Geofom is the name of high strength expanded polystyrene blocks for use in road construction. Geofom technology has been successfully applied in various countries for over 40 years. This year, the technology, which has proven its effectiveness, was approved for the first time in Russia at the state level. The only manufacturer of road polystyrene foam under the brand name "KNAUF Geofoam" (KNAUF Geofoam®), which received the state technical certificate of the Ministry of Construction of Russia, became the company "KNAUF Penoplast".
Foamed polystyrene was first used in road construction in Norway in 1972. When designing a highway linking Oslo with Bergen, Norwegian road construction specialists assumed that thick expanded polystyrene foam would be able to withstand significant loads without degrading its characteristics even with constant dynamic impact and after prolonged contact with water. The pilot project was brought to life in record time: it took only two months from the approval of the idea by the road administration to the start of implementation. The result was also not long in coming: in similar cases, before the new technology was applied, the sediment was 20-30 centimeters annually, which caused extreme damage to the roadbed. Expanded polystyrene, later called Geofoam, left this problem in the past. Over the next 40 years, more than 500 projects have been implemented in Norway using this technology, including such strategically important routes as E-18 (Craigavon (Northern Ireland) - St. Petersburg) and E-6 (Trelleborg (Sweden) - Finnmark (Norway).
Long-term observation of objects created using Geofoam technology allowed Norwegian specialists to study its behavior in the long-term mode and under active loads. And to prove that Geofoam technology simplifies the technological process of the construction itself, making it cheaper and faster, and is guaranteed to extend the life of the landscape. Another important material advantage - durability - has also been tested. Blocks that had time to lie in the embankment for 30-35 years did not change their design characteristics under dynamic impact and contact with water.
Now Geofoam is successfully and actively used in many countries, including Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, Japan and the USA. For example, it was used in the construction of the most ambitious project in the history of American road construction - the Great Boston Tunnel. The complexity of the construction of this object consisted in the fact that the tunnel - an eight-lane highway, laid at a depth of 8 meters under the strait - was being built just one and a half meters above the tunnels of the operating subway laid there. At the slightest carelessness, the Atlantic Ocean could flood the subway. Engineers needed a material that could reduce the load on the soil, prevent it from settling, and at the same time withstand heavy traffic. This decision was Geofoam. In addition to being lightweight, expanded polystyrene has exceptional load carrying capacity. In addition, the applied engineering methodology significantly reduced the time and cost of construction compared to the traditional embankment method, which requires drilling for concrete support columns.
Despite the proven qualities of the material, the possibility of using it in difficult climatic conditions, up to permafrost, and saving up to 20% during construction, it has practically never been used in Russia before. The only experience of using expanded polystyrene in road construction is the construction of an embankment on the approach to the overpass across the St. Petersburg - Moscow railway in the direction of Sofiyskaya Street. The construction of this section on weak thixotropic soils was carried out by State Enterprise "Dorservice". The technical conditions were developed jointly with the KNAUF Penoplast company. The company's specialists have also developed typical block stacking schemes for solving various construction problems, in particular for embankments up to 16 meters high and more.
In accordance with the technical assessment of the FAU "Federal Center for Standardization and Technical Conformity Assessment in Construction" "foam polystyrene blocks KNAUF Geofoam manufactured by LLC" Knauf Penoplast "can be used for use in transport construction when erecting lightweight road embankments in areas of soft soil." Among the use cases recommended by the Federal Center: road and railroad embankments, approaches to the abutments of bridge structures, embankment widening, embankments in areas of possible landslide formation, repair of landslide sections of embankments, retaining walls.
Note that back in February 2014, the KNAUF Geofoam blocks® passed fire tests by the Academy of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia and were recognized as safe (referred to the flammability group "G3", that is, they are "normally flammable").
According to Dmitry Serebryakov, Commercial Director of KNAUF Penoplast LLC, the obtained technical certificate from the Russian Ministry of Construction, in fact, gives the green light to the use of Geofoam technology at the state level. “This is a significant event not only for us, but also for the field of road construction in Russia as a whole, as it allows us to use the time-tested, proven efficiency, European technology. Geofoam can be safely called the most reliable tool to facilitate road construction. And finally, he found recognition in Russia. Sure KNAUF Geofoam is coming soon® will become one of the most used materials both in the construction of highways and railways, and for solving landscape problems within the city limits."
