3255
Comparing the properties of EPS and glass foam mixed with cement and sand
Comparer les propriétés d'EPS et mousse de verre mélangé avec du ciment et du sable
Teymur B., Tuncel E.Y.
Istanbul Technical University
Ahmedov R.
BP, Baku
ABSTRACT: One of the formations in which the waste materials can be used as a component is controlled low strength material
(CLSM). CLSM is a self-compacting cementious material that is generally used as back-fill as an alternative to compacted-fill. In this
study, the availability of glass foam and Expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam as a component for CLSM production was
investigated, some geotechnical properties including strength and unit weight characteristics of composite soils were explored using
several laboratory tests. When the results are compared, EPS mixtures have lower unit weight and undrained shear strength values
compared to glass foam mixtures. Therefore use of glass foam will have the advantage of higher strength compared to EPS mixtures
and can be used as a subbase material. As a result, it was found that a mixture containing cement, polystyrene foam or glass foam and
sand, can be successfully used in some applications such as improvement of slopes and reduction of embankment weight.
RÉSUMÉ : La formation dans laquelle les déchets peuvent être utilisés comme un composant est contrôlé par matériel de faible
résistance (CMFR). CMFR est un matériau auto compactant ciment est généralement utilisé comme remblai comme alternative au
remblai compacté. Dans cette étude, la disponibilité de verre de mousse et Expanded polystyrène (EPS) mousse géotechnique en tant
que composant pour la production de CMFR a été étudiée. Certaines propriétés géotechniques, y compris la force et l'unité de poids
caractéristiques des sols composites ont été explorées à l'aide de plusieurs tests de laboratoire. Lorsque les résultats sont comparés,
mélanges de l'EPS ont poids unitaire inférieur et les valeurs de résistance au cisaillement non drainé par rapport aux mélanges de
mousse de verre. Donc utilisation de mousse de verre auront l'avantage d'une résistance plus élevée par rapport à des mélanges d'EPS
et peut être utilisée comme le matériau de remblai. En conséquence, il a été constaté qu'un mélange contenant du ciment, mousse de
polystyrène ou mousse de verre et du sable, peut être utilisé avec succès dans certaines applications comme l'amélioration des pistes et
réduction du poids de berge.
KEYWORDS: cement, EPS foam, glass foam, sand, soil improvement.
1 INTRODUCTION
With the rapid increase in the need for superstructure and the
increase in demand for the multi-storey high-rise buildings,
composite materials are used to improve weak soils. The use of
environmental and industrial waste materials as raw material in
composite soils helps protect environment with the recycling of
these materials while providing more economic solutions. One
of the formations in which the waste materials can be used as a
component is controlled low strength material (CLSM). CLSM
is a self-compacting cementious material that is generally used
as back-fill as an alternative to compacted-fill. Use of the
recyclable materials in civil engineering industry, especially in
the geotechnical applications as raw materials, contributes to the
economy and the environment.
In Turkey, a considerable sum of solid waste materials is
made of glass (DPT, 2001). Glass foam is one of the waste
glassware recycling products which are used in certain
structural applications. With its porous structure and light
weight, glass foam, generally used for thermal and acoustic
isolation, is also a potential filling in geotechnical applications
where lightweight is crucial. In Turkey, waste glass composes
the significant part of solid wastes and one of the recycled glass
product is glass foam. In this study, the availability of glass
foam and expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam as a component
for CLSM production was investigated, some geotechnical
properties including strength and unit weight characteristics of
composite soils were explored using several laboratory tests. A
certain mixture design and some engineering properties of this
lightweight composite fill were determined by unconfined
compression and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests.
Lightweight fill materials can be used in geotechnical
engineering for the consolidation and bearing capacity problems
of very soft soils, for filling applications performed on
potentially collapsible slopes generally. Expanded polystyrene
(EPS) geofoam which is obtained from the oil is used in low
strength and soft soil construction as a lightweight fill material
in different places of the world today. Expanded polystyrene
foam is supplied as raw materials in the form of small particles.
EPS is widely used in various geotechnical applications such as
embankments, retaining structures, slope stability, bridge piers
and other applications (Aksoy 1998 and Aytekin 1997). EPS
has advantages of low cost and durability properties for long
years against other types of lightweight materials, as well. Due
to these reasons, expanded polystyrene has been popular over
time in civil engineering and widely used as light and
compressible fill material in many geotechnical application
areas.
Geotechnical properties of EPS-cement-sand mixture were
determined by unconfined compression tests and CBR tests.
Ratio in terms of weight for cement to material of mixture was
measured as 12/1. As a result, it was found that a mixture
containing cement, polystyrene foam and sand, can be
successfully used in some applications such as improvement of
slopes and reducing the weight of embankments.
2 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Figure 1 shows the grain size distribution curve for the sand
used in the experiments. Sand used is classified as poorly
graded sand (SP). The sand has a specific gravity of 2.64,
