Cartridge for grouting an anchor element in a hole of a support structure

Claim 1

A cartridge for grouting an anchor element in an elongated hole of a support structure, comprising: an elongated tubular casing fabricated of a frangible material capable of being punctured and shredded by an anchor element thrust into the cartridge and having a diameter between enclosed ends sufficient to enable the cartridge to be introduced into the hole; a heterogeneous mixture of a continuous phase of dry hydraulic cement powder and a discontinuous phase of a multitude of water-containing microcapsules essentially uniformly dispersed in the continuous phase that fills the interior of the tubular casing between the enclosed ends; wherein the microcapsules have diameters in a range of 400 to 5000 microns and have inert, frangible shells enclosing droplets of liquid water that are pressure sensitive and are capable of being progressively ruptured by the force of said anchor element being thrust into the cartridge when the cartridge is positioned in the hole to thereby dispense the water substantially uniformly throughout the cement powder to enable the water and cement powder to thoroughly interact to form a flowable cement paste in intimate contact with the hole wall and the anchor element, which when solidified forms a uniform grout about the anchor element to secure the anchor element to the support structure.