EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE LIGHTWEIGHT FILL AND …

1 EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE LIGHTWEIGHT fill AND compressible INCLUSIONPRODUCT DESCRIPTIONGEOFOAM from Beaver Plastics is manufactured frominert closed cell EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE (EPS). geofoam isgenerally defined as a foam material used as LIGHTWEIGHT fillin geotechnical applications to reduce settlement and/ orenhance soil stability. Using geofoam as a soilreplacement can permit the construction of large volumeearth structures like highway and railroad embankmentsover soils of low bearing capacity. geofoam can also beused as a compressible inclusion under concrete and earthstructures. Under concrete structures, it can absorbupward strain resulting from freezing or clay expansiveforces. In large earth structures, geofoam can protectunderlying culverts, ducts, pipelines and other buriedmaterials against unacceptable levels of stress, whilemaintaining a predictable amount of resistance against theoverlying structure, preventing movement or has excellent vibration damping and thermalinsulation properties.

2 It is resistant to freeze/thaw and haslow moisture absorption properties. It is not biodegradableand has no pest or mould nutrient FillGEOFOAM can be used as a LIGHTWEIGHT substitution forsoil fill in road or railway embankments, retaining wall andabutment backfill, slope stabilization and other areaswhere the subgrade is weak and cannot supportanticipated loads using standard fill materials. SinceGEOFOAM is 50 to loo times lighter than sons, its use candecrease overburden stress and excessive settlement, andprevent large earth structures such as bunt-up bridgeramps and highways built on side slopes from shifting,sliding or compressing underlying the rehabilitation of failed slopes and side hills,replacing some of the original soil with geofoam cansignificantly reduce vertical stresses and lateral forces onstructures and retaining walls, eliminating additionalsettlement. geofoam can be also used to build verticallyfaced self-supporting walls in conjunction with weightreduction and relief of lateral earth can be used to reduce the weight onunderground structures like pedestrian, road and railunderpasses.

3 And tunnel systems for subwaytransportation and utility has been used in many countries as pavementinsulation, to protect against frost heave as well assubgrade stress/ courtesy of geofoam Research Center, Syracuse University, of Structures from Expansive SubgradesSome clay-based soils and freeze-thaw activity can exert highlevels of upward strain against on-grade structures. GEOFOAMcan be used to form voids under grade beams and pile caps toprevent lifting or fracturing of the structure. Proper voidproduct selection should consider the amount of anticipatedsubgrade expansion and the sum of total structure weight plusanchorage capacity of pilings or other foundations in order toovercome the compressive strength of the void material. Beaversupplies geofoam at the lowest density for under gradebeams, with a compressive strength of approximately 4-psi( kPa) at 5% deformation.

4 However, geofoam exhibitscreep deformation at sustained stress levels well below itscompressive strength. such as when soils slowly freeze orexpansion occurs due to moisture changes. Consult BeaverPlastics for grade beam span and depth design , like all solid foam products, does not collapse, andtherefore exerts an ever-increasing level of force against concretestructures as soil expansion occurs. For grade beams notdesigned to absorb the stress transmitted by solid void materials,FROST CUSHIONTM will provide better protection. To protecttypical structural slabs against subgrade expansion,DYNA VOIDTM is a dynamic void product that mechanicallycollapses at lower stress ProtectionBuried pipe, culverts, ducts, retaining walls and other below-grade concrete structures can be protected from high levels ofearth pressure through the use of the controlled yieldingproperties of geofoam .

5 At-rest soil pressure can be reducedto the active state by installing a compressible inclusionbetween the structure and the earth fill . The controlled yieldingability of geofoam allows the retained soil to mobilize itsshear strength sufficiently to achieve the active state. Excessivesoil compaction induced stresses can also be reduced throughthe use of is an excellent thermal insulation. UsingGEOFOAM as insulation may reduce depth requirements forprotecting pipelines from AND COMPLIANCE'SGEOFOAM from Beaver Plastics can be manufactured to meet the range of performance criteria in ASTM StandardSpecification for Rigid Cellular POLYSTYRENE geofoam D-6817-02. The density of geofoam should be carefully consideredin an order to assure appropriateness for the use intended. Beaver Plastics is registered by the International StandardsOrganization under the ISO 900 1-2000 Quality Assurance AND THE ENVIRONMENTEPS contains no CFCs.

6 HCFCs. or other gases harmful to the atmosphere ozone level. It is non-fibrous. , and will not irritate sensitive skin on exposure. It is a superior replacement for cardboard void materials,as it is not a nutrient source for toxic AND DENSITIES AVAILABLEGEOFOAM is available in minimum densities of: , , , , kg/m3 ( , , , , AND It is produced in block form, with a standard size of 24" x 48" x 96". Sheet sizes are up to 24" in thickness, in anywidth up to 48", and lengths up to 96".'.'asti s-Quality CertificationBureau Inc150900'2000R,9; OM5TM .."r:ICT".."n T n"AA V n" ""..1/".. PI ..CTlrC ITnPP"-lTr:n 1'-1 rA'-lAnA12150 -160 Street, Edmonton,Alberta, Canada T5V I H5 Phone (780) 453-5961 w.,".,'H.~.,Fax (780) 453-3955 @~Toll Free: 1-888-453-5961 THIRDPARTYe-mail: CERTIFICATION ':::c:.:;..PROGRAM ..c-www. bea verplastlcs. cor)