Traditional pile materials such as steel, concrete and timber have limited service life when used in harsh marine environment. Problems coupled with these piles include deterioration of wood, corrosion of steel and degradation of reinforced concrete. To offset this problem, a relatively new trend in deep foundation industry is to use a fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials as a substitute in piling system. The fundamental advantages of FRP composites compared to other pile materials include lightweight, high strength and possess resistance against corrosion. However, composite materials face hurdle because they do not have a long track record of use in civil engineering application particularly in piling system. To partly address this obstacle, this paper presents an overview in testing, design, and practice of composite piles. Importance is given to history, material types and properties, structural behaviour, geotechnical performance, and durability of composite piles.
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