Studies on stabilization of road embankment using expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam

Abstract

The Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam is made of polystyrene beads and polystyrene is not biodegradable and chemically inert in both soil and water. Furthermore it is a lightweight and then it is approximately 100 times lighter than most soil and at least 20 to 30 times lighter than other lightweight fill alternatives. EPS-block geofoam maximizes onsite installation efficiency and can arrive at the job site prefabricated and ready to place. Installation is not delayed by weather. This report presents the results for settlement and factor of safety (FOS) of road embankment. In this report also shows analyze the comparison road embankment has Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam and without Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam. The finite element method (FEM) using PLAXIS 2D software has been used to calculate the settlement and factor of safety of road embankment. Data soil parameter and Expended Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam parameter get it from the Journal laboratory test is used to analyze the road embankment based on stability of the settlement of road embankment and factor of safety (FOS) using PLAXIS 2D (finite element method).The result obtained from the analyzed using finite element method (FEM) were compared road embankment with Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam and otherwise were discussed. The settlement of road embankment has EPSblock geofoam is found to be lowest than road embankment without EPS-block geofoam and good for used it for real construction. For the factor of safety, just only compared different ratio 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4 for slope road embankment using PLAXIS 2D software. However, results shows slope ratio 1: 3 more stable through factor of safety.