Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials

Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials Soil improvement and ground modification methods chapter 17 lightweight fill materials

CHAPTER 17 Lightweight Fill Materials Using lightweight fill materials has long been recognized as a means of reducing mass in order to reduce the gravitational loads, which in turn reduce bearing loads, settlement, and slope driving forces A number of lightweight materials have been used in embankment and fill construction including chipped bark, sawdust, dried peat, fly ash, slag, cinders, cellular (foamed) concrete, shredded tires, natural lightweight aggregate (i.e., pumice), and expanded polystyrene (EPS or geofoam) (Holtz and Schuster, 1996) ASTM D4439 defines geofoam as “Block or planar rigid cellular foamed polymeric material used in geotechnical engineering applications.” EPS geofoam is by far the lightest of all the aforementioned lightweight fill materials, typically 50 to 100 times lower than soil, and so has the advantage of requiring much less substitute material to achieve a desired reduction in load Expanded shale, clay and slate, “ash-rock” aggregate generated from 100% coal ash, and tire-derived aggregate have also become more popular due to their generally low cost and an interest in using recycled materials Several small as well as large, high-profile projects have used lightweight inclusions, including I-15 in Salt Lake City, Utah; Boston’s “Big Dig”; and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Virginia At this time, all states have evaluated the use of EPS geofoam as a lightweight fill alternative 17.1 TYPES OF LIGHTWEIGHT FILLS As outlined above, there are actually a number of lightweight materials used as “fill” for various geotechnical applications Some of these materials are organic and susceptible to deterioration, while others are more stable with varying levels of uniformity, densities, and overall installation costs The most-used lightweight fill materials for geotechnical applications are expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) (Horvath, 1999) Some other lightweight materials, such as the polyurethane foam grouts described in Chapter 12, are also used for filling voids But for cost-effective construction applications involving large volumes of fill, and for the lightest and stiffest material, EPS geofoam is by far the most Soil Improvement and Ground Modification Methods © 2015 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved 413 414 Soil improvement and ground modification methods common With this in mind, the duration of this chapter will concentrate on the attributes and applications of EPS geofoam 17.2 PROPERTIES OF EPS GEOFOAM Geofoam is EPS manufactured into large blocks (Figure 17.1) or sheets that typically weigh only 16-32 kg/m3 (1-2 pcf) (www.fhwa.dot.gov), although some versions may be slightly heavier to provide superior strength and stiffness For the lighter versions, that is about 100 times lighter than most soil and at least 20 to 30 times lighter than other lightweight fills, making it an attractive alternative and solution to construction over soft or loose soils and other applications where a load reduction (vertical and/or horizontal) is desired Once installed, it is covered either by soil and vegetation to appear like a normal earthen slope and/or embankment, or finished to look like a wall It may be produced with various, but uniform, stiffness, density, strength, and drainage capabilities Geofoam is manufactured to meet ASTM D6817 specifications and will not deteriorate or leach with time It has a number of advantages in addition to its very light weight: • Much more uniform than any natural or recycled fill material • Low compressibility and high stiffness • Rapid construction possible, which can dramatically reduce project schedules Figure 17.1 Geofoam blocks Courtesy of Geolabs Hawaii Lightweight fill materials 415 • Installation requires minimal labor and is insensitive to weather conditions • Minimal transmission of applied loads to lateral pressures • Moisture resistant • Freeze-thaw resistant • Offers insulating properties • Inert for long-term applications with no leachates • 100% recyclable In addition, geofoam is essentially maintenance free and environmentally friendly The stable foam contains no CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, or formaldehyde, and may even be reused years after initial installation In one reported case, geofoam blocks used for load-bearing and settlement mitigation beneath a commercial structure were removed and reused several years after their first installation and burial Testing of the excavated EPS material showed that it had retained most all of its initial engineering properties and still retained specified values Geofoam blocks excavated from the first known EPS embankment in Norway showed no signs of deterioration after 24 years of service (www.insulfoam.com) EPS geofoam is produced in various types with a range of uniform stiffness, density, and drainage capabilities Geofoam is manufactured to meet ASTM D6817 specifications and will not deteriorate, decompose, decay, or produce undesirable gasses or leach with time To control long-term deflection or creep from sustained loads, stiffness of EPS should be high enough to resist 1% strain As a result of this, compressive strengths are usually reported for 1% deformation Originally designed for insulation purposes, EPS foam has a consistently high thermal-insulative value (R-value) measured according to ASTM C578 These insulation properties have been utilized in regions that experience seasonal freezing, permafrost, and frost heaves, by creating an insulated barrier to keep the subgrade soil beneath from freezing and thawing For these situations, care must be taken to account for possible freezing of surface layers above the geofoam insulation For most geofoam products, fluids not readily flow through them and, in fact, EPS foam is sometimes shaped to retain or channel water This ® (together with the insulating properties) is the premise behind Styrofoam coffee cups However, drainage properties may be increased EPS foam products have been manufactured where the individual expanded beads are coated, such as with an asphalt, so that there is an open matrix of interconnected voids through which fluids may flow (Figure 17.2) This has been used to provide a “free-draining” geofoam material 416 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17.2 Example of “free-draining” EPS An additional attribute of EPS geofoam is vibration and noise dampening Due to the high ratio of stiffness to density, this material is relatively efficient at dampening small-amplitude vibrations and noise typical from vehicular or train traffic (Horvath, 1999) 17.3 GEOFOAM APPLICATIONS Due to its extreme light weight and stiffness, geofoam applies minimal vertical and lateral stresses As a result it can significantly reduce settlements, spread concentrated loads, minimize lateral loads on retaining walls, provide minimal slope loads, and “fill” large volumes (i.e., embankments, grade fills) without adding any “real” stresses Geofoam has also been used to protect underground utility conduits, pipes, and drainage culverts Figure 17.3 shows the schematics of a variety of applications Geofoam has been used mainly for transportation projects, including roadway embankment widening, new alignments and new embankments, bridge abutments and approaches, retaining walls, airport taxiways, and so Bridge abutment Figure 17.3 Various Geofoam applications Courtesy of AFM Corporation Lightweight fill materials 417 Figure 17.4 Example of Geofoam for fill of transportation projects Courtesy of AFM Corporation forth (Figure 17.4) Anywhere that soft, loose foundation soils may pose a problem due to insufficient bearing capacity or settlement issues that would be imposed by traditional soil fill loads, the use of geofoam may be an effective solution It avoids the need for staged construction or preconstruction Having now been used for roadway projects in more than 20 states, applications have now spread to reducing loads on buried features such as culverts and utility pipes (Figure 17.5) Geofoam has also been used in a Figure 17.5 Commuter rail embankment over a box culvert, Draper, UT Courtesy of ACH Foam Technologies 418 Soil improvement and ground modification methods number of hillside and slope rehabilitation projects to reduce or minimize the driving weight of potential slide masses In some cases, use of Geofoam has been used in excavated ground to compensate for new building loads This material is still relatively new to the marketplace and new and emerging uses continue to be developed for it One of these is as a compressible inclusion to provide controlled deformation between structural elements and soil or rock This can be applied between a rigid concrete slab or wall and expansive soil or simply soil that will tend to deform Foam inclusions are also resistant to dynamic (seismic) loads, and effective at muting noise and vibrations Another growing application is to use EPS for concrete formwork and as facing for MSE walls 17.3.1 Construction with Geofoam Efficiency and cost savings come from a number of application attributes, including very rapid construction schedules, no need for heavy construction equipment, minimal labor force (Figure 17.6), and no need to compact, monitor, or inspect layered engineered fill This does not even account for material transportation (which includes a significant carbon footprint) It has been estimated that it would take 12 dump trucks of conventional soil fill for every (light) flatbed truckload of geofoam (Figure 17.7) While sometimes used in conjunction with geogrids and geotextiles for added support and/or load distribution and separation, the foam blocks are Figure 17.6 Minimal labor force needed for Geofoam installation Courtesy Atlas EPS Lightweight fill materials 419 Figure 17.7 Bulk Geofoam site delivery Top courtesy of FHWA; bottom Courtesy of Geolabs Hawaii often simply placed directly on a smoothly graded subgrade surface The use of geosynthetics only really adds to stability if there is a tendency for the foam blocks to spread laterally or deform due to very unstable subsurface conditions Completed geofoam structures are typically covered with soil overfill, plastic membrane, or concrete, then finished to look like a traditional embankment, slope, wall, or roadway The use of a hydrocarbon-resistant membrane is common for almost all roadway applications, for protection against susceptibility to chemical or solvent attack, or accidental fuel spills Geofoam is easily cut and shaped with chainsaws or hot wire cutting equipment (faster and cleaner) (Figure 17.8), enabling working around and “fitting” against utilities, drainage components, corners, and maintaining correct grades (Figure 17.9) 420 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17.8 Cutting and shaping Geofoam blocks with a chainsaw (above) and hot wire saw (below) Courtesy of Atlas EPS Figure 17.9 Cut and shaped geofoam fit around a drainage conduit Courtesy of Atlas EPS Lightweight fill materials 421 Standard specifications are available for geofoam installations from a number of suppliers like Harbor Foam Inc (www.harborfoam.com) 17.3.2 Other Construction Considerations In its pure form, EPS foam is inherently flammable While this is not usually an issue once the materials have been buried, a few cases have been reported of losses due to fires occurring during construction with geofoam blocks In the United States, specifications require that all geofoam be manufactured in a flame-retardant form (Horvath, 1999) Another concern for certain project environments is possible infestation by insects (termites or other animals or organisms) Even though the foam material is not an edible source of food for these pests, some manufacturers provide an option to manufacture geofoam with an additive to resist insect infestation To prevent separation between blocks and aid in the integrity of a foam block monolithic mass, three different methods have been employed First, experience has shown that, at a minimum, two layers of blocks should always be placed, and that all vertical planes should be offset (Figure 17.10) Second, galvanized metallic “grips” (Figure 17.11) or polyurethane adhesive may be used to securely hold blocks together The use of grippers has also enhanced worker safety by providing added friction between layers of blocks (Tobin, 2014) Finally, shear keys can be constructed between layers of geofoam blocks to prevent horizontal movement between layers Lateral sliding resistance may be a factor due to seismic loading (NCHRP, 2013) Due to the very light weight and high buoyancy of geofoam, designs should also consider possible flooding conditions that could “float” an EPS embankment or fill This can be prevented by covering the foam with enough ballast weight to offset any potential buoyant forces, while still providing a structure that has a greatly reduced weight as compared to traditional fill 17.3.3 History and Case Studies The first major use of EPS foam for a geotechnical fill application was reportedly for a highway bridge project near Oslo, Norway, in 1972 (www achfoam.com), although Horvath (1999) states that other geotechnical geofoam applications date back to the 1960s The next big market for geofoam applications was in Japan, where more than 1.7 million m3 of EPS was used for airport taxiways from 1985-1997 Figure 17.10 Staggering of blocks for stability Top courtesy of AFM Corporation; bottom Courtesy of FHWA Figure 17.11 “Gripper” plate used to secure Geofaom blocks together Courtesy of AFM Corporation Lightweight fill materials 423 Figure 17.12 First U.S application of geofoam as lightweight fill Courtesy of ACH Foam Technologies The first use of geofoam in the United States was for repair of a failed highway embankment slope on UD Highway 160 between Mesa Verde National Park (Mancos Hill) and Durango, Colorado (Figure 17.12) Repair costs using geofoam were approximately $160,000 rather than an anticipated $1,000,000 for traditional slope repair alternatives (Yeh and Gilmore, 1989) Since that time there has been an explosion of projects and applications throughout the United States and worldwide The Federal Highway Administration has fully embraced its use to the point of promoting it to all state DOTs 17.3.4 Case Studies As mentioned previously, geofoam has been used for some major, highprofile transportation projects in recent years A few of these are described here: • Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Alexandra, Virginia When it was decided to expand and upgrade the capacity of I-495 (Capitol Beltway) between Virginia and Maryland, geofoam was selected as part of the solution to founding the Woodrow Wilson bridge approach and interchange over highly compressible, low-strength soils on the Virginia side of the passage (Figure 17.13) Use of geofoam was also instrumental in allowing a required, tight project schedule • “Big Dig,” Boston, Massachusetts Reconstruction and new construction of the freeways, interchanges, and tunnels in Boston involved numerous innovative and advanced soil improvement technologies 5300 m3 (3.5 million ft3) of EPS geofoam 424 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17.13 Construction of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge, approach, and interchanges Courtesy of FHWA was used for some highway ramps and abutments over soft clay deposits, allowing expedient construction without the need for compacted fill and deep foundation support (www.geofoam.com) (Figure 17.14) • Interstate I-15, Salt Lake City, Utah In preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, major improvements were made to the transportation facilities, including reconstruction of over 27 km (17 mi) of the Interstate I-15 freeway, which provides the main N-S corridor through the Salt Lake valley Due to the soft, deep lake sediments, designs had to consider settlement and stability issues Lightweight fill materials 425 Figure 17.14 Use of Geofoam for a highway ramp as part of reconstruction of Boston’s Central Artery (“Big Dig”) project Courtesy of FHWA Figure 17.15 Aerial view of a portion of the I-15 project under construction, Salt Lake City, UT Courtesy of AFM Corporation that would be exerted from new and widened highway embankments, bridge abutments, and approach ramps (Figures 17.15 and 17.16) To complicate the problem, a plethora of sensitive utilities were buried directly under much of the construction alignment (www.insulfoam.com) that would not tolerate the expected 0.5-1.0 m of settlement expected from conventional fill With geofoam, the settlements were only a few centimeters (www.achfoam.com) In addition, some of the soil deposits underlying 426 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17.16 During and after construction of bridge abutment for I-15 project, Salt Lake City, UT Courtesy of AFM Corporation the valley are also known to be thixotropic and may be subjected to significant seismic loading stemming from the close proximity of the Wasatch Fault This provided an added concern for the stability of facilities constructed upon them With a tight project schedule, the use of geofoam was an obvious choice over traditional fill materials According to the contractor, the project was completed months ahead of schedule and at a significant cost savings (Tobin, 2014) Geofoam was also constructed against concrete abutment and approach walls, applying only minimal lateral pressure against these components This allowed lighter and less robust wall designs as well as rapid construction, Lightweight fill materials 427 stability, and minimal net vertical loads In all, over 100,000 m3 (3.5 million ft3) of EPS geofoam was installed for this project (www.achfoam.com), making it the largest EPS installation ever undertaken at that time • TRAX Lightrail Expansions, Salt Lake City, Utah With the great success of its application for the I-15 reconstruction, geofoam has since been used for a number of other transportation projects in Salt Lake City Of particular note are projects to expand the TRAX light rail system For one project, extending the line to West Valley (2008-2009) included using 60,000 m3 (2.1 million ft3) of geofoam, primarily for construction of embankments up to 12 m (40 ft) high (Figure 17.17) (www.achfoam.com) For a second project, 53,000 m3 (1.9 million ft3) of geofoam was installed in 2010-2011 for an extension to the Salt Lake City International Airport • New Orleans Airport, New Orleans, Lousiana Rehabilitation and enlargement of taxiways at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, Lousiana, involved installation of more than 19,000 m3 (680,000 ft3) of EPS geofoam over highly compressible and variable peat soils (Figure 17.18) Concerns over possible insect infestation were addressed by using a treatment for the EPS material • Kaneohe Interchange, Oahu, Hawaii A 21 m (70 ft) high embankment was constructed as part of the H-3 Freeway construction project in 1994 (Figure 17.19) Analyses of site conditions showed an anticipated settlement of over m (10 ft) and insufficient bearing capacity of the soft tropical soils to support a traditional earthfill embankment of that size Originally planned deep wick drains would penetrate artesian formations, complicating an already difficult situation The redesign used approximately 17,000 m3 (600,000 ft3) of geofoam to provide a solution that resulted in minimizing settlements without any stability problems RELEVANT ASTM STANDARDS C165—07(2012) Standard Test Method for Measuring Compressive Properties of Thermal Insulations, V4.06 C203—05a(2012) Standard Test Methods for Breaking Load and Flexural Properties of Block-Type Thermal Insulation, V4.06 C578—14 Standard Specification for Rigid, Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation, V4.06 D1621—10 Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Rigid Cellular Plastics, V8.01 428 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17.17 Geofoam embankment constructions for TRAX lightrail system, Salt Lake City, UT Courtesy AFM Corporation Lightweight fill materials 429 Figure 17.18 Geofoam application for expanded taxiway at Louis Armstrong International Airport, New Orleans, LA Courtesy of AFM Corporation D1623—09 Standard Test Method for Tensile and Tensile Adhesion Properties of Rigid Cellular Plastics, V8.01 D4439—14 Standard Terminology for Geosynthetics, V4.13 D5321/D5321M—14 Standard Test Method for Determining the Shear Strength of Soil-Geosynthetic and Geosynthetic-Geosynthetic Interfaces by Direct Shear, V4.13 D6817/D6817M—13a Standard Specification for Rigid Cellular Polystyrene Geofoam, V4.13 D7180/D7180M—05(2013)e1 Standard Guide for Use of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam in Geotechnical Projects, V4.13 D7557/D7557M—09(2013)e1 Standard Practice for Sampling of Expanded Polystyrene Geofoam Specimens, V4.13 Reference: ASTM Book of Standards, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, www.astm.org 430 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17.19 Highway embankment construction, Kaneohe, Hawaii Courtesy of Geolabs Hawaii REFERENCES EPS Industry Alliance, 2012 Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam Applications & Technical Data EPS Industry Alliance, Crofton, MD, 36 pp Holtz, R.D., Schuster, R.L 1996 Stabilization of soil slope In: Turner, A.K., Schuster R.L (Eds), Landslides: Investigation and Mitigation Transportation Research Board, Special Report 247, National Academy Press, Washington DC, pp 439–473 Horvath, J.S., 1999 Lessons learned from failures involving geofoam in roads and embankments Manhattan College research report no CE/GE-99-1, 28 pp Koerner, R.M., 2005 Designing With Geosynthetics, fifth ed Pearson Education, New Jersey, 796 pp NCHRP, 2013 Guidelines for geofoam applications in slope stability projects Research Results Digest 380, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, 26 pp Tobin, M., 2014 Personal communications Lightweight fill materials 431 Yeh, S.-T., Gilmore, J.B., 1989 Application of EPS for slide correction In: Stability and Performance of Slopes and Embankments II ASCE, New York, NY, pp 1444–1456, Geotechnical Special Publication 31 http://www.achfoam.com/Geofoam-for-transportation.aspx (accessed 02.02.14) http://www.afmtechnologies.com/EPS/geofoam.asp (accessed 11.03.14) http://atlaseps.com (accessed 05.02.14) http://benchmarkfoam.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/geofoam-brochure1.pdf (accessed 12.03.14) http://www.civil.utah.edu/bartlett/Geofoam/Presentation%20-%20EPS-Civil% 20Applications.pdf (accessed 02.02.14) https://www.dot.state.oh.us/engineering/OTEC/2011%20Presentations/48CNicoSutmoller.pdf (accessed 14.03.14) http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/deployment/geofoam.cfm (accessed 01.02.14) http://www.geofoam.com (accessed 25.01.14) http://harborfoaminc.com/pdf/Harbor-Foam-Geofoam-Specification.pdf (accessed 14.03.14) http://insulfoam.com/images/stories/cases/cs_I-15_Corridor-V2-Mar4.pdf (accessed 14.03.14)  ... (Figure 17. 9) 420 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17. 8 Cutting and shaping Geofoam blocks with a chainsaw (above) and hot wire saw (below) Courtesy of Atlas EPS Figure 17. 9... 428 Soil improvement and ground modification methods Figure 17. 17 Geofoam embankment constructions for TRAX lightrail system, Salt Lake City, UT Courtesy AFM Corporation Lightweight fill materials. ..414 Soil improvement and ground modification methods common With this in mind, the duration of this chapter will concentrate on the attributes and applications of EPS geofoam 17. 2 PROPERTIES