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Title: New Bridge Piers Using Load Bearing Concrete-Filled GFRP Tubes

Author(s): M. Pando, A. Farn, J. Lesko, and G. Filz

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 215

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 181-202

Keywords: bridges; composites; concrete-filled; fiber reinforced concrete; pier; pile; tube

DOI: 10.14359/12865

Date: 8/1/2003

Abstract:
Innovative pile foundations consisting of concrete-filled circular fibrereinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (CFFT) have increasingly been used for a variety of applications, mainly in marine environments. This paper presents a different application of CFFT in two bridges in the State of Virginia, the Route 40 and Route 351 bridges. Some of the piles in these bridges consisted of CFFT, which were projected above the ground level to function as piers for support of the superstructures of the bridges. The paper presents the results of full-scale field test programs carried out at the two bridge sites, before construction of the bridges, in order to compare the structural and geotechnical performance of the new CFFT composite piles to conventional prestressed concrete piles. Details of the construction and connection between the CFFT composite pile and RC cap beam are also presented. The Route 40 Bridge has been in service since 2000 and to date, no indications of unsatisfactory performance have been reported. The new Route 351 Bridge is expected to be finished and open for traffic in May 2003.