Crack injection with flexible water reactive polyurethane Grout to stem seepage into tunnels at Sault St-Marie Locks, Michigan, USA

Sault St-Marie, Michigan

Sault Ste. Marie

ECO trained the maintenance crews of the US Army Corps of Engineers in Sault St-Marie in professional crack injection with flexible, water reactive polyurethane grout. Approximately 20,000 linear feet of leaking and wet cracks were successfully sealed by the local crews after they received hands-on-training by ECO’s engineers. Prior to this, several grouting Contractors has attempted crack injection at this site, with limited or no success at all.

ECO trained the local maintenance crews of USACE in:

  1. Selecting the grout hole pattern
  2. Acid flushing (multiple hole flushing)
  3. Multiple hole grouting using flexible, water reactive, MDI based, solvent free, hydrophobic polyurethane grouts (supplied by 3 different manufactures)
  4. Abandonment procedures for the packers
  5. Safety aspects pertaining to polyurethane grouting

The (originally) inexperienced USACE crews managed to completely and permanently seal all leaking and wet fissures, which is indicative of the professional attitude of the maintenance crews in following the right procedures in crack injection.

The same crews were later trained by ECO in slab jacking to level sidewalks in the park and level concrete structures. These tasks were also successfully performed with high mobility suspension grouts providing a continuous support to the raised slabs or structures.