*** 9626772 Saeed The objective of this study is to investigate experimentally and theoretically the short-term and long-term behavior of columns made from pultruded fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials. The slenderness ratios of these columns will be selected so that both modes of failures, global buckling and local buckling will be investigated in this study. In the experimental investigation, full-scale specimens will be prepared from commercially available pultruded sections. The experimental work will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, 32 different specimens will be prepared from wide flange and structural tubing sections, and they will be loaded to failure by means of a concentric axial load. In the second phase of this program, 24 specimens made of similar sections used in Phase I will be loaded axially for a period of 10,000 hours. The sustained loads will be calculated based on 40%, 50%, and 60% of the ultimate loads obtained in the first phase of the study. Based on the experimental findings and on basic stability theory and anisotropic materials, a unified limit state design criteria for FRP columns will be developed. Guidelines and code-like design provisions will be suggested as an initial Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) method similar to that which has recently been developed for timber, cold-formed steel, and masonry structures.***
