Geofoam-Grade® EPS geofoam

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b-foam Geofoam-Grade^® (GG), is a specialized EPS foam blocks used as lightweight rigid fill in geotechnical applications. Soft soil (Such as peat soil) condition of significant depth poses a difficult problem for road builder. No preloading and pre compression would permanently solve the problem, and piling would mean much higher cost. Filler soil would add significant extra weight on top of the soft soil and thus soil settlement would almost surely to be expected. By replacing filler soil with b-foam^® GG blocks, which specific weight ranged between 1-2% of the soil weight, settlement is greatly reduced (The opposite problem, which is uplift in the region of shallow water table, can be mitigated by carefully designing overburden on top of b-foam^® GG blocks)

Raised Floor Peninggian lantai kantor NPCT 1 Tj Priok, Proyek Wika – Jakarta

Tribun Bandung Alliance Intercultural School (BAIS), Kota Baru Parahyangan – Bandung

Another challenging situation in infrastructure building is the necessity of building a massive retaining wall when constructing a road on a cliff. The retaining wall is necessary to withstand the lateral load of filler soil. Again, b-foam^® GG blocks would provide an elegant solution. Not only the vertical load is significantly reduced, but as importantly, the lateral load is virtually eliminated, as EPS geofoam blocks are rigid, and their Poisson’s ratio (Ratio of how much a material expand if loaded on a perpendicular axis) is very low.

b-foam^® GG EPS blocks are produced in strict adherence to either one of the two global standard of EPS Geofoam: ASTM 6817 (EPS 12, 15, 19, 22, and 29) and Japanese Industry Standard (JIS), with compressive strength at 1% strain being the most important parameter – a well-accepted guidelines by EPS geofoam worldwide. Other technical parameters, such as compressive strength at 5% and 10% strain, flexural strength, and minimum density, are also strictly adhered as well. PT BE Putra R&D and Quality Control department has invested in an in-house compressive strength measuring equipment, as well as access to third party testing facilities and a comprehensive testing lab at PT BE Perkasa, PT BE Putra’s sister company within Beton Works.

Lightweight bridge abutment – Palimanan

Due to its well documented successful applications worldwide, not only in pioneering countries such as Norway, Japan, and the US, but have also been used extensively in the neighboring Malaysia for their many toll road projects. b-foam^® GG blocks have been gaining wider acceptance for infrastructure projects in Indonesia, started with retaining wall filler for Citra Green Dago in North Bandung. b-foam^® GG blocks are used for lightweight fill application for two geothermal projects in West Java: at Takenaka Dobuku Patuha to fill the thermal mass pool dugout, and at Star Energy Wayang Windu, where their consultant (AECOM) prescribed EPS Geofoam as soil load deflector above an underground concrete piping system.

Takenaka Dobuku Patuha

Star Energy Wayang Windu

Another b-foam^® GG application is for overground lightweight fill for existing structure, for example, increasing the height of floor deck and creating a sitting bench area in a cinema or stadion, where in both cases, the existing structure cannot withstand the additional load if the means of increasing the floor height or creating the sitting bench are done through conventional concrete casting.