The Effect of expanded polystyrene and cement on properties of sand soils for foundation use

Abstract

The increase in Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) waste in Uganda is prone to cause serious environmental pollution owing to the related poor disposal methods. The common practices include open disposal and/or burning which are both environmentally degrading. Other approaches of recycling EPS are unpopular and quite expensive. This research aimed to investigate the effect of EPS and cement on sand soil for a foundation material. The soil was a poorly graded sand. Preliminary tests were carried out to determine the grading, Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) and Maximum Dry Density (MDD) of the sand. Initial cement consumption test was done to determine a constant weight of cement required for just the binding effect on the materials. The unconfined compressive strength, shear box, permeability and consolidation tests were performed on the treated soil specimens at various percentages of EPS. The sand-EPS-cement composite showed an increase in unconfined compressive strength and shear strength with the maximum at 0.5% EPS. The permeability of the composite decreased while there was a minimal increase in settlement with increasing EPS content.