Problem 1

Grou t ing steel ba sepla tes

American Concrete Institute ACI 351.1R-93 equipment and machinery and describes foundations. Machinery and equipment
report Grouting And Support of Equipment materials and installation methods for grout which have precise tolerances for alignment
And Machinery. This report provides an used as load transfer material between or require uniform support cannot be placed
overview of accepted practices for grouting of machine or equipment bases and their directly on finished concrete surfaces.

Choosin g the right grou t

1 The selection of a suitable bearing grout
depends on the machine loading, size of
bearing, gap size and grouting method.
Choosing the wrong grout can lead to
failure of the bearing grout; for example,
most cement grouts are not able to
resist continuous impact loading such
as under vibrating machinery. Cement
grouts are weak in tension and undergo
fatigue failure. This can have serious
repercussions on safety and the cost of
remediation can outweigh the initial
short-term cost benefit a hundred fold.

2 Voids in the grout

The support provided by a grout is the
Effect ive Bearing Area (EBA). This can be
affect ed by grout leakage, unlevel plate,
shrinkage of grout , inadequate mixing of
grout, wrong placement met hod, poor grout
flow or ent rapped air voids. EBA can lead t o

3.1 point loading on the grout which in turn can

result in cracking and crumbling of t he grout
under the baseplate. This could have
disastrous consequences on the machine.

Cra cks in the grou t a rou n d the ba sepla te

3
Cement grouts rely on expansion to
provide the non-shrink properties
required of a precision bearing grout .
This expansion needs to be confined
under the baseplate, but if allowed to
expand freely, the grout may crack due
to shrinkage. This cracking is often seen
where a cement grout has not been
finished properly. Epoxy grouts are not
affected as much as they have low
inherent shrinkage.

Grou t n ot flowin g u n der t he ba sepla te

4
Rapid installation of machinery is
essential. A grout with poor flow will
slow down the process. Some inferior
epoxy grouts are cut back with diluents
to improve flow but this can lead to
excess shrinkage and loss of EBA.
Weber grouts have been developed to
give good flow without any undesirable
side-effects.

90
Problem: Grou tin g st eel ba sepla t es
Correct grou t select ion a n d a pplica t ion
Both t he concret e surface and t he machine
base have irregularit ies which result in
alignment difficulties and bearing load
concent rat ions. For this reason, machine
Solu tion 1
bases or soleplates are aligned and levelled
by shimming or other means and the
result ing space between the machine base
and t he foundat ion is filled wit h a load
transfer mat erial. The load-transfer
mat erials most frequently used are
hydraulic cement and epoxy grout s.

Products required Cement: Five St ar grout Epoxy: weber.tec EP pourable grout

Five St ar grout SP weber.tec EPpourable grout WG
Five St ar grout fast set
weber.cem grout

Grout selection High-pressure feed/ Pressure pump

1 2b
Grout can be pumped from the cent re of t he bearing plate
where it spreads t o the outside equally on all sides. A
Vibration, chemicals, perist alt ic pump is used for resin grout s and a diaphragm or
High static loads No
high dynamic loads worm pump for cement grout s. Alt ernat ively, for large
Yes Yes grout ing areas, a grout lance is placed through the gap to
the other side and wit hdrawn slowly as pumping proceeds.
Use precision cement grouts Use precision epoxy grouts
Five St ar grout weber.tec EP pourable grout
Five St ar grout SP weber.tec EP pourable grout WG
Holding-down bolts
It is best to grout the holding-down bolts
Hopper feed first . This ensures t hat t hey have been filled
2a When pouring the grout int o
complet ely. Some specificat ions call for
grout ing of anchor pockets and under-plate
shut ters from one side of a bearings at t he same time; this can lead to
4 baseplate, use a removable ● air ent rapment and voids in the pockets,
hopper to provide an adequat e unless the grout is very fluid.
head of grout .

●
3.1
Min 100 mm

Ratio 1:3
(height of
hopper:
lengt h of
pour

● ●
●

Shuttering
Ensure the shut tering is
sealed t ight t o the base t o
ensure no grout loss.
Edges of grout
3
Cement grouts should be finished
Removable shims flush to the edge of t he steel
bearing plat e and chamfered at a
Steel shims are used to provide t he
slope. This is t o prevent cracking
correct levelling and alignment of
where t he grout is unrestrained.
t he baseplate which is t hen fixed in
Resin grout s can be left proud of
place using anchor bolts. The shims
the bearing plat es.
can be removed or can remain as
long as t hey are corrosion proofed.

Splayed
✔
Substrate preparation
The surface of t he concret e base
must be free of any loose, friable
mat erial, be dry and free of dust
and laitance and be sufficient ly
mat ure not t o int erfere physically or
Square
✔
chemically with t he bearing grout .

For detailed instructions, please refer to t he relevant

product data sheet . For further information, please contact
Shoulder
✘
our Technical Helpline on 01525 722110. 91