Dr.

S a m - D e o k Cho is Research Fellow in the Korea I n s t i t u t e of

Construction Technology(KICT), a government-supported

research institute in Korea. He h a s worked for 10 y e a r s as the

geotechnical engineering researcher in KICT. He received P h . D .

from Yonsei University, Korea in 1990. In 1 9 9 4 , he co-worked

for a research project on geogrid reinforced earth wall in Public

Works Research I n s t i t u t e , the Ministry of Construction, J a p a n .

He has s e rv e d as Secretary of the Korean Chapter of

IGS(International Geosynt.hetics Society) since 1993. He is

p r e s e n t l y C h a i r m a n of the G e o s y n t h e t i c s T e c h n i c a l C o m m i t.t e e

of the Korean Geot.echnical Society, a n d is one of the founding

m e m b e r s of E P S Research Group in Korea.

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 EPS TOKYO '96 Japan, 29·30 October 1996

Behavior of Vertical Wall System

Using EPS Blocks

Sam-Deok Cho*, Jin-Man Kim**, Je-Yoon Woo·, Jeong-Dai Choi***

* Research Fellow of the Korea Institute of Construction Technology

** Senior Researcher of the Korea Institute of Construction Technology

* * * Assistant Manager of Cheil Industries Inc.

ABSTRACT : Since the first use of the EPS blocks for the bridge abutment backfill on the soft

clay ground in 1993, EPS Construction method has been widely used in Korea. The total volume of EPS
3
consumed in Korea reached approximately 190,000m up to May, 1996. However, the major consumption

of EPS blocks was for the backfilling of bridge abutment and for embankment filling on soft ground. To

diversify the application of EPS construction method in Korea, this study performed a series of the full

scale tests for two types of vertical wall using EPS blocks.. Technical aspects of the EPS construction

method for vertical wall were evaluated based on the field performance monitoring data.

INTRODUCTION

EPS(Expanded Polystyrene) is composed of foaming resins. The foaming resin is made through the

process, in which the foaming agent is added to polystyrene resin and soften by heating. EPS blocks

were first used as the construction material in 1972 by NRRL as a means to prevent the settlement of

the embankments on soft ground (Aaboe, 1987). EPS Block has many advantages as a construction

material: light weight, easy construction, high durability, low water absorption, and self-standing

properties, etc.. Therefore it has wide range of application for civil works including soft ground

treatment, retaining wall and bridge abutment backfill, road expansion, and protection of underground

structures, etc ..

In Korea, EPS was first manufactured in early 1970s and has been used for packing and insulation

materials. In 1993, EPS construction method was first introduced in Korea for bridge abutment backfill
3
on soft ground in Seohaean Highway construction project. EPS blocks of 1400 m in volume were used

for the project. Since then the total volume of EPS blocks consumed for construction works were
3
approximately 190,000m up to May 1996, with the predominant application to bridge abutment backfilling

and embankment fills on soft ground (Cho, 1995). Forecasting the increase use of EPS construction

method for the other areas of the application in Korea, the relevant practical research works for

technical confirmation, such as in terms of the reliability of design methodology and construction

efficiency, are required especially through the full scale tests giving realistic evaluation on the behavior

of the structures.

Summarized in this paper are the field performance of the EPS blocks backfilled U-shaped

self-standing retaining wall and vertical wall constructed for the expansion of the existing road. The

advantage aspects of the EPS block backfilled walls, such as decrease of backfill settlement and wall

displacement, enhanced load distribution and decrease of wall pressure are evaluated with field

instrumentation.

EPS CONSTRUCTION IN KOREA

Since the EPS construction method was first developed in Norway 1972, it has been widely applied in

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many countries, especially in North Europe, North America, and Japan. The usage of EPS blocks has

been dramatically increased with diverse application including soft ground treatment, structural backfill,

foundation supports for underground pipelines, enlargement of platform for railway station, protection

fence against falling rock, and fills for park area near seashore, et:c ..

In Korea, EPS construction method was first introduced in Seohaean Highway construction project in
3.
1993 (Chang, 1994) with the consumption of EPS blocks 1400m Since then, the volume of the EPS
3
blocks used in construction project has been gradually increasing, recording 12,100m in 1994, and
3 3.
lll,800m in 1995, with the total volume of EPS block consumption up to May 1996, is 100,500m (see

Table l(a))

The consumption of EPS blocks with the relation of application type until May, 1996 is shown in

Table l(b)). 55.7% of total volume of EPS blocks that has been used is for bridge abutment, 23.4% for

filling on soft ground, 8.5% for retaining wall backfill, and 9.8% for structure filling. Table l(c) shows

more than 80% of total consumption of EPS blocks was used for road structure, and 12.3% for buildings,

and 6.4% for other type of structures. In Korea, therefore, the EPS construction method will be more

actively used in the future through the application for enlargement of road in the slope area, protection

and enlargement of structures, foundation of structures, etc ..

Table 1. Use of EPS Blocks in Korea

(a) Use by year

Year No. of project Volume of EPS (rn")

1993 1 1,400

1994 9 12,100

1995 31 1 1 1 , 8 00

1996.5 17 65,200

Total 58 190,500

(b) Use by application (1993-1996.5)

Application No. of project Volume of EPS (m'') Volume rate (%)

Embankment 13 44,600 23.4

Backfill of abutment 22 106,100 55.7

Backfill of retaining wall 8 16,200 8.5

Filling of structures 6 18,700 9.8

etc. 9 4,900 2.6

Total 58 100.500 100.0

(c) Use by structure (1993-1996.5)

Usage No. of project Volume of EPS (m'') Volume rate (%)

Road 34 154,800 81.3

Building 15 23,500 12.3

Seaside structures 1 5,500 2.9

etc. 8 6,700 3.5

Total 58 100,500 100.0

CONSTRUCTION OF VERTICAL WALL USING EPS FOR ROAD

ENLARGEMENT AND ITS EVALUATION

Site Description and Construction

Construction of vertical wall using EPS for road enlargement was performed in Yeocheon factory of

Samsung Cheil Industries Inc. in Cheonlanam-Do. The location of construction site is shown in Fig. 1.

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The rail way is located close to construction site, and a soil slope of the existing road has a dimensions

as follow; length is 145m, slope is 1:1.7, and height is 8- lOm. After EPS construction method

accomplish the road enlargement, customer will have road extension of 20m. The EPS volume of
3
10,000m was used in this construction site. As shown in Table 2, the foundation soils are composed of

sedimentary rock, weathered rock layer, weathered soil layer, alluvium layer (sandy clay or clayey sand)

and reclaimed layer.

Table 2. Composition of Foundation Soil

Soil layer Thickness (m) N value Material

Reclaimed layer 1.3-4.0 8-39 clay, silt, sand, gravel

Alluvium layer 1.5-2.5 4-8 clayey, send, sandy, clay

Weathered soil layer 4.0-9.4 19-50 clay, sand

Weathered rock layer 3.8-12.9 more than 50

Concrete foundation of 0.5m thickness x 2.0m width was prepared in order to build the vertical wall.

The H-section steel on the concrete foundation has a dimension of 200 x 200 x 12 x lOmm, and MCB panel

has a dimension of 2.0m x 0.5m. The EPS block has a dimension of l.8m x 0.9m x 0.6m, and the density is
3.
20kg/m Concrete slab of 12cm-15cm thickness is installed above 4 - 5 EPS blocks.

Measurement

The one inclinometer, four settlement gauges, fifteen earth pressure cells, four strain gauges, and one

EL beam sensor were used to measure horizontal earth pressure, vertical pressure, ground settlement and

evaluate effects of proposed EPS construction method. Fig. 2 shows the cross section view of EPS

construction site and the location of instruments.

23 m

v--.....� Nam Hae Sea

I ''\:\

EX02

EX01

··-lPJ I Hori:r.ont.i Pf'HUre �I • Y� pnuure ceU O Settlement gauge

• lndlnc>fflfflf • EL Bum Sens«

Fig. Location of Construction Site Fig. 2 Cross Section View and Location

(Vertical Wall) of Instruments (Vertical Wall)

Analysis of Measurement and Evaluations

(I) Reduction of horizontal earth pressure

Fig. 3 shows the horizontal earth pressure variations in the EPS filling layer during construction. The

horizontal pressure was increased suddenly due to the impact loading during construction of concrete

slab and pavement, and the increased pressure decrease gradually with time after the construction of

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 pavement as shown in Fig. 3. The maximum horizontal earth pressures for each step of construction

with the variation of wall height are shown in Fig. 4. The horizontal earth pressures stabilized after
2
construction of pavement is lower than 0.022kg/cm regardless of wall height as shown in Fig. 4. The

current design method assures that 10% of overburden pressures acts as horizontal pressure. Therefore,

current design method (EDO, 1993) is considered as conservative side from above facts.

0.3 10

"'e ---TP01

-a, - - - TP03
8
� 0.2
• • • • • ·TP04
cu I
:5
.,, .E 6
.,, Cl)

cu 0.1 ·a;

s: J:
4
iij

c �
0 0
2
.!::!

0
J:

0
-0.1

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2

0 200 400 600 800 1000
2)
Time (hr) Lateral Earth Pressure (kg/cm

� Placing & curing of medium slab

--Construction of upper EPS layer

EPS Placing & Pavement

curing of construction
_._. Placing & curing of upper slab
. curing of construction

m•<lilMTI slab upper slab

- Construction of pavment

-&-After pavement construction (stable value)

Fig. 3 Horizontal Earth Pressure Variation Fig. 4 Horizontal Earth Pressure Variation

during Construction (Vertical Wall) with Wall Height (Vertical Wall)

(2) Distribution of vertical load

After the 58 ton trailer truck (rear wheel load : 7.2 ton) and 36 ton dump truck (rear wheel load :

5.3t) were placed on the pavement layer, vertical stresses occurred in the EPS filling layer were

observed as shown in Fig. 5. Table 3 shows increased stresses of pressure cells buried in the EPS

filling layer due to the loading of vehicles. The stress increment indicated by pressure cells buried on

the upper concrete slab drops rapidly as the distance between load cells and vehicle-wheel loading point

increases. However, the maximum value of stress increment (right below wheel loading, JP09) is lower

than stress increment that is calculated assuming that wheel load distributes 45° angle (J:l). Therefore,

load distribution angle in pavement layer is considered larger than 45° . The stress increment in the

EPS filling layer including concrete slab layer is a little bit larger than calculated value. However, from

the overall stress increment distribution, the load distribution angle in the EPS filling layer is considered

approximately 60° . The 45° degree which is being used for EPS design (EDO, 1993) is considered as

conservative side.

(3) Settlement of foundation soil and EPS filling layer

Fig. 6 shows the relationship between settlement and time from the beginning of pavement

construction, depending on the location of settlement gauges. The settlements of foundation soil and EPS

filling layer do not show considerable change during pavement construction. The settlements during

pavement construction were 7mm in foundation soil, and 26mm in EPS layer. The settlement of EPS

layer is considered as elastic settlement and tightness between EPS blocks due to pavement loading.

The settlement of EPS layer during pavement construction is about 0.5% of EPS fill height.

(4) Slope stability

Fig. 7 shows measurement results of inclinometer. There is no movement of sliding because horizontal

displacement does not change throughout the before and after pavement construction, and the maximum

horizontal displacement is 5mm. Also, the maximum horizontal displacement which was measured by EL

beam sensor located on the upper part of H-section steel is approximately O . l mm .

- 173 -
 Table 3 Results of Vehicle Loading Test

Vertical stress increment (kg/cm'')

Trailer truck (Rear wheel load : 7.2 t) Dump truck (Rear wheel load : 5.3 t)

�
Pressure cells Measured value Calculated value Measured value Calculated value

JPll 0 . 00 5 0.019

JPlO O.CXiO 0.157 0.044 0.117

JP09 0.134 (load distribution 0.118 (lo a d distribution

JP08 0.030 angle : 45· ) 0.020 angle : 45° )

JP07 0.019 0.012

JP06 0.002 0.016 0.002 0.012

JP05 0.011 (load distribution 0.012 (load distribution

JP04 0.025 angle : 60° ) 0.015 angle : 60° )

JP03 0.045 (The 4 wheels 0.024 (The 4 wheels

JP02 0.019 loading is considered) 0.015 loading is considered)

JPOl 0.015 0.012

Load 5.3t , 7.2t )

Vertical Stress

2
Increase ( k g / c 11 )

Pavement 0.9 m

0.15 m

0.01 ;--
Upper EPS Layer
2.88 m

0.02 � - - - - - - - . . . --�-
J P0 3 : - - - - - - - - · - - ' - 7 - '"": � - - - -.)
...,_
0.12 m

JP02 : JP04 JP05 JP06

Middle EPS Layer

3.36 m
Wheel Load 7 . 2t

• Wheel Load 5.3t

J PO I

0.12 m

Fig. 5 Evaluation of Load Distribution in the EPS Filling Layer

Horizontal Displacement ( m m )

-6- E X 0 5 - 1 m
-10 -5 0 5 10
-&-EX04-4m
50
�EX03-6m 0

�EX02-11m

c:
111 30
E 4 , /
Ill

�
�
Cl)
20 I
.s::: 6
• I
c. , ,

10 Ill

c
8
During pa_vement :\

0 construction
' '

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 10 : I

- - - - After pavement

construction
Time (hr)

12
I< >I
Pavement construction

Fig. 6 Settlement of Foundation Soil Fig. 7 Results of Inclinometer Measurements

and EPS Layer (Vertical Wall) (Vertical Wall)

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CONSTRUCTION OF U-SHAPE SELF-STANDING WALL USING EPS AND

ITS EVALUATION

Site Description and Construction

U-shape self-standing wall using EPS was constructed for Ramp A-2 of Namhaean Highway which

is located in Daejeo-Dong, Kangseogu, Pusan. EPS blocks were employed to fill in U-shape

self-standing wall on the soft ground. The site location is shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Figure 8, the

construction site is located in alluvium zone in the mouth of Nackdong River. The site had been

evaluated as soft ground that needs special soil improvement technique to prevent large settlement and

lateral displacement of foundation soil because N values of foundation soil are lower than 10 and the

average thickness of soft soil layers is about 38m. EPS construction method is selected for this soft

ground site because it can secure stability during and after construction, and save construction time.

The construction procedures are follows ; (1) Construct U-shape of concrete vertical wall (2) Fill the

EPS blocks (D-20) of 4 or 5 (3) Construct concrete slab of 10-15cm thickness on the EPS blocks.

,. I----tt-n;-,:---�:
: �S
P
E�

f'A_'>. I I\ /
\ \ :/'

. .

: 6ex•

9 :
: <? EX-6

00 EX"'

2Brn Jrn

I Hori.tontal p,Haut• g.auge OS•ttl•m.nt gauge

Q lnclirKWTMIM' Q Pore w.tM P,HIUfe gauge

Fig. 8 Location of Construction Site for Fig. 9 Cross Section View and Location

U-shape Self-Standing Wall Instruments CU-shape Wall)

Measurement

The earth pressure cells, settlement gauges, piezometers, and inclinometers are installed to measure

settlement, horizontal displacement, horizontal earth pressure as shown in Fig. 9. The effects of EPS

construction method are evaluated through the measurement results which was performed using above

measurement equipment for long period.

Analysis of Measurement and Evaluations

(1) Reduction of horizontal earth pressure

The earth pressure cells are installed in the depths of lm, 2.lm , 4. 7 m from the p avement. The

measurement results are shown in Fig. 10. H orizontal earth pressures in EPS layer are large at the

beginning of measure by the impacts during construction. A s time passes, the horizontal ea rth pressures

decrease because residual stress caused by heavy construction eq uipment is rearranged. The phenomenon

of residual stress rearrangement has bee n observed in other kind of construction s i te s (K ato, 1994 ).

The horizontal earth pressures caused by overburden pressures in the EPS layer are much lower than

that of R ankine active earth pressures of sandy soils as shown in F g i . 1 1 . At the tim e of 120 d ays after

completion of highway construction, horizontal earth pressures at the depth of .

l O m and 2.lm were
2, 2
O.Okg/ cm and 0.029 kg/cm' at 4 .7 m depth. The value of 0.029 kg/cm is about 10% of overburden

p ressures. The reason of low horizontal earth pressure are due to self-standing property of EPS bloc k

that has very low poisson's ratio(O .l -0. 1 5) when compared to that of soils.

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 2)
Lateral Earth Pressure (kg/cm 0.4

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 e 0.35

..!:! j -&- T P - 1 ( 1 . 0 m )
Cl
-" 0.3
•
Soll, Ka
i -a- T P - 2 ( 2 . 1 m )
'!
:I
0.25 [ -6- T P - 3 ( 4 . 7 m ) ,

"'
"'
9 50 days after
e 0.2
opening of a.
highway (EPS) .c
0.15
t:!
· · 0 · · 77 days after
"'
w
0.1
opening of

highway (EPS) �
0.05
- <>- · 120 days after �
.J
opening of
0
highway (EPS)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Time After Opening of Highway (days)

Fig. 10 Relationship between Horizontal Earth Fig. 11 Horizontal Earth Pressure Variation

Pressure and Time (U-shape Wall) with Wall Height (U-shape Wall)

(2) Settlement of foundation soil

Fig. 12 shows the relationship between settlement and time after opening of highway in the foundation

soils under the EPS layer of 5m high and soil embankment of 2m high. The consolidation settlement is

not observed even though a little bit of immediate settlement caused by vehicles. When 2 months passed

after opening of highway, settlement of foundation soil under the EPS construction site was lower than

that of common soil embankment that was constructed nearby. Therefore, it can be concluded that EPS

construction method on soft ground is more effective to prevent settlement than other kind of soil fill

method.

Fig. 13 shows the pore water pressure variation in foundation soil with time after opening of highway.

The porewater pressures increase at the time of right after opening of highway, but gradually decreases

with time and converge. This result is correspond to the settlement of foundation soil in Fig. 12. The

decrease of pore water pressure is due to the effect of residual stress caused by heavy construction

equipment during pavement construction rather than consolidation settlement.

8 1.6

-e-EX·2(soll,2D.Bm)
NE
7 1.4
u
-.- e x - 1 ( s o i l , 2 B . 1 m )
- 6 t 1 . 2
-S-EX-6(EPS,13.6m)
E CII

..!:!. 5
s
'E
"' 0.8
E 4 "'
CII

CII ct
... 0.6
� 3
�

"' 2 "'
s 0.4

2
� �
0
0.2
a.
0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 50 100 150

Time After Opening of Highway (days) Time After Opening of Highway (days)

Fig. 12 Settlement of Foundation Soil Fig. 13 Pore Water Pressure

with Time (U-shape Wall) with Time (U-shape Wall)

(3) Lateral displacement

The measurement results of inclinometer are shown in Fig. 14. The lateral displacement in the front

direction of wall increases from ground surface to the depth of 3.5m, and decreases as depth increase

- 176 .,..-
more than 3.5m. The maximum lateral displacement was 10.57mm right after opening of highway, and

decrease with time. The lateral displacement with time at the depth of 3.5m where maximum lateral

displacement occurred was 10.57mm after 45 days passed since opening of highway. As time passed,

lateral displacement gradually decreases showing 9.25mm at time of 112days. From these measurements,

the foundation soil is considered stable.

Horizontal Displacement (mm)

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

_ 10

.§.

; 15
Q.
CD ---7days

o 20
· · · · · · 36 days

- - - · 56 days

25 - · · - 77 days

-=----
-=-- - 11_2 d�
30

Fig. 14 Inclinometer Measurements with Depth CU-shape Wall, After opening of highway)

CONCLUSIONS

Since the first use of the EPS blocks for the bridge abutment backfill on the soft clay gound in

1993 , EPS construction method has been widely used in Korea. The consumption of EPS blocks was
3
about 100,000m at time of 1995 showing dramatic increase. The results of the full scale tests for two

types of vertical wall using EPS blocks are summarized as follows :

1) The horizontal earth pressures in the EPS filling layer are less than 10% of overburden pressure

regardless of wall height.

2) The load distribution angle is about 60° in the EPS fill layer including concrete slabs. Therefore,

load distribution angle, 45° which is being used for EPS construction design is conservative side.

3) The immediate settlement caused by pavement construction and vehicle loading is due to elastic

settlement of EPS blocks and tightness between EPS blocks. The immediate settlement is roughly

0.5% of EPS fill height.

4) There was no sign of sliding and overturning in two vertical wall using EPS blocks. Therefore, the

effect of EPS construction method was confirmed.

REFERENCES

Aaboe, R. (1987), "13 Years of Experience with EPS as a Lightweight Fill Material in Road

Embankments", Plastic Form in Road Embankments, Meddelese nr 61, NRRL, 21-27.

Chang, Y.C, et al. (1994), "A Study on EPS Construction Method", Report No. 94-15-4, Highway

Research Laboratory, KHC, 33-84. (In Korean)

Cho, S.D. ( 1 995 ) , "Current Practice and Technical Review of EPS Construction Method", Proc. of

International Seminar on the Application of EPS for Embankment Construction, Seoul, 67 - 1 0 1 . (In

Korean)

EDO (1993), "EPS Construction Method", 110-118. (In Japanese)

Kato, T, et al. (1994), "A Case Study on Abutment Backfill Using EPS for Reduction of Earth

Pressure", The Foundation Engineering and Equipment, Vol. 22, No. 10, 37-43. (In Japanese)

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