Abstract
Conventional materials are used extensively for construction of road pavements which can one day lead to its’ depletion. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads which are lightweight cellular plastic polymeric material is an excellent alternative material along with industrial wastes like fly ash and bottom ash that can be for the construction of flexible road pavements. This study describes the engineering behavior of EPS beads as a geo-material of different combinations with fly ash (FA), bottom ash (BA) and expansive soils (ES). Laboratory tests including compaction test were performed on samples of various proportions of EPS beads of EPS beads + Fly ash (EFA), EPS beads + Bottom ash (EBA), and EPS beads + Expansive soil (EES) to calculate the optimum value of addition of EPS beads to EFA, EBA and EES samples that would provide the highest strength to it. California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value and other strength parameters were calculated for optimal mixes of EFA, EBA and EES samples. Optimum size of EPS beads size was considered as 1 mm. Results of laboratory study suggest that addition of 0.5% EPS beads by weight to fly ash, bottom ash and expansive soil enhances its shear and bearing characteristics. Numerical simulations were carried out on PLAXIS 2D for optimal mixes of EFA, EBA and EES pavement blocks to check its behavior and suitability as a replacement of granular sub-base (GSB) layer materials in flexible pavement. Pavement design charts were also prepared to present a comparison between conventional and EPS composite pavements. The results of numerical analysis suggest that EFA and EBA can replace maximum 21.33% and an average of 12.25% of total thickness of conventional GSB layer. Cost analysis of overall road pavement showed that EFA, EBA and EES can reduce maximum overall costs up to 12.87%, 12.09% and 10.56% respectively when replaced with conventional GSB layer materials of the road pavement.
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