Compressibility of palm kernel oil-based polyurethane foam using rowe cell apparatus for ground improvement

Ground improvement methods are carried out to enhance the soil properties in order to ensure the unsuitable site locations with poor soil conditions can be developed for future development. Injection of lightweight material namely polyurethane foam is found to be one of the alternative methods that provide cost-effective and reliable techniques for ground improvement. Petroleum-based polyurethane is widely used in geotechnical application but nowadays the cost is getting more expensive due to high depleting rate and high production cost. Instead of using petroleum-based PU, this study is focusing on performance of palm kernel oil-based PU as an alternative method for ground improvement. The palm kernel oil-based polyurethane foam is anticipated to be more economical since it is produced from the renewable source, where it does not lead to permanent depletion of resources which has a limited global availability. The objective of this study is to determine the expansion and compressibility of palm kernel oil-based polyurethane with different mixing ratio. The samples were tested using Rowe cell apparatus to determine the compressibility, swelling index and pre-consolidation pressure of the polyurethane. The results of the finding show that the expansion and compressibility of the palm kernel oil-based polyurethane foam varies with the mixing ratio of isocyanate and polyol liquid. The compressibility index of PKO-BPU is found to be higher than petroleum-based polyurethane and low in expansion. © 2020 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.