AI-Augmented Fem Models Improve Chemical Grouting Predictions in Complex Soils

Soil liquefaction—the process where saturated soil loses its structure and transforms to a fluid-like state—can have devastating outcomes, as evidenced by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Large-scale liquefaction during this disaster damaged thousands of houses in the Tokyo Bay area, posing a formidable challenge to infrastructure in Japan.

To prevent this, chemical grouting is considered to be effective where grout is injected into the soil to substitute soil pore water with a solidifying chemical, thus improving the soil structure. But, in heterogeneous soil with low-permeability areas, achieving uniform and reliable chemical grout permeation is difficult.

A previous study presented an innovative technique named Finite Element Method (FEM) to analyze the permeation behavior of chemical grout in both homogeneous and heterogeneous soils, showing that grout tends to bypass areas of low permeability, affecting soil remediation negatively.