Briefly, it is the general name of all kinds of foam materials used in geotechnical engineering applications. A further definition is a material which is obtained by means of expansion, resulting in the formation of a variety of closed and internal gas-filled cells. Cell walls are solid but permeable to gases.
Geofoam is now worldwide accepted as as a geosynthetic product, such as geotextile, geomembrane etc..
Many geofoam materials are based on polymeric (plastic) or glassy foam. There are two types of polystyrene foam:
— EPS (Expanded polystyrene)
— XPS (Compressed polystyrene)
Usage areas;
In the fillings on soft and weak soils, where the freezing-dissolution effect is very effective, geofoam is used in areas such as underneath roads, airport coatings and railways etc.
