12.12 2025

Jet Grouting - the principle of operation of the technology and its application

Jet grouting, this is the name that a person may encounter when they need to strengthen load-bearing soils. The name is not very clear to a person who does not have technical knowledge in this area. So in this material we want to help you understand how this technology works and, for example, compare it with the geopolymer injection technology from Georesin.

Jet Grouting soil reinforcement technology

Jet Grouting or jet grouting technology is used to create large diameter soil cement piles in weak soils.

The work is performed using a complex of drilling equipment:

• Special jet grouting drilling rig;
• High-capacity cement and compressor stations;
• Cement silos (depending on the scale of the work).

The work itself is divided into 3 stages:

1. Location, connection and adjustment of all equipment at the construction site;
2. Drilling a well to the appropriate depth;
3. In reverse mode, cement mortar is supplied through the nozzle under high pressure.

By selecting the depth of the well, the supply pressure, the return speed and the amount of mortar according to the soil and technical requirements, a soil-cement pile of the appropriate diameter is formed. Typically, the diameter of such a column varies within 3 meters.

When talking about high pressure and high-performance compressor stations, it is necessary to understand that we are talking about pressures from 300 to 500 bar.

The technology itself, depending on project needs, is divided into three subtypes:

• Single fluid (Jet 1): cement mortar is supplied by a drilling rig under pressure.
• Double fluid (Jet 2): To increase the diameter of the cement-soil column, air is also supplied under high pressure.
• Triple fluid (Jet 3): A pressurized water supply is also added, which allows for the creation of piles of maximum diameter.

It is worth noting that these three technologies require different equipment, because the supply of solution, water, and air occurs through different side nozzles (monitors) with different supply channels.

Comparison with geopolymer injection technology

While Jet Grouting has certain advantages for directly consolidating soils and creating soil-cement foundation structures on large construction projects, it suffers greatly when scaled to smaller scales.

• The technology involves the use of heavy construction equipment – drilling equipment, mixture supply systems and compressors. Placing such equipment on small construction sites is quite problematic.
• The technology itself makes it practically impossible to use it for soil reinforcement under an existing building, where it may be necessary to strengthen the soil directly under the existing foundation.
• Large compressor stations and drilling equipment create a lot of noise when operating.
• Electricity consumption – according to the industrial class.
• Even relatively small Jet Grouting installations still have similar limitations.
• Readiness for operation depends greatly on soil types and water levels. There are also limitations on use in certain types of organic soils.

In fact, Jet Grouting is used mostly for large new construction projects – dams, tunnels, high-rise and massive buildings.

At the same time, the technological process of Georesin geopolymer injection is not limited to such a narrow scope of application:

• Suitable for stabilizing and strengthening the soil of the foundations of existing buildings.
• The work can be carried out even in the buildings themselves, because narrow wells are drilled for injection, which can even be done through existing foundation slabs.
• The work process does not create noise, dirt and does not require large logistics costs.
• Can be combined with other technical solutions for soil reinforcement.
• Polymerization due to a chemical reaction almost instantly fixes the soil even in wet and organic soils.

To summarize, we can say that it is incorrect to consider Jet Grouting technology and Georesin geopolymer injection technology as competitors; they have different ranges of applications.

Soil reinforcement by polymerization scales well and has no restrictions on its use for the purpose of strengthening soils under existing buildings. While jet grouting occupies a place in the market of industrial solutions, where it shows a competitive cost due to the effect of scale.