Plastic Drainage Slabs with low-temperature nanosintering of granules

Introduction. Currently, the construction industry is developing rapidly. New residential and industrial buildings and structures appear both in megalopolises and small towns. In this regard, an active development of the underground space continually gains in scope: basements and buried facilities, multistorey structures, underpasses and parking lots, shopping malls and many other structures are being built. In order to create reliable and durable structures much attention should be paid to the protection of underground parts of buildings from the destructive effects of groundwater. Waterproofing and drainage materials currently used do not always meet the necessary requirements. The paper discusses the development of a new material for wall drainage in order to provide reliable protection for underground buildings against the damaging influence of groundwater. Methods and materials. The article presents a detailed analysis of existing methods and materials that are used in the installation of wall drainage systems. Plastic slabs made of filtration expanded polystyrene have been proposed as an effective drainage material. The technology of filtration material with high water transmission capacity is presented. This methodology is based on the low-temperature nanosintering of polystyrene granules. The main structural characteristics of filtration polystyrene, including characteristic pore diameter and intergranular porosity, and its physical and mechanical properties were determined. Results and discussion. The results of research on the structure of filtration expanded polystyrene with different grain-size compositions are given. It is shown that due to the process of nanosintering of granules it is possible to form varies types of drainage slab structures, which are necessary to obtain required characteristics. In addition, the experimental results of the water transmission capacity of drainage slabs, depending on the structural characteristics of the material, are also presented. Based on the tests conducted, an empirical formula has been developed to calculate the filtration coefficient of the plastic drainage slabs. Recommendations have been developed for selecting the grain composition of material when working on cohesive and non-cohesive soils. Conclusion. The results of our study show that filtration expanded polystyrene slabs have a high-water transmission capacity and sufficient compressive strength and can be used to protect the underground parts of buildings based on different soil types.