Summary of this article
■ Road construction Methods are changing with each passing day
■ One of them is the EPS method (Polystyrene Styrofoam Civil Engineering Method).
■ Explain the characteristics and advantages of the EPS method
The biggest feature is that it is lightweight
Cars and tires are also constantly developing, but road construction methods are also developing invisibly.
One of them is the EPS method.
The EPS method is a method of stacking large pieces of styrofoam as roadbed materials, also known as the "styrofoam civil engineering method".
The EPS method has a surprisingly long history. It was developed in Norway in 1972 and introduced to Japan in 1985.
Its biggest feature is its light weight.
The density of polystyrene foam is only about 1/100 of soil, sand and concrete, making it an ideal choice for soft soil foundation embankments. It can significantly reduce the subgrade load and solve problems such as soft soil foundation settlement and insufficient bearing capacity.
In addition, due to its light weight, it does not require large construction machinery and can even be constructed manually.
Since it is polystyrene foam, it has high water repellency and water resistance and is almost unaffected by water.
It will not corrode or mold when buried in the soil, and has excellent scientific stability and weather resistance.
Since the Styrofoam blocks themselves are self-supporting, it is also an important point that the structure in which they are stacked can be used as a self-supporting wall.
In addition, it also has buffering properties and compression resistance (the allowable compression amount of EPS block is 20~350 kN/m2), so it has sufficient strength as a roadbed material.
In addition, the selling point of the EPS method is that it can shorten delivery time due to its light weight and good processability, which can be processed on site.
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In a familiar place, when the shoulder of Tomei Expressway collapsed due to the earthquake at the epicenter of Suruga Bay in August 2009, repairs were carried out because the ground at the site was soft and there were boulders in the embankment. . The construction adopts EPS method and the embankment is completed overnight. It contributes significantly to short-term recovery.
In addition, the EPS method is applicable to river embankment widening projects, bridge abutment backfilling, soft soil foundation temporary roads, structure backfilling, etc.
