Behavior of FRP Composite Fender Piles in Cold

摘要

Results of flexural tests performed on full-size fender pile beams offive designs have been summarized. The samples included two concrete-filled composite piles, two piles made of recycled plastics, andone made of 100% fiber reinforced polymer composite with a tic-tactoecross section. Tests were performed both at low temperature and atroom temperature. Results sought were the maximum outer fiber strainand the flexural stiffness (EI). Tests were conducted in CRREL’s HighStrength Advanced Material (HSAM) load frame designed for 100,000-lb load capacity. Results showed that the concrete-filled compositeshellpiles are highly stiff (EI), almost twice the stiffness of all-compositefender piles. Recycled plastic composite (RPC) fender piles hadthe lowest stiffness. However, at low temperature, stiffness increaseddramatically for the RPC fender piles. Failure strains were higher forthe fenders having higher load capacities. At low temperature, failureswere invariably more violent than at room temperature. Also at lowtemperature the concrete separated from the composite shell in onecase, and in another case cracks developed longitudinally, possiblybecause of the differential thermal expansion of the concrete and thecomposite or plastic shell.