Mathematical analysis and experimental testing of floating building platform prototypes made from expanded polystyrene system (Styrofoam) and lightweight concrete

Abstract

Floating building is one of the solutions to anticipate residential areas against Tidal floods which have been occurring on the North Coast of Central Java. This floating building can adjust its buoyancy to the effect of rising sea level and land subsidence. This building can be applied in sea tidal flood areas and retention ponds in polder systems. The main materials used as the floating building platform are styrofoam and lightweight concrete. This study aims to determine the stability, capacity and buoyancy of the prototype platform using styrofoam and lightweight concrete. This study uses mathematical analysis methods and prototype testing with laboratory experiments. Based on the analysis result for the styrofoam material platform with dimensions of 2 × 2 × 0.62 m, a buoyancy force of 2.73 tons was obtained with the Safety Factor (SF) of 1.25. A lightweight concrete weight of 0.97 tons, the load that can be supported by the prototype is 1.2 tons. The prototype of the styrofoam material platform with a lightweight concrete cover has a stable condition with a value of m>0, namely the center of object weight (B0) is +0.74 meters and the metacentric value is +0.9 meters.