DURABILITY OF CARBON FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER (CFRP) PRETENSIONED ELEMENTS UNDER TIDAL/THERMAL CYCLES

Florida's longstanding substructure corrosion problem has made the state particularly receptive to radical solutions such as replacing steel altogether by corrosion resistant fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) material. Among available FRPs, carbon FRP's (CFRP) combination of high tensile strength, high chemical resistance, low relaxation, and high fatigue strength make it particularly attractive for highway applications. This paper presents results from an experimental study to assess the likely effect of diurnal/seasonal temperature change on the durability of CFRP pretensioned piles driven in tidal waters. Twelve precracked CFRP pretensioned beams designed to fail by rupture of the prestressing rods were kept outdoors in two salt water tanks and simultaneously subjected to wet/dry cycles (simulating tides) and hot/cold cycles (simulating temperature variation). Durability was assessed from flexure tests conducted periodically over the nearly 3-year exposure period. Results indicated that durability was largely unaffected, although both bond degradation and reductions in ultimate capacity were observed in some of the exposed specimens. Degradation appeared to be linked to the extent of precracking damage sustained prior to exposure. This suggests that when CFRP pretensioned piles are used, driving stresses should be carefully monitored to minimize damage.

• Record URL:
  http://www.concrete.org/Publications/InternationalConcreteAbstractsPortal.aspx.aspx?m=details&i=681
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/13846957
• Corporate Authors:

  American Concrete Institute (ACI)

  38800 Country Club Drive
  Farmington Hills, MI  United States  48331
• Authors:
  • Sen, R
  • Shahawy, M
  • Sukumar, S
  • Rosas, J
• Publication Date: 1999-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 450-457
• Serial:
  • ACI Structural Journal
  • Volume: 96
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: American Concrete Institute (ACI)
  • ISSN: 0889-3241
  • Serial URL: http://www.concrete.org/PUBS/JOURNALS/SJHOME.ASP

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bearing capacity; Bonding; Bridge piers; Carbon fibers; Durability; Fiber reinforced plastics; Finite element method; Flexure; Pile driving; Polymers; Prestressed concrete; Prestressed concrete bridges; Pretensioning; Support piles; Temperature; Tides
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I35: Miscellaneous Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00765055
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: 9500206.CTO7
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 19 1999 12:00AM