Title: Experimental investigation on GFRP strengthened RC piles under lateral loads

Authors: M. Murugan; C. Natarajan; K. Muthukkumaran

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Trichirappalli 620 015, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Trichirappalli 620 015, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Trichirappalli 620 015, India

Abstract: Piles could be damaged under major lateral loading environment for a long period. The sources of lateral loads are lateral earth pressure, wind loads, seismic loads, impact loads from ships (berthing and mooring) eccentric loads on columns, river current and mud movement loads in alluvial settings (foundations subject to scour), ocean wave forces, slope movements and cable forces on transmission towers. Hence, it is important to improve the lateral load capacity of pile foundation. In recent years, Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) jacketing has become popular to retrofit existing deficient piles. The lightweight, high strength and corrosion resistance of FRPs made them particularly suitable for repair. This paper presents the experimental study on Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) strengthened Reinforced Concrete (RC) piles subjected to lateral loads. The effects of GFRP strengthening on RC piles were studied.

Keywords: strengthening; reinforced concrete piles; glass fibre reinforced polymers; GFRP jacketing; lateral loads; pile foundations; retrofitting; lightweight materials; high strength; corrosion resistance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFE.2014.059244

International Journal of Forensic Engineering, 2014 Vol.2 No.1, pp.15 - 28

Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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