Characterization of a Pultruded FRP Sheet Pile for Waterfront Retaining Structures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper presents a series of experiments carried out to determine the characteristics of a pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheet pile profile for waterfront retaining wall applications. The profile’s flexural and shear stiffness were determined through a multiple-span test method, and the moment resistance was obtained by simulating the earth pressures using a uniformly distributed load. It was found that the load-carrying capacity was dominated by the buckling of the compressive flange and web. Water absorption tests were performed to assess the maximum percent absorption and the corresponding mechanical property change; a saturated pultruded FRP was shown to decrease tensile strength substantially, but this did not cause significant change in the longitudinal modulus of elasticity. Pultruded FRP exhibited excellent resistance to freeze–thaw cycling. The results of the creep tests predict that, over , the deflection creep of the sheet pile profile will exceed 70% of its static deflection.
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Acknowledgments
The writer gratefully acknowledges the support of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada; IBP Corporation of Alberta, Canada; and the contributions made by his graduate students.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 5 • October 2006
Pages: 626 - 633
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 13, 2004
Accepted: Aug 1, 2005
Published online: Oct 1, 2006
Published in print: Oct 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Laura De Lorenzis
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