40 years of experience

with the use of EPS

Geofoam blocks in road
construction
Roald Aabøe, Norwegian Public Road
Administration
Tor Erik Frydenlund, Geo Con (former
NPRA)
Soil mechanic section at NPRA
Norway - upside down
Key tasks for the NPRA Geotechnical
section:
Provide expert assistance and technical
support
3rd part control on complex geotechnical
projects
Development / implement standards and
guidelines.
Expertise in the NPRA's handling of serious
incidents.
National and international commitments.
Research and development
Establish and develop region offices.
Networks for geotechnics and avalanches.
R&D program evaluating the effect of
climate change on the road network
and remedial actions

2007- 2011, cca 2,75 €

Main objective: Improve planning, design,

construction and maintenance of the road network in
order to adapt to climate changes.
 Landslides and avalanches

..\EPS\EDO\J
ubileum

Værdal landslide in 1893 2006\Rissa.m

pg

55 mill. m of quick clay

debris.
112 persons were killed
 Kattmarka
Quick clay slide 2009
Quick clay slides on norwegian roads
Ground impovements and stability
and settlements problems on
Norwegian roads?

Two main options for a road construction

1: Lime cement columns
2: EPS or other lightweight materials
Light weight materials
 EPS - Major advantages

Low unit density

Easy handling on site
Easy shape adustment
Large freight volume
Availiability / production
capacity
Short construction time
 EPS IN NORWAY
1972 - 2011

 More than 500 road projects

 500 000 – 1 000 000 m 3

Main test - completed projects

perform as expected
 E18 and E6 – main roads and
accesses in southern Norway/ Sweden
Oslo area
E18
150.000 m3 EPS
Oslo -
30 EPS constructions sweden
50.000
m3 EPS
15 EPS
Oslo – E -18 southern direction constru
ctions
200.000 m3 EPS E6 Oslo - border
30 EPS constructions 100.000 m3 EPS
25 EPS constructions

Gothenborg – norwegian border

400.000 m3 EPS
70 EPS constructions
Largest volum: 40000 m3
 EPS monitoring

Long term performance

•Material behaviour
• Compressive strength
• Water absorption
• Decay
•Deformation
• Deformation in EPS
• Creep effects
Excavation of the first EPS
embankment at Flom bridge
 EPS monitoring

Material data after 24 years:

Average density: 46,8 kg/m3
Average dry density: 22,1 kg/m3
Average compressive strength: 129 kN/m 2
Testing frequencies of EPS embankments
Test samples retrieved
Construction
Embankment location Year No. of years after
construction
National road 159 Flom 1972 /
0 7 12 24
bridges 73
National road 154
1975 4 9 21 36*
Solbotmoan
County road 91 Lenken 1978 6

County road 26 Langhus 1977 7 34*

National road 610 Sande 1982 9

Løkkeberg bridge 1989 17

Loenga bridge 1984 21
 Compressive strength after 24 years
Solbotmoan Flom Langhus
Lenken Sande Normal qual.
150
Compressive strength

140
(9) (24) (12) Loenga bridge
130
22 years
(21)
120
kN/m2

(7) (7) Løkkeberg bridge

110 (0)
(6) (9) (4) 17 years
100
(0)
90 Design line
80
18 20 22 24 26
( ) Year after
Vegdirektoratet
Density dry kg/m3 construction
Vegteknisk avd.
 WATER ABSORBTION -
EPS in a drained position
Water content(volum % )
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
Water content 0
< 1.0 % by volume 10

Depth below top EPS (cm)

Solbotmoan
after more than 20 Langhus
20 years in the 30 Lenken
ground 40
50
Hardly any change 60

with time 70
80 GW level
90
100
Standards and Guidelines
US National Deployment Goal
By October 2010, EPS geofoam will be a
routinely used lightweight fill alternative for
State DOTs on embankment projects where the
construction schedule is of concern.
By October 2011, all States will have evaluated
EPS geofoam as a lightweight fill alternative.
The EPS geofoam world of 2011
 PhD and master degrees

First PhD
Milan Duskov
Material
properties …
PhD’s on the use of EPS and material
properties from
Australia, America, Europe, Africa, Asia
PhD’s ~ 5 – 10
Master degrees ~ 10 - 100
International conferences on EPS

In addition there has

been arranged EPS
conferences in the
Netherlands, Malaysia,
Chile, France etc
 Awards and EPS centers

EPS – One out of 5 most

innovative solutions for road
construction
(TRB: – Washington 2000)
www.internationalepsresearchers.
com
Who is able to come up with updated
webinformation on EPS in road
constructions (and other applications) ?
Is it neccesarry ?
Perhaps …..perhaps not

Do we need the 5th international conference

on EPS in 10 years time ?
 Light weight materials (EUR/m3)
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Foamglass LWA EPS

Design density: 3,5-4 kN/m3 5,5 kN /m3 0,5 kN/m3

Annual consumption (m3)
road construction
50 000
45 000
40 000
35 000
30 000
25 000
20 000
15 000
10 000
5 000
0
Foamglass EPS LWA
 Reuse and bridge foundation on EPS
Hjelmungen bridge
1996, 2006

Grimsøyvegen
bridge 2006

Reuse at E 6- several spots - 2006

Løkkeberg bridge 1989
 E 6 Løkkeberg bridge.
E 6 Løkkeberg bridge.
Abutments for
Abutments temporary
for temporary bridge
bridge supported on EPS fill
supported on EPS fill
 Temporary flyover bridge
to improve traffic safety
Full scale test
(5 years in service)
 A one lane ACROW steel
bridge
 Soft clay deposits to 16 m
 EPS necessary due to low
bearing capacity and subsoil settlements
 Alternative to end bearing piles for the
abutment by placing the bridge directly on
an abutment on top the EPS embankment.
Construction of Løkkeberg
bridge 1989
The real life (behaviour) of an
EPS embankment

Settlements in
Totalsetninger

26
28
(cm)

profile cm

30
32
 Løkkeberg bridge
foundations on EPS

36,8 m

Shotcrete 5,5 m
EPS EPS
E6

Sand/gravel
Clay (Quick)
Løkkeberg bridge – stress
distribution
 Løkkeberg intersection
Settlements / deformation.
 FULL SCALE MODELL TEST

A
4m
A

Profile A-A 10,5 t

2m

Earth pressure cells

Practical aspects of creep in EPS
(100 kPa) in constructions
No practical effects for stresses in the
range up to 30 kPa for an EPS
constructions
Small practical effects for stresses in the
range 30 – 50 kPa for a common EPS
constructions.
Could possibly have some effects with
extremely small deformation tolerances.
Utilization of EPS blocks where stresses
are in the range 50 kPa and up to plastic
deformations occurs (around 60 - 70 kPa ).
Excavating ”the Løkkeberg bridge
foundation”
 Widening Hjemungen bridge
with 2 more lanes

EPS -235 EPS

EPS -100
EPS -180

Vegdirektoratet
Vegteknisk avd.
Grimøyvegen bridge
Deformations at Grimsøyvegen bridge
Permanent multi-span bridges resting
on EPS geofoam blocks
• Are we ready for permanent single or multi-span bridges
resting on EPS geofoam blocks?
• We have one permanent multi-span bridge spanning 30 m
(Hjelmungen Bridge, Norway)
• Experience from monitoring temporary solutions -
Løkkeberg Bridge (17 years)
• Grimsøyvegen Bridge (3 months)
• Similar bridge projects in other countries?
Challenge for the international EPS experts !
Intercontinental EPS Research Group
Form an international group of experienced EPS
researchers together with bridge engineers. (Japan,
the Netherlands, USA and Norway).
Funding for an initial project (< 100000 $) on
technology exchange regarding ”Bridges founded on
EPS”
NPRA may finance 25 % (suggestion)
Video and Skype-meetings and annual meetings
Master degrees - PHd
Main project - funding from
– International research funds
– Collaboration with other Public Road Agencies, contractors,
research institutes, producers of EPS
A New way to move forward with an international
expert group on a ”narrow theme” with large
economic potentials?
 Conclusion
From our experiences it may be fair to conclude that
no deficiency effects are to be expected from EPS
embankments placed in the ground for a normal life
cycle of 100 years.
This should hold true provided possible buoyancy
forces resulting from fluctuating water levels are
properly accounted for, the blocks are properly
protected from accidental spills of dissolving agents
and the applied stress level from dead loads is kept
below 30-50 % of the material strength.
The observed performance of the many projects
designed and constructed on these principles
around the world so far supports this conclusion.
Expected future development
(EPS conference Oslo,1985)
Thank’s for Your attention !
Foundation on EPS – much more than
a road construction …..
 Flom bridge - Uplift due to flooding

Failures

Vegdirektoratet
Vegteknisk avd.
 Flom bridge 1987
Flom bridge - Uplift due to flooding

Flood level
> 85 cm above
predicted flood
level at design
stage in 1972

Reuse of EPS blocks in connection

with embankment failure in
downtown Oslo
 E 6 Vestby - Damage due to
fire

Flammable EPS quality Small damages to abutment

Flame retardent EPS or not

2002 - Question raised in the Norwegian

parliament : Will NPRA stop the use of bromide
flame retardents (in EPS) ? The answer was
that we will phase out flame retardents
2004 – New guidelines revision : No flame
retardents allowed
2006 – Reuse of EPS blocks (with flame
retardents) or not.
Question in 2004: When will we have the next
EPS fire? Answer – none so far
Glemte vi gamle Arkimedes… NEI !
Flom bruer – Verdens første EPS konstruksjon

1972 – Første EPS konstruksjon i verden bygges i

Lørenskog av Statens Vegvesen
Geir Refsdal og Nils Rygg fra SVV med erfaring fra
isolerte veger er ideskapere til løsningen.
Egil Lundebrekke’s minnepris til Geir: ”Refsdal har
gjort banebrytende arbeid innen utviklingen av
skumplast (EPS) i lette fyllinger på bløt grunn. Han er
anerkjent som selve oppfinneren av denne metoden,
som i dag er i utbredt bruk for å løse de vanskeligste
geotekniske problemer over hele verden”
Patenter
2nd International Conference
Tokyo, Japan October 1996
300 participants from 15 countries
33 papers published and 23 papers
presented
 Durability of EPS geofoam blocks
 EPS is a stable compound chemically
 Samples from existing fills show no signs of
decay or strength reduction.
 Some chemicals will dissolve EPS with direct
contact
- Possible source: Overturned tanker with
petrol.
- Protection: Concrete slab or polyethylene
sheet
 EPS can take an unlimited number of load
cycles as long as the repetitive loads are kept
below 80 % of the compressive strength at
5 % strain)
 Biological deterioration

 EPS is resistant to biological

destruction from bacteria or
enzymes.
 EPS has no nutritional value for
animals
 Smaller animals could make holes in
the blocks to satisfy their personal
housing needs.
 Roots could grow into EPS
Nearly 40 years of experience with Expanded Polystyrene
(EPS) as a lightweight fill material in Norway has brought
about both a wider use on a global scale and the
introduction of a number of different design applications. In
addition to reduced vertical loads, advantages from using
EPS may also include reduced horizontal loads, simplified
designs, foundations placed directly on EPS blocks and
increased speed and ease of performing construction
activities. This document describes practical experiences in
Norway with long term performance and durability of EPS
as a fill material based on observations and recorded data
from monitoring programmes.