ABSTRACT
Grout curtains, also called grouted cutoffs, are barriers to groundwater flow created by grouting a volume of soil or rock of large extent normal to the flow direction and generally of limited thickness in the flow direction. Typically, a grout curtain could be used alongside or underneath a dam to prevent drainage of the impounded water. Curtains may also be placed around construction sites or shafts to prevent water inflow. Where the required service life of a cutoff is of limited duration, well points or other construction methods often prove more practical. For long-term shutoffs, where the zone to be impermeabilized is close to ground surface, slurry walls, jet grouting, and deep soil mixing have in the past decade become very competitive with grout curtains. Where the treatment is deep or below a structure which cannot be breached, grout curtains remain the most practical and sometimes the only solution.
