CHAPTER 4
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
Prepared By Mesfin D.
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Pre-stressed concrete is a concrete in which internal stresses
are introduced so that the stresses resulting from external
loads are counter acted to a desired degree.
is preloading of a structure before application of the required
design (service) loads in such a way as to improve its overall
performance.
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Advantages of a PC member
No cracking since tension is avoided.
Deflection controlled (small)
Smaller cross-section can be used as
compared with ordinary concrete --> lower
own weight, longer spans
Efficient use of high strength materials (the
saving amounts 15 to 30% of concrete and
60 to 80% steel)
Improved resistance to shear and repeated
loads. 3
Methods of prestressing
1. Pre-tensioning: - Involves stretching of the tendons
between external anchorages before the concrete is
placed, and the jacking force is released after the fresh
concrete hardened and reached the desired strength.
tensioning is applied using hydraulic or mechanical device.
high early strength concrete is used. (> C-30)
steam curing to accelerate hardening of concrete .
simple end anchorages are required.
stress is transferred by bonds/friction from the pre-stressed
tendons to the concrete when we cut from the casting bed.
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Pre-tension(Cont’d)
Stages of prestressing
1. Anchoring of tendons against the end abutments
2. Placing of jacks
3. Applying tension to the tendons
4. Casting of concrete
5. Cutting of the tendons.
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Pre-tension(Cont’d)
The stages are shown schematically in the
following figures.
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Pre-tension(Cont’d)
The relative advantages of pre-tensioning as
compared to post-tensioning are as follows.
Pre-tensioning is suitable for precast members
produced in bulk.
In pre-tensioning large anchorage device is not
present.
Mass/Bulk production of prestressed members
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Pre-tension(Cont’d)
Disadvantages
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.
There is a need for massive abutments.
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2. Post-tensioning:
The tensioning is applied to the tendons after hardening
of the concrete.
Stages of Post-tensioning
1. Placing of the ducts
2. Casting of concrete.
3. Placement of the tendons.
4. Placement of the anchorage block and jack.
5. Applying tension to the tendons.
6. Seating of the wedges.
7. Cutting of the tendons.
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Analysis of PC Beams
Different concepts are used to explain the behavior of
PC member.
a) stress concept
b) strength/force concept
c) load balancing concept
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a) 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.
i. Concentric tendon or centroidal pre-stressing.
[Link] tendon (eccentric pre-stressing)
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stress concept(cont’d)
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stress concept(cont’d)
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b) strength/force/internal couple concept
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 tension in prestressing steel (T) and the resultant
compression in concrete (C) are considered to balance
the external loads.
C=T=P
C
M=C.z
ec
e z
M =C(ec +e)
T=P
ec +e= M/P
ec = M/P- e
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The resultant stress in concrete at distance y from the
CGC is given as follows.
C Cec y P Pec y
f
where A I A I
ec = eccentricity of C w. r. to the centroidal axis
A, I = x-sectional area & moment of inertia of the section
Substituting C = P and Cec = M – Pe, the expression of
stress becomes same as that given by the stress concept.
P Pey My for top fiber
f
A I I for bottom fiber
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c) load balancing 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. P
P
e
wb
The moment at the centre due to the uniform upward
thrust (wb) is given by the following equation.
wb L2
M
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The moment at the centre from the prestressing force is
given as M = Pe
8Pe
Equating the two wb 2
L
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The net load or unbalanced load w-wb and hence the net
moment would be
( w wb ) L
2
M net
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Thus the stress at the concrete would be
P M net y
f
A I
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For Singly Harped Tendon
P P
e
Pb
Fy 0 Pb 2 P sin
The stress at the concrete would be
P cos M net y
f
A I
Where: Mnet is the moment developed by external load-
Pb)
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Materials used
Concrete- high strength > C-30(post tensioned) C-40(pre
tensioned) & class I works is used.
Steel - high strength steel with fpk > 1000 Mpa
Cold drawn wires
Stress relieved stranded cables, and
High strength alloy steel bars
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Permissible Stresses
Steel: - In design, the stress in the pre-
f pk
stressing steel at ULS is limited to 0.9
s
and the strain εu< 0.01.
Maximum Stress during tensioning
0.8 f pk
f P ,max
0.9 f p 0.1 ( proof stress)
Stress immediately after transfer (initial stress)
0.75 f pk
f Pi 0.85 f ( proof stress)
p 0.1
Proof stress is the stress that causes a specified amount of
permanent deformation in a23 material.
Stress in tendons after all losses (effective stress)
fpe < 0.6 fpk
Concrete: -
At transfer, fct < 0.6 fck – compression
ftt < fctk – tension,
Where: fct - cube strength of concrete and ftt - tensile
strength of concrete at the moment of transfer.
When loaded by service loads
fcw < 0.4 fcu = 0.5fck --- compression
ftw < 0.75fctk --- tension
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The strength fck(t) at any time t, (t in days )
from measured or specified 28 day value may
be obtained from
t
f ck (t ) * f ck (28)
t
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Losses in PC member
The initial pre-stressing force (Pi) is less than the jacking
force (Pj) because of losses due to:
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Lump sum estimate of pre-stress losses
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Stress in a PC- beam
Two cases must be checked
1. Stresses immediately f Pi Pi e M DL f ct
f tt
t
after pre-stressing A Zt Zt
fb
Pi Pi e M DL
f ct
A Zb Zb
P Pe ( M DL M LL )
2. Stresses after all losses ft f cw
A Zt Zt
P Pe ( M DL M LL )
fb f tw
A Zb Zb
Where: Zt & Zb - Section modulus of top & bottom section
MDL – BM due to DL
MLL – BM due to LL
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THE END
presented By Mesfin
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