LAUSR

ABSTRACT Polymer pile products are currently being used in marine environments in pile-supported fender systems due to their superior resistance to this environment over traditional materials. The piles in fender systems are laterally loaded elements, which dissipate energy through flexure. Due to the anisotropic nature of the polymer materials, shear deformations can become significantly large. The goal of this analytical study was to use material properties found in the literature to determine the significance of flexural shear deformations. It was ultimately found that the shear effects in these materials are significant. The significance varies based on the stiffness of the soil. The greater the stiffness, the more influence the shear has on the total deformation. Due to the interdependent nature of the observed results, it is recommended that the shear effects must always be considered when designing with currently available polymer piles.