REHABILITATION OF NAVY PIER DECKS WITH COMPOSITE SHEETS

The U.S. Navy is studying the use of fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs) as upgrade materials in waterfront reinforced concrete structures. Methods of strengthening existing reinforced concrete pier decks using carbon fiber sheets are being investigated. Laboratory tests of simply supported slab scale models were conducted to determine the effects of upgrading on moment capacity, shear strength, deflections and failure modes. Nonlinear finite element analyses determined the slab response beyond steel yielding and concrete crushing. For large patch loads from mobile crane outriggers, analyses and experimental results consistently produced a punching shear failure mode. The slab upgrade is designed using the effective width concept, which replaces the slab with an equivalent beam of calculated effective width. Analyses and laboratory test results are the basis for further tests on a 1/2 scale pier model in the harbor of Port Hueneme, CA.