NSM FRP Pile-Splice System for Prestressed Precast Concrete Piles

Abstract

The use of prestressed precast concrete pile (PPCP) has been increasing because of the advantages provided including accelerating and facilitating the construction operation at a site and increasing the durability of foundation systems. For various reasons including the shipping and transportation limitations and variable soil conditions, casting PPCPs with shorter lengths and splicing them at the site to achieve the required length becomes unavoidable or advantageous. As such, various techniques have been implemented to splice PPCPs at the site in preplanned and unforeseen situations. However, the current systems have shortfalls limiting their applications. These shortcomings are vulnerability to corrosion, inability to develop the required strength capacities in unforeseen situations, and on occasion requiring time-consuming and costly procedures. This study introduces a new method for splicing PPCPs to overcome the limitations that exist in current pile splices. As such, a near-surface-mounted fiber-reinforced polymer (NSM FRP) pile-splice system is introduced as an alternative to current splice systems. The effectiveness and feasibility of the suggested splice system are investigated according to national building code requirements and state standard design specifications. Accordingly, to demonstrate the capability to develop the required capacity in tension, compression, and flexure, as well as constructability, a splice system was designed in this study for an 457-mm (18-in.)-square PPCP. The results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed splice in satisfying the requirements set by both design references. Furthermore, details developed for the splice system have demonstrated their constructability. The NSM FRP splice offers an economical, labor-friendly method of splicing, and provides an advantageous option especially for unforeseen situations where other techniques are either impractical or fail to develop the required capacity. It is expected that the results of this study will pave the way for the implementation of this system in future construction.