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Construction
Geofoam, a specialised styrenic plastic for safety on unstable land
Rigid cellular plastic foam, either moulded expanded polystyrene (EPS) or
extruded polystyrene (XPS), has been used as super light-weight fill and
in geotechnical insulation applications for more than 25 years. As lightweight
fill, "geofoams" offer special advantages for construction on
soft ground, slope stabilisation, and retaining wall or abutment backfill.
The low thermal conduction property of geofoams is used in roadway and runway
sub grade insulation and frost protected shallow foundation construction.
Design and construction on soft ground has been a challenging area of geotechnical
engineering practice for a long time. In many parts of the world, increasing
populations in areas with limited land for expansion mean that economical
solutions for site development on poor foundation soils are important. Such
sites usually have poor bearing capacity; therefore ground stability problems
become a major challenge. Even if stability can be assured by proper design,
long-term settlements often become an important consideration that can be
effectively addressed with the use of geofoams.
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uses
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