Chapter 4
INTRODUCTION TO PRESTRESSED
CONCRETE
• Pre-stressed concrete
Introduce an internal stresses to
counteract stresses resulting from external
loads.
• Pre-stressing is preloading of a structure
before application of the required design
(service) loads in such a way as to
improve its overall performance.
The figure below demonstrates the various stages
involved during pre-stressing.
Stress distribution
Advantages of a PC member
• No cracking since tension is avoided.
• Deflection controlled
• Smaller cross-section
• Efficient use of high strength materials
(concrete & steel)
• Improved resistance to shear and repeated
loads.
Methods of Pre-stressing
– Pre-tensioning
– Post-tensioning
Pre-tensioning: - involves stretching of the
tendons between external abutments before
the concrete is placed, and then the jacking
force is released after the fresh concrete has
hardened and reached the desired strength.
In this method:
tensioning is applied using hydraulic jack or mechanical
device.
high strength concrete is used. (> C-40)
steam curing can be used to accelerate hardening of
concrete.
massive end abutments are required.
stress is transferred by bonds/friction
Advantages of pretentioning over
post tensioning
• Pre-tensioning is suitable for precast
members produced in bulk.
• In pre-tensioning large anchorage device
is not present.
Disadvantages of Pre-tensioning
The relative disadvantages are as follows.
• A prestressing bed is required for the pre-tensioning
operation.
• There is a waiting period in the prestressing bed,
before the concrete attains sufficient strength.
• There should be good bond between concrete and
steel over the transmission length.
Post-tensioning:
• hollow conduits(ducts) are placed before the
tendons (or strands) are placed along with.
• The tendons are placed in the ducts after the
casting and pouring of concrete and then apply
Tension.
• high strength concrete is used. (> C-30)
• End anchorages are required to transfer the pre-
stress force.
Stages of post-tensioning
Advantages of Post-tensioning
The relative advantages of post-tensioning as compared to pre-
tensioning are as follows.
• Post-tensioning is suitable for heavy cast-in-place members.
• The ease with which tendons profile can be varied.
• The waiting period in the casting bed is less.
• The transfer of pre-stress is independent of bond length.
Disadvantage of Post-tensioning
• The relative disadvantage of post-tensioning as compared to
pre-tensioning is the requirement of anchorage device.
Basic Analysis concepts:
• Different concepts are used to explain the
behavior of PC member.
Stress concept
Strength concept
Load balancing
• The stress concept: -
Tensile stresses due to external loading are
counteracted by compressive stresses due to pre-
stress resulting the final stress in the extreme fiber
to be either compressive or zero.
two cases shall be considered.
Concentric tendon or centroidal pre-stressing.
The final stress in the section at y distance from
the NA (centroid) is
F My for top fiber
f
A I for bottom fiber
Eccentric tendon (eccentric pre-stressing)
• The stress at any point y along the section may be
computed from
F Fey My for top fiber
f
A I I for bottom fiber
The strength concept: - (The Internal couple
method)
• In this method pre-stressing is considered as a
combination of high strength steel and concrete with the
steel taking tension and concrete taking compression so
that the two materials form a resisting couple against the
external moment.
• The stress at any point on a cross section
may be obtained using
C Ce y P Pey
f c
A I A I
• ec = eccentricity of C w. r. to the centroidal axis
• A, I = cross-sectional area & moment of inertia of the
gross section
• C = total compressive force acting on the cross-section.
The Balanced Load Concept:-
• It is a technique of balancing the external load by
selecting a pre-stressing force and tendon profile that
creates transverse load acting opposite to the external
load. This method is the most widely used method for
post-tensioned structures.
a) Parabolic Tendon
• wb- is the balanced load which may be equal to w or only
a portion of it.
wb L2 8Pe
M int M ext , Pe , wb
8 L2
P M net y ( w wb ) L2
f , where M net
A I 8
• b) singly harped section
M due balancing load M due to prestress
Pb L 4 P cos( )e
P cos( )e Pb
4 L
P cos( ) M net y
f
A I
Mnet is the moment developed by (P-Pb).
• For small values of ; P M net y
f
A I
Materials
• Concrete- high strength > C-40 for pre-tensioning and
for > C-30 for post-tensioning & class I works used.
• Steel – high strength steel with fpk > 1000 Mpa
Permissible Stresses
Steel: -
• Maximum Stress during tensioning
0.8 f pk
f P ,max
0.9 f p 0.1 ( proof stress)
• Stress after transfer (initial stress)
0.75 f pk
f Pi
0.85 f p 0.1 ( proof stress)
• Stress in tendons after all losses (effective
stress)
fpe < 0.6 fpk
Permissible Stresses for Concrete: -
• At transfer, fct < 0.5 fck(t)
ftt < fctk(t)
fct - compressive strength of concrete at the moment of transfer.
ftt -tensile strength of concrete at the moment of transfer.
• When loaded by service loads (at working loads)
fcw < 0.4 fcu=0.5fck --- compression
ftw < fctk --- tension
fcw - compressive strength of concrete at at working loads.
ftw -tensile strength of concrete at working loads.
Losses in PC member
The initial pre-stressing force (Pi) is less than the jacking
force (Pj) because of losses due to:
elastic shortening of concrete
slip at the anchorage
frictional losses
shrinkage and creep of concrete
relaxation of highly stressed steel
Stress in a PC- beam
Two cases must be checked
• Stresses immediately after pre-stressing
Pi Pe M DL f ct
f1 i
A S1 S1 f tt
P Pe M DL
f2 i i f ct
A S2 S2
S1 & S2 - Section modulus of top & bottom section
MDL – BM due to self-weight
• Stresses after all losses
P Pe ( M DL M LL )
f1 f cw
A S1 S1
P Pe ( M DL M LL )
f2 f tw
A S2 S2
MLL – BM due to live load.