Challenge
A busy shopping mall in Sharjah faced severe differential settlement beneath two key foundation pads. The settlement was caused by water leakage from underground utilities, creating voids and weakening the soil. Traditional repair methods would have required excavation and closure of the mall, causing unacceptable revenue loss.
Solution
Geobear designed a targeted geopolymer injection program to densify the saturated soil and re-establish contact between the ground and the foundation. The work was executed exclusively during night shifts to ensure zero disruption to retail operations.
Increase in soil stiffness (SPT N-value) achieved post-treatment
Volume of structural geopolymer injected
Disruption to mall opening hours or tenant operations
The maintenance team at a major shopping center in Sharjah identified signs of structural distress, including surface-level damage and settlement near two column foundations. An investigation revealed the root cause: a leaking underground pipe and cracked manhole had washed out fine soil particles, leaving the 1.5m deep foundations unsupported on saturated, soft ground.
The primary technical challenge was the loss of bearing capacity due to soil saturation and voiding. The soil beneath the 0.5m thick footing was soft, with a "lean concrete" obstruction at 0.8m depth complicating access.
Operational constraint: The mall could not afford to close. Traditional underpinning would require breaking the slab, excavating the wet soil, and pouring new concrete—a noisy, messy process that would shut down the area for weeks.
Technical constraint: The ground was fully saturated, meaning any injected material had to be hydro-insensitive (resistant to washout).
Supertitle
Attribution
Geobear implemented a staged injection strategy using a high-density, hydro-insensitive geopolymer.
1. Access: we drilled through the slab and the obstruction to install injection tubes at depths up to 2.0m below the foundation base.
2. Night Works: All drilling and injection were performed strictly between mall closing and opening times (night shifts).
3. Void filling and densification: we injected 4m³ of expansive resin. This first filled the washout voids created by the leak, then permeated and compacted the surrounding saturated soil to increase its density.
4. Verification: we used dynamic probing to verify the improvement.
The intervention successfully stabilized the foundations and prevented further movement.
Technical success: post-treatment testing showed a 3x increase in equivalent SPT N₁(60) values, confirming the loose/soft soil had been transformed into medium-dense sand.
Operational success: the mall opened on time every morning with no dust, noise, or evidence of construction work.
Long-term protection: by filling the voids and densifying the ground, the risk of future settlement from water ingress was significantly mitigated.
We strengthen commercial foundations overnight. No closures, no mess, no lost revenue.
