Special Issue Article Open Access

Properties and Application of EPS beads as a Lightweight Fill Material for Embankment Construction

Abstract

Construction industry has a promising future and this situation demands suitable ground condition for foundations. High rise buildings require safe foundations, and it is a design challenge for structural and geotechnical engineers, particularly if situated in a seismically active region, or if underlying soils have geotechnical risk factors such as high compressibility of soil. Some of the major problems are total and differential settlement of foundation, which leads to failure of the structure. Similar problems are also found to be associated with bridges and embankments. The design challenges in construction in soft soil include extensive thickness of compressible sediments, low permeability, scarcity of natural drainage, encountering organic material near the surface, which further increase the chances of settlement. Dealing with total and differential settlements of bridge approach embankments and other structural foundations has become most challenging tasks in the civil engineering projects, especially in soft soil areas. The other challenges in construction industry are bearing failure, slope instability etc, which occur due to the weight of embankment or a weak foundation. In this seminar report, an attempt has been made to highlight the properties of a novel lightweight fill material, viz-a-viz, cement-treated-sand and EPS. Properties of the material were evaluated in laboratory by a series of tests like Standard Proctor Test, Unconfined Compression Test, CBR Test, Unconsolidated Undrained Test and Consolidated Undrained Test. Actual embankment was constructed with this fill and Sand Cone Test and CBR Test were done in field to verify density and strength of the light weight fill. The total weight of embankment was reduced to 30 to 50%. Considering the cost and capacity of reducing the weight of fill material, the use of EPS beads with soil and binder was found to be an effective solution for construction of embankment.

Sree Rekha S, Dr. P Rajeev Kumar

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