Characteristics of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Piles Through Finite Element Modeling

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has gained significant attention as a material for pile reinforcement due to its superior mechanical properties such as high strength, durability, and corrosion resistance. In this study, carbon fiber reinforcement polymer (CFRP) and basalt fiber reinforcement polymer (BFRP) are used for FRP piles. The major goal of this study is to assess the mechanical strength of piles with or without FRP. To achieve this goal, numerical modeling of FRP pile has been performed. The numerical modeling of FRP piles has been carried out in ABAQUS software in which a four-point bending test has been performed by using a concrete damage plasticity model. To obtain the behavior of FRP materials, experimental work has been carried out in this study which includes the compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength. The result shows that the flexural strengths of conventional beam, CFRP beam, and BFRP beam are 4.2, 7, and 6.6 MPa. Also, a validation study has been carried out between experimental work and numerical modeling in which the error difference of flexural strength between experimental work and numerical modeling is found to be 6.3%, 5.1%, and 6%, respectively. The performance of piles has been evaluated in terms of strengths, failure analysis, stress, and strain profile. The significance of this study is to minimize the maintenance cost of piles during its service life and to reduce the risk of damage or failure of piles under marine conditions.