Lateral Load Behavior of a Concrete-Filled GFRP Pipe Pile

Abstract

This paper presents results of full-scale lateral load tests to failure of a concrete-filled glass-fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) pipe pile in comparison to a typical pre-stressed concrete pile. Soil conditions at the test site consisted of fine grained, poorly graded, medium dense sand underlain by soft clay with the groundwater table near the ground surface. A diesel hammer was used to drive the piles. Both the pre-stressed concrete and concrete-filled GFRP piles displayed good drivability. The concrete-filled GFRP pile was more flexible than the standard pre- stressed concrete pile, which resulted in larger displacements at equivalent lateral loads and reduced service load capacity of the GFRP pile. The ultimate lateral load capacity of the concrete-filled GFRP pile was greater than the pre-stressed concrete pile, though the GFRP pile exhibited brittle behavior at failure. A comparison of the predicted and measured behavior shows that concrete-filled GFRP piles can be adequately modeled using traditional p-y curves and classical beam theory.