Title:
Effects of Seawater Exposure for One Year on Hollow-Core Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Confined Concrete Cylinders Subjected to Severe Environmental Conditions
Author(s):
Song Wang and Mohamed ElGawady
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
3/24/2019
Abstract:
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) has been introduced into civil engineering over a century. One of its most recent application in bridge construction area, namely hollow-core FRP-concrete-steel (HC-FCS) columns, have demonstrated superior advantages on mechanical behavior and ease of construction as alternatives to conventional reinforced-concrete bridge columns. However, one obstacle still hindering the greater acceptance of this new type of column is the susceptibility of FRP subjected to long-term severe environmental exposures due to the lack of enough experimental data. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the performance of HC-FCS cylinders immersed in simulated seawater solution with different elevated temperatures for up to 450 days. Sustained axial loads were applied on the cylinders during soaking to simulate the actual service load for the bridge columns. After the conditioning was completed, material characterization and mechanical tests were performed on the FRP tubes and cylinders to see how the exposures affect the behaviors of HC-FCS cylinders.