Seismic Performance Of Hollow Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Piles in Cohesionless Soils

ABSTRACT: This study focuses on investigating seismic performance of hollow Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer piles compared to traditional piles in dry sand deposits using shaking table tests. A series of soil-foundation models were prepared following scaling relationships that recognize the dynamic and nonlinear nature of soil-pile systems in a laminar shear box with a dimension of 1.0 m × 1.0 m and a depth of 1.0 m. Four Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) piles were manufactured and embedded as end-bearing piles within the soil and tested under different seismic input motions. The model soil was prepared by following pluviation technique inside the laminar shear container while a thin flexible latex membrane was stretched inside the container to hold the soil. Eight accelerometers along with three LVDTs, and bending strain gauges were employed to monitor the soil and piles response during each shaking test. The shaking table tests results indicate that the traditional group piles experienced larger accelerations whereas GFRP piles showed lower acceleration values and, hence, larger flexibility to deflect.