32.3 kg