Review on the Potential Applications of Geofoam Material in Saudi Arabia for Highways and Building Construction

Saudi Arabia as top oil producing country has enormous sources of Polystyrene, a by-product of Petrochemical industry. The Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) can be used towards commercial manufacturing of Geofoam for a broad range of applications, such as in the Highway fill and insulation materials for Building Construction. This was done successfully in USA, Japan, Germany and Norway; and it can be introduced in Saudi Arabia, where the raw materials are available. Geofoam is a lightweight material having density about a hundredth of the soil and it is been used in engineering applications since 1950s. Applications of Geofoam extend to the reducing settlement below embankments, reducing lateral pressure on the substructures, minimizing stresses on rigid buried conduits, sound and vibration damping, besides thermal insulation in the building, … etc. This paper outlines detailed overview of the Geofoam material so that the manufacturing processes in Saudi Arabia would satisfy environmental safety and sustainability. Detailed review of engineering properties using previous research results are presented along with the standards and design manuals applicable to the Geofoam. Feasibility of relevant research activities on the Geofoam considering applications in Saudi Arabia utilizing academic institutions is emphasized. Several beneficial aspects of Geofoam are discussed related to the expansive soil problems in Saudi Arabia.