CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW DENSITY EMBANKMENTS - LIMITATIONS OF THE USE OF POLYSTYRENE

PRINCIPE DES REMBLAIS LEGERS - CONTRAINTES D'EMPLOI DU POLYSTYRENE

Embankments built with lightweight materials have been used for the last twenty years to cross zones of compressible soil. This technique became popular again in the beginning of the 1970s with the use of expanded polystyrene. The first part of the article reviews the problems generally associated with the construction of lightweight embankments. Attention is drawn in particular to the characteristics of the various materials commonly used for the construction of this type of structure. Part 2 of the article deals specifically with expanded polystyrene embankments. Details are given of the intrinsic properties of the material, and guidelines are offered for the design and construction of such structures. This article was first published in French in the Bulletin de Liaison des Laboratoires des Ponts et Chaussees, 1985-03/04, No 136, pp 9-13. (TRRL)

• Corporate Authors:

  Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

  Wokingham, Berkshire  United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • Magnan, J P
  • SOYEZ, B
• Publication Date: 1986

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 8 p.
• Serial:
  • TRRL TRANSLATION
  • Issue Number: 3256
  • Publisher: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compressible soils; Construction; Design; Embankments; Guidelines; Lightweight materials; Low density; Polystyrene
• Subject Areas: Construction; Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00466173
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1988 12:00AM