×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

(OP)
I am considering the use of Geofoam (EPS rigid foam blocks), placed directly against a residential basement wall as a way to significantly reduce the lateral soil pressure.
Can anyone refer me to a good reference for the proper provisions I will need to use?
Most critically, I'm wondering what "equivalent fluid pressure" I could/should use for design along with what kind of proportions (thickness and/or steps) that might be required
Are there design guides available for this that someone can link me to?

Short of an actual link or publication, what pressures and proportions do others find appropriate for design?

Thanks

RE: design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

Won't the earth pressure push on the geofoam blocks and the blocks transfer the native soil earth pressures to your basement?

I'd look closely at things that seem too good to be true. . .

f-d

¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!

RE: design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

If you place the geofoam above the plane of failure of the native soils you will end up with a zero net lateral load factor on the wall.

Nico Sutmoller
Geofoam Specialist
geofoam@insulfoam.com
www.insulfoam.com

RE: design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

Interesting, but not convincing.  I'm not saying it isn't true, I'm just saying there is earth pressure acting on the geofoam and the geofoam in turn seems like it'd transfer the load to the wall.  Balance must be preserved, eh?

f-d

¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!

RE: design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

I agree with Geofoam Specialist. Geofoam can be mnufactured to have a certain amount of compression. His concept is what is generally used when one replaces the Rankine wedge with graular material. the lateral earth pressures are considerd to be provided by the granular material and hence less. Sometimes we need to discuss products etc with the manufacturers. In the same vien we need also to discuss construction techniques with Contractors. These are abut a few examples of the general failure of geotechnical engineers and reason why designs are thrown in the garbage. Not saying that geotechnical Engineers do not have sound ideas, but many are textbook huggers   

RE: design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

I agree with VAD and GeofoamSpecialist.  Where I have seen geofoam used (usually behind a new abutment), it followed the slope of the soil wedge so that there was no earth pressure on the abutment.

www.PeirceEngineering.com

RE: design guide for lateral pressures to use for Geofoam

I don't want to say I disagree.  I just want to learn.  How does it work?  If we take clay out of the active  Rankine wedge and replace it with gravel, we'll decrease the wall pressure, but not render it zero.

So, I guess if we take a stable slope (let's say 1:1 and build a vertical wall at the base of the slope there will be no earth pressure as there'll be air on both sides of the wall.  I guess the foam is replacing the air and because the slope is stable the wall pressures would be trivial.

Maybe I just needed to think on this a little more. . .

Sorry if I confused matters.  I just don't have any experience in this at all.

f-d

¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources