Home / News / VDOT installs FRP FiberPILE system at US ferry facility

VDOT installs FRP FiberPILE system at US ferry facility

08 Jul '19

3 min read

Pic: Composite Advantage

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has invested in Composite Advantage’s fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) FiberPILE system for its Jamestown-Scotland terminal facility. Composite Advantage is a supplier of FRP products for bridges, waterfront infrastructure, and rail platforms based on award winning technology and innovative designs.

The agency cited greater cost efficiencies due to FRP’s longer life cycle, reduced service interruptions and safer operation. In 2018, VDOT replaced 296 timber piles with eight large-diameter FRP monopile dolphins at one-third the lifecycle cost of wood, according to a press release by Composite Advantage.

The state’s only toll-free ferry runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year including all major holidays. It acts as a movable bridge for Virginia State Route 31 travellers that need to cross the James River. FiberPILE products are fabricated to high strength-to-weight ratios capable of handling overall ferry crushing loads and adverse wind conditions.

“We fabricated the 100-foot-long FRP monopiles with multiaxial E-glass reinforcement. 59 per cent of the glass fibres used in the lower 80 percent of the pile were orientated at 0 degrees (parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pile). Eight per cent of the glass fibres were given a 90-degree orientation with the remaining fibres oriented at ±45 degrees. Glass fibres for the top 15 feet of the pile [focused on the hoop direction] were manufactured with eight percent at an orientation of 0-degree, [parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pile], 59 per cent at an orientation of 90 degrees and the rest of the fibres were given an orientation of ±45 degrees. Wood has a 42 ft-kip energy absorption. This combination gives our monopiles an energy absorption of 585 ft-kip energy absorption,” Composite Advantage president Scott Reeve.

Hollow construction, light weight, and low driving friction also make FiberPILE attractive to contractors. Following set-up which took a day, contractors were able to drive a 100-feet monopile 25 feet into the river bottom in approximately 20 minutes with minimal disruption. Eight FRP monopiles replaced 37 wood piles.

Composite Advantage supplies innovative fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) products for major infrastructure markets. To create its engineered solutions, Composite Advantage pairs progressive designs with its capability to mould large parts, perform on-site assembly, and support customer installations. The supplier has been developing lightweight, high-strength, cost-effective FRP goods for structurally demanding applications and corrosive environments since 2005. Many of these products have paved the way for first-time use of FRP composites in infrastructure, rail and water applications because of their performance attributes. The supplier’s comprehensive line-up includes bridge decks, trail bridges, cantilever sidewalks, and rail platforms to fender protection systems, pilings, naval ship separators, and other waterfront structures. (GK)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India