Composite tubes with Poisson's ratio less than of concrete can provide effective lateral support for concrete when it is placed inside the tube. The ultimate strength of specimens with concrete filled tubes is generally increased by 6 to 8 times the ultimate compressive strength of unconfined concrete. Concrete is weak in tension and steel reinforcement or prestressing is used to take care of the weakness in concrete in carrying tension. The composite tube filled with concrete is prestressed to make use of very high compressive strength of confined concrete. The confinement depends on various factors such as Poisson's ratio of the tube, filament architecture in winding the tube, the thickness of the tube and the diameter of the tube along with the ultimate compressive strength of unconfined concrete. Mooring piles are generally subjected to bending to resist lateral loads in marina due to wind and waves. Traditionally steel tubing with or without concrete is used for mooring piles and the steel tube corrodes with time and creates a major problem to maintain the mooring piles. Fiberglass tubing with concrete with super prestressing provides an excellent alternative design to effectively use the properties of unconfined concrete and composite tube so that the final structure is much more economical than the conventional mooring piles.rnThis paper deals with the basic development of the preliminary design and testing of the mooring piles in the lab and its field evaluation at site in comparison with conventional steel tube mooring piles. The results showed very promising for prestressed mooring piles from the stand point of driving and resistance to lateral loads.
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