Pre-stressed Concrete Bridges

Introduction: In prestressed concrete, a prestress force is applied to a concrete member and this
induces an axial compression that counteracts all, or part of, the tensile stresses set up in the member
by applied loading. In the field of bridge engineering, the introduction of prestressed concrete has
aided the construction of long-span concrete bridges. These often comprise precast units, lifted into
position and then tensioned against the units already in place, the process being continued until the
span is complete. For smaller bridges, the use of simply supported precast prestressed concrete beams
has proved an economical form of construction. The introduction of ranges of standard beam section
has simplified the design and construction of these bridges. Methods of Prestressing:

1. Pre-tensioning

2. Post-tensioning
Advantages of Prestressed Concrete

 Contrary to conventional concrete elements, the entire concrete cross-section of prestressed

concrete resists applied load. This is because the concrete in tension zone does not suffer
cracking and hence it would take part in carrying loads.
 The spans of prestressed beams and girders are longer compared with that of reinforced
concrete.
 Longer span length increases untroubled floor space and parking facilities.
 Longer spans results in fewer joints, as a result, less maintenance is needed.
 Possibility of steel corrosion and subsequent concrete deterioration is declined because
concrete is crack-free.
 It has long-term durability.
 Prestressed concrete members are able to bear reversal of stresses, impact, vibration and shock
due to the absence of cracks.
 Practically, dead loads are neutral in a prestressed concrete beam. Consequently, the dead load
weight of the structure is decreased which results in reduced consumption of materials.
 Thinner slabs, that are important for high-rise building as with the same amount of cost, it can
construct more slabs than traditional thicker slabs.
 The use of curved tendons and the pre-compression of concrete helps to resist shear.
 The quantity of required steel in prestressed concrete is 1/3 of that required for reinforced
concrete, but the steel for the former should have high tensile strength.
 The development of prestressed concrete results in the construction of a sizable liquid-
retaining structure that would not otherwise be possible.
 Large liquid retaining structures constructed from prestressed concrete have low cost and are
preferably safe against cracking and consequent leakage.
 Prestressed concrete can be used with advantage in all those structures where tension
develops, such as tie and suspender of a bow string girder, railway sleepers, electric poles,
upstream face of gravity dam etc.
 Prestressed concrete beams have usually low deflection.

Disadvantages of Prestressed Concrete

 Prestressed concrete requires high-quality dense concrete of high strength. Perfect quality
concrete in production, placement and compaction is required.
 It requires high tensile steel, which is 2.5 to 3.5 times costlier than mild steel.
 Prestressing process requires complicated tensioning equipment and anchoring devices.
 Construction requires perfect supervision at all stages of construction.
 Prestressed concrete needs skilled labors.

Serviceability Limit State

 In contrast to reinforced concrete, the design of prestressed concrete members is initially based
upon the flexural behavior at working load conditions.
 The ultimate strength of all members in bending, shear and torsion is then checked, after the
limit states of serviceability have been satisfied.
 The prime function of prestressing is to ensure that only limited tensile stresses occur in the
concrete under all conditions within the working range of loads.
  To satisfy the limit state of cracking it is necessary to satisfy the stress limitations for the
outermost fibers of a section.

Stress Limitation BS8110

 Class 1 : No tensile stresses;

 Class 2 : Flexural tensile stresses, but no visible cracking;
 Class 3 : Flexural tensile stresses, but surface crack widths not exceeding a maximum value
(0.1mm for members in aggressive environments and 0.2mm for all other members)

Prestress Losses:

 Elastic deformation of concrete

 Anchorage draw-in
 Friction losses
 Concrete shrinkage
 Concrete creep
 Steel relaxation

Total Prestress Losses: If the initial prestress force applied to a member is Pi, then the effective prestress
force at transfers is aPi, while that at service load is bPi. The value of a reflects the short-term losses due to
elastic shortening, anchorage draw-in and friction.Total loss coefficient b accounts for the short term and
long-term time-dependent losses due to concrete shrinkage and creep and steel relaxation.

Cable Zone and Cable Profile

 Once the prestress force has been chosen based on the most critical section, it is possible to
find the limits of the eccentricity ‘e’ at sections elsewhere along the member.
 An allowable cable zone is produced within which the profile may take any shape.
 The term ‘cable’ is used to denote the resultant of all the individual tendons.
 As long as the ‘cable’ lies within the zone, the stresses at the different loading stages will not
exceed the allowable values, even though some of the tendons might physically lie outside
the cable zone.

Shear in Prestressed Concrete Beam

 The shear resistance of prestressed concrete members at the ultimate limit state is dependent
on whether or not the section in the region of greatest shear force has cracked.
 The mode of failure is different for the two cases. If the section is uncracked in flexure, then
failure in shear is initiated by cracks which form in the webs of I or T sections once the principal
tensile strength has been exceeded.
 If the section is cracked, then failure is initiated by cracks on the tension face of the member
extending into the compression zone, in a similar manner to the shear mode for reinforced
concrete members.
Shear reinforcement If the shear resistance of a prestressed concrete member is not sufficient, then shear
reinforcement must be provided in the form of links, similar to those used in reinforced concrete members.
Ultimate Strength of Prestressed Concrete: After designing a member to meet the stress limitations for
serviceability, it is necessary to check the ultimate limit state.

Deflection of Prestressed Beams

The deflection of prestressed beams is difficult to assess in practice since it is dependent upon many variables as
follows:

 Elastic deflection due to prestress

 Elastic deflection due to initial loading
 Creep deflection under sustained stresses
 Deflection due to loss of prestress
 Additional deflection due to live load

The deflection due to prestress may be calculated by treating the prestress as an equivalent normal loading.
Since concrete deforms both instantaneously under load and also with time, due to creep, the deflections of
concrete structures should be assessed under both short-term and long-term conditions.
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