Expanded Polystyrene used in Bridge Construction

EPS products, including flute fillers, Terraflex Elasticized Polystyrene, and EPS Geofoam are used in road and bridge construction throughout the United States. It is used to build up bridge embankments, protect bridge abutments and reduce bridge weight. For this bridge repair project in Baltimore, Maryland the engineer chose EPS39 Geofoam to protect underground utilities because of its light weight (less than 2-1/2 lbs per cubic foot) and because it has the compression strength to handle high volume vehicular traffic. 24,000 cubic feet of 24” x 48” x 96” blocks of EPS39 were cut on site using a Hotwire Bow Cutter and a Geofoam Hotwire Kit provided by Universal Foam Products. The material installed quickly, which helped to reduce the period of road closure.

The construction of the elevated Dulles Airport access road called for a complex shaped bridge support structure that could not be economically formed with wood or steel so the contractor turned to Universal Foam Products to produce the shape using our light weight EPS Form Liners. This allowed the contractor to use their straight forms with the EPS form liners providing the more complex contours. The form liners ere produced using EPS15 Geofoam, weighing less than 1 lb per cubic foot and having a compression strength of 3.6 psi @ 1% deformation.

یونولیت

First the precut forms were laid out on the ground to make sure everything lined up properly. While this we being done the structural forms were being erected in place. After the EPS form liners were installed and covered with formboard the rebar was installed. Finally, the concrete was installed and finished.

Universal Foam Product’s EPS form liners are used for vertical and horizontal bridge supports as well as bridge window block-outs and decorative panels. Our patent pending design makes connecting the lightweight form liners to structural panels fast and economical. Let us look at your next project and see if we can offer a more economical alternative to what you have been doing.