Evaluation of EPS Beads Inclusion on Strength and Stiffness of Soil
M.V. Silveira, A.V. Calheiros, M.D.T. Casagrande
Abstract. EPS is the international acronym for Expanded Polystyrene, which is a thermoplastic derived from petroleum. Each EPS bead is composed of 98% of air and 2% of raw material (in mass) therefore, considered a villain in matters of waste because it occupies a lot of space in landfill sites. An alternative for reducing the disposal of this product is using it as a soil reinforcement material in earthworks. This experimental study reports the influence of the addition of EPS beads on the parameters of the colluvial clayey soil assessed through the compaction test and the triaxial test. A series of triaxial compression isotropic drained test was performed to seek to establish patterns of behavior that might explain the influence of the addition of EPS beads, relating it to the shear strength and deformation parameters of the soil. Effects of adding proportionate quantities of EPS beads (i.e., 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0% by dry weight of the soil) were investigated and evaluated. Through the obtained results, it was observed that the addition of EPS beads to the clayey soil did not entail a worsening in the soil’s behavior in the four performed mixtures, since it was observed an increase in the cohesion or in the angle of friction of the mixtures compared to the values obtained for the pure soil. The results show that the use of EPS beads in geotechnical works of elastic loads could be an alternative of an environmentally correct destination for this material.
Keywords
Expanded Polystyrene Beads, Soil Reinforcement, Triaxial Test, Mechanical Behavior
Published online , 6 pages
Copyright © 2018 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: M.V. Silveira, A.V. Calheiros, M.D.T. Casagrande, ‘Evaluation of EPS Beads Inclusion on Strength and Stiffness of Soil’, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 7, pp 785-790, 2018
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781945291838-77
The article was published as article 77 of the book Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies
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