• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6A
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• pp.861-872
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• 2008

Concrete-filled glass fiber reinforced polymer tubes are often used for marine structures with the benefit of good durability and high resistance against corrosion under severe chemical environment. Current research presents results of a comprehensive experimental investigation on the behavior of axially loaded circular concrete-filled glass fiber reinforced polymer tubes. This paper is intended to examine several aspects related to the usage of glass fiber fabrics and filament wound layers used for outer shell of piles subjected to axial compression. The objectives of the study are as follows: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of filament winding angle of glass fiber layers (2) to evaluate the effect of number of GFRP layers on the ultimate load and ductility of confined concrete (3) to evaluate the effect of loading condition of specimens on the effectiveness of confinement and failure characteristics as well, and (4) to propose a analytical model which describes the stress-strain behavior of the confined concrete. Three different types of glass fiber layers were chosen; fabric layer, ${\pm}45^{\circ}$ filament winding layer, and ${\pm}85^{\circ}$ filament winding layer. They were put together or used independently in the fabrication of tubes. Specimens that have various L:D ratios and different diameters have also been tested. Totally 27 GFRP tube specimens to investigate the tension capacity, and 66 concrete-filled GFRP tube specimens for compression test were prepared and tested. The behavior of the specimens in the axial and transverse directions, failure types were investigated. Analytical model and parameters were suggested to describe the stress-strain behavior of concrete under confinement.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5A
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• pp.519-529
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• 2009

Fiber reinforced composite materials have various advantages in mechanical and chemical aspects. Not only high fatigue and chemical resistance, but also high specific strength and stiffness are attained, and therefore, damping characteristics are beneficial to marine piles. Since piles used for marine structures are subjected to compression and bending as well, detailed research is necessary. Current study examine the mechanical behavior under flexural and/or compressive loads using concrete filled fiber reinforced plastic composite piles, which include large size diameter. 25 pile specimens which have various size of diameters and lengths were fabricated using hand lay-up or filament winding method to see the effect of fabrication method. The inner diameters of test specimens ranged from 165 mm to 600 mm, and the lengths of test specimens ranged from 1,350 mm to 8,000 mm. The strengths of the fill-in concrete were 27 and 40 MPa. Fiber volumes used in circumferential and axial directions are varied in order to see the difference. For some tubes, spiral inner grooves were fabricated to reduce shear deformation between concrete and tube. It was observed that the piles made using filament winding method showed higher flexural stiffness than those made using hand lay-up. The flexural stiffness of piles decreases from the early loading stage, and this phenomenon does not disappear even when the inner spiral grooves were introduced. It means that the relative shear deformation between the concrete and tube wasn't able to be removed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4A
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• pp.761-766
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• 2006

Polymer composite are increasingly considered as structural components for use in civil engineering, on account of their enhanced strength-to-weight ratios. Unsaturated polyester (UP) resin have been widely used for the matrix of composites such as FRP and polymer composite, due to its excellent adhesive. Polymer nanocomposites are new class of composites derived from the nano scale inorganic particles with dimensions typically in the range of 1 to 1000 nm that are dispersed in the polymer matrix homogeneously. Owing to the high aspect ratio of the fillers, mechanical, thermal, flame, retardant and barrier properties are enhanced without significant loss of clarity, toughness or impact strength. To prepare the MMT (Montmorillonite)-UP exfoliated nanocomposites, UP was mixed with MMT at $60^{\circ}C$ for 3 hours by using pan mixer. XRD (X-ray diffraction) pattern of the composites and TEM (Transmission Electron Micrographs) showed that the interlayer spacing of the modified MMT were exfoliated in polymer matrix. The mechanical properties also supported these findings, since in general, tensile strength, modulus with modified MMT were higher than those of the composites with unmodified MMT. The thermal stability of MMT-UP nanocomposite is better than that of pure UP, and its glass transition temperature is higher than that of pure UP. The polymer concrete made with MMT-UP nanocomposite has better mechanical properties than of pure UP. Therefore, it is suggested that strength and elastic modulus of polymer concrete was found to be positively tensile strength and tensile modulus of the MMT-UP nanocomposites.