This paper proposes a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) retrofitting scheme for improving the seismic performance of atrium-style metro stations (AMS). Past experimental studies have confirmed that the weakest of the AMS during strong earthquakes is located at the upper-story beam ends. However, there is thus far no candidate for a reference approach to retrofitting and strengthening the AMS. This study addresses this gap by applying CFRP retrofitting to both ends of the upper-story beam. The main objective is to assess the effectiveness of the proposed retrofitting scheme. First, a three-dimensional finite element model is developed to simulate dynamic soil-AMS interaction. The validity of the numerical method is assessed via a comparison with measured data from reduced-scale model tests. Second, a numerical model of the AMS retrofitted with CFRP is built using validated methods. Finally, dynamic time-history analyses of the AMS with and without CFRP retrofitting are conducted, and their dynamic responses, including inter-story drift, dynamic strain, and tensile damage, in conjunction with the lateral displacement of the surrounding ground, are compared. Comparison of the results for the non-retrofitted and retrofitted structures shows that CFRP retrofitting significantly reduces both the principal strains and tensile damage factors at the upper-story beam ends while slightly increasing those values at the mid-span of the beam; additionally, it does not change the structural lateral deformation. Therefore, it can be concluded that CFRP retrofitting could effectively improve the seismic performance of the AMS without changing its lateral stiffness.

Historic bridges are invaluable cultural landmarks that embody the architectural and engineering achievements of past civilizations. Preserving these structures, which are often vulnerable to seismic activity, is essential to safeguarding cultural heritage for future generations. This study examines the Bat & imath;ayaz Bridge, which sustained significant damage in the February 8, 2023, Kahramanmaras,earthquakes. Originally, iron connectors were used between stones in the arch of the bridge. This research investigates the potential of using FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) connectors as an alternative to iron for enhancing the seismic resilience of the arch. The bridge was reinforced with both FRP-metal clamps and dowel connectors, enabling a comparison of its seismic performance under each configuration. The connectors were carefully installed between stones with specialized adhesives and Khorasan mortar. Reinforced stone elements then underwent compressive and tensile testing, yielding essential data on the connectors' normal and shear stiffness, as well as the mechanical properties of the Khorasan mortar. A three-dimensional model of the bridge was created in FLAC3D software using the finite difference method. Individual stone elements were modeled with brick and wedge components, incorporating experimentally derived stiffness values. The Mohr-Coulomb material model was applied to both the stone elements and the foundation soil, with non-reflecting boundary conditions set at the model's edges. Ten different ground motion simulations were conducted to assess seismic behavior. The seismic analyses for the two models, with FRP and metal connectors in the arch, indicated that both types significantly improved the bridge's seismic resistance. Results revealed that the use of FRP and iron mechanical connectors in the arch substantially modified the bridge's seismic response compared to the configuration without connectors. Besides, no major differences were observed between FRP and iron connectors in terms of enhancing seismic resilience of the bridge. The findings suggest that corrosion-resistant FRP connectors provide a durable alternative to metal connectors, which are prone to degradation over time. Thus, FRP connectors represent a promising option for the long-term seismic strengthening and restoration of historic bridges.

The experimental studies were performed to examine the failure mechanism and the capacity of BFRP bolt-anchorage system under laboratory and field conditions in supporting clay slopes in Sichuan Basin, China. The results indicate that BFRP anchor bolts, designed based on the principle of equal strength replacement between bolt tensile strength and the bonding strength of the first interface, can meet the safety standards required for slope engineering. During the stable phase of the slope, the mechanical behavior and deformation characteristics of BFRP anchor bolts are comparable to those of steel anchor bolts, with the axial force of BFRP bolts being 1/3 to 1/4 lower than the designed value. When the slope enters the accelerated creep stage, the axial force of steel anchor bolts exceeds the designed value by 40 %, while the axial force of BFRP bolts remains at only 2/3 of that of steel bolts. The failure mechanisms of the BFRP bolt-anchorage system primarily involve shear failure at the bolt-mortar interface and pullout failure of the bolt body, which are attributed to the cumulative damage of the polymer material. Based on the experimental findings, it is recommended that the minimum tensile safety factor for BFRP bars used in temporary slope support should be set at 1.26. This study enhances the understanding of BFRP anchorage systems in clay soil environments and provides valuable insights for the design and construction of infrastructure projects in similar geological conditions.

Basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) anchors are increasingly utilized in geotechnical anchoring engineering; however, there remains significant potential for studying the erosion characteristics of the BFRP anchor-slope system under rainfall conditions. This paper investigated the hydrological and spatial-temporal characteristics of three-level bridge foundation slope (TLBFS) reinforced by BFRP anchors through laboratory rainfall experiments. An index (rill density beta\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\beta$$\end{document}) was defined to quantify the degree of slope erosion. The experimental setup included a flume measuring 2 m in length, 1.2 m in width, and 1.5 m in height, a uniform rainfall intensity of 20.0 mm/h, and four sensors used for monitoring moisture content V, earth pressure E, anchor dynamometer T, and strain gauge S. The results indicated that the rill densities of third-level and first-level slopes after soil saturation were 2.37% and 0.98%, respectively. However, relying solely on the rill density index may lead to an overestimation of slope stability. Conversely, the high moisture content (25.72%) of the first-level slope correlated with its deformation and failure. It is proposed that the moisture content index can serve as a reliable indicator for evaluating slope stability. A strong correlation existed between moisture content omega\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\omega$$\end{document} and erosion amount delta\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\delta$$\end{document}, which suggested that real-time monitoring of slope erosion can be conducted using the moisture content index. The damage to TLBFS resulted from the coupling of the internal and external factors, and the specific failure mode was identified as shallow slip. While the flexible reinforcement capabilities of BFRP anchors effectively mitigated slope deformation, but additional engineering measures need to be added to TLBFS. These findings provide valuable insights for soil and water conservation and disaster prevention in multi-level slopes.

The prestressed glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rock bolt, characterized by its lightweight, high-strength, fatigue-resistant, and corrosion-resistant, effectively addresses the durability challenges associated with rock bolts in soil applications. This study was based on the shear test of GFRP anchor rods under varying levels of prestressing. The present study designed and conducted shear tests on GFRP anchor bolt joint surfaces under varying prestress levels, utilizing the double shear test method. Based on the experimental results, this research analyzed the influence of prestress on failure modes, shear bearing capacity, and shear deformation of GFRP anchor bolt joint surfaces. Furthermore, by employing an equivalent strain assumption in conjunction with damage mechanics theory, a predictive model for shear displacement-shear stiffness and shear displacementshear stress was established for GFRP anchor bolts. The results indicated that the failure mode of the prestressed GFRP anchor rod joint surface shear specimen was the shear failure following the splitting of the GFRP anchor rod. The shear carrying capacity of the joint surface with 20 % and 40 % pre-stressed GFRP anchor rods increased by 8.2 % and 20.3 % compared to the non-prestressed anchor rod, respectively. However, the ultimate displacements decreased by 22.7 % and 49.7 %, respectively. The initial stiffness of the 20 % and 40 % prestressed GFRP anchor rods was higher than that of non-prestressed GFRP anchor rods. However, under shear loading, the fracture strain of prestressed GFRP anchor rods decreased by 33 % and 44 %, respectively, compared to non-prestressed counterparts. The shear displacement-shear stiffness and shear displacement-shear stress relationships of prestressed GFRP anchor rods under the action of shear load were found to conform to the exponential distribution and Weibull distribution, respectively. The mechanical models proposed in this paper for shear displacement-shear stiffness and shear displacement-shear stress could effectively predict the mechanical behavior of shear damage on the joint surface of prestressed GFRP anchor rods.

Concrete-filled FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) tube composite piles offer superior corrosion resistance, making them a promising alternative to traditional piles in marine environments. However, their performance under cyclic lateral loads, such as those induced by waves and currents, requires further investigation. This study conducted model tests on 11 FRP composite piles embedded in sand to evaluate their behavior under cyclic lateral loading. Key parameters, including loading frequency, cycle count, loading mode, and embedment depth, were systematically analyzed. The results revealed that cyclic loading induces cumulative plastic deformation in the surrounding soil, leading to a progressive reduction in the lateral stiffness of the pile-soil system and redistribution of lateral loads among piles. Higher loading frequencies enhanced soil densification and temporarily improved bearing capacity, while increased cycle counts caused soil degradation and reduced ultimate capacity-evidenced by an 8.4% decrease (from 1.19 kN to 1.09 kN) after 700 cycles under a 13 s period, with degradation rates spanning 8.4-11.2% across frequencies. Deeper embedment depths significantly decreased the maximum bending moment (by similar to 50%) and lateral displacement, highlighting their critical role in optimizing performance. These findings directly inform the design of marine structures by optimizing embedment depth and load frequency to mitigate cyclic degradation, ensuring the long-term serviceability of FRP composite piles in corrosive, high-cycle marine environments.

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping is a potential technique for coal pillar reinforcement. In this study, an acoustic emission (AE) technique was employed to monitor coal specimens with carbon FRP (CFRP) jackets during uniaxial compression, which addressed the inability to observe the cracks inside the FRP-reinforced coal pillars by conventional field inspection techniques. The spatiotemporal fractal evolution of the cumulated AE events during loading was investigated based on fractal theory. The results indicated that the AE response and fractal features of the coal specimens were closely related to their damage evolution, with CFRP exerting a significant influence. In particular, during the unstable crack development stage, the evolutionary patterns of the AE count and energy curves of the CFRPconfined specimens underwent a transformation from the slight shock-major shock type to the slight shock-sub-major shock-slight shock-major shock type, in contrast to the unconfined coal specimens. The AE b-values decreased to a minimum and then increased marginally. The AE spatial fractal dimension increased rapidly, whereas the AE temporal fractal dimension fluctuated significantly during the accumulation and release of strain energy. Ultimately, based on the AE count and AE energy evolution, a damage factor was proposed for the coal samples with CFRP jackets. Furthermore, a damage constitutive model was established, considering the CFRP jacket and the compaction characteristics of the coal. This model provides an effective description of the stress-strain relationship of coal specimens with CFRP jackets. (c) 2024 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/).

Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) is a promising composite to be used in construction in coastal and marine environments to resist seawater corrosion that deteriorates the properties of conventional civil engineering materials. A classical ground or seabed- structure interaction problem that is involved in the design of FRP structures, is however less understood when the soft nature of FRP is in subjection to the cyclic loadings from traffic, wind, wave and currents, causing penetration and abrasion at the soft FRP- soil interface. This study has downscaled the preceding problem into a micromechanical study at a benchmark sand grain- FRP interface. A large number of cyclic loading is applied, for the first time, at the sand- FRP composite interface, focusing on the development of the elastoplastic behaviour in the normal direction and the evolution of friction and energy dissipation in the tangential direction. The study combines the understanding from the tribology with the knowledge of civil engineering involved in the sand- FRP interaction, suggesting that a larger stick zone at the contact subjected to cyclic shearing is a key triggering of the simultaneous occurrence of the increased coefficient of friction and reduced damping ratio.

A series of numerical simulations were completed to investigate the behavior of intact, fire -damaged, and Carbon Fiber -Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) retrofitted reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns of varying sizes subjected to vehicle collisions. Three-dimensional finite element models of isolated RC columns and their foundation systems surrounded by soil volumes were developed using LS-DYNA. A comprehensive parametric study was carried out to investigate the effects of nine demand and design parameters on the performance of bridge columns. Studied parameters included: column diameter, column height, unconfined compressive strength, steel reinforcement ratio, fire duration, CFRP wrap thickness, wrapping configuration, vehicle 's mass, and vehicle 's speed. For each studied scenario, Peak Twenty-five Milli -second Moving Average ( PTMSA ) was employed to estimate the Equivalent Static Force ( ESF ) corresponding to each vehicle collision scenario. Resulting ESF s were then utilized to assess effectiveness of the current ESF approach available in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Load and Resistance Factor Design ( AASHTO-LRFD ) Bridge Design Specification for analyzing and helping design bridge columns under vehicle collision. Multivariate nonlinear regression analyses were used to derive an empirically based, simplified equation to predict the ESF that corresponds to a vehicle collision. Rather than constant design force, this equation established a correlation between ESF and kinetic energy, column axial capacity, and column height. Results indicated that the proposed equation is reliable and can accurately predict ESF s over a diverse range of collision scenarios that included intact, fire damaged, and CFRP retrofitted columns. To facilitate realistic implementation of the derived equation, an ESF assessment framework was also devised.

This paper aims to systematically describe the mesostructural and mechanical changes in the surrounding soil of glass fiber-reinforced polymer-trapezoidal core sandwich piles (GFRP-TCSPs) under lateral loads. A lateral loading device for hydraulic gradient testing is introduced, and a corresponding numerical model is established using a continuum-discrete coupling method. The dynamic interaction between the GFRP-TCSP and the soil during incremental loading is analyzed, including the effect of the soil particle contact parameters on the pile-soil interaction (PSI), changes in the pile bending moment, and the displacement field of the surrounding soil. The development of soil force chains and changes in porosity and coordination number in different zones of the soil around the pile are investigated. The results indicate that the attraction and friction between particles are crucial for the PSI behavior of the soil. In addition, the bending moment of the pile increases with increasing lateral load but decreases when the pile inclination angle diverges significantly. Different regions of the soil around the pile exhibit different variations in average contact force, porosity, and coordination number as the GFRP-TCSP overturns. These variations provide a theoretical basis for detecting pile instability.