1.

Prestressing - Prestressing is a construction technique where compressive stress is

applied to concrete before it is subjected to external loads. This is achieved using
high-strength tendons or wires, which are tensioned and anchored to provide
compressive forces to the concrete. The main objective is to enhance the material's
tensile strength and mitigate issues such as cracking under service loads. Prestressing
can be defined as the imposition of internal stresses into a structure that are of opposite
character to those that will be caused by the service or working loads.
2. Types of prestressing –
a. Linear Prestressing - is a structural engineering technique where compressive forces
are applied along a straight or linear axis of a structural member, such as beams, slabs,
or girders. The primary goal of linear prestressing is to counteract tensile stresses that
develop in these members under bending, shear, or axial loads, ensuring better
structural performance and durability.
b. Circular Prestressing - is a structural engineering technique used to enhance the
strength and durability of cylindrical or spherical structures, such as tanks, pipes, or
pressure vessels. This method involves applying compressive stresses in a circular
direction (around the circumference of the structure) to counteract the tensile stresses
caused by internal pressure.
3. Reinforced concrete - Reinforced concrete is a combination of concrete and steel
wherein the steel reinforcement provides the tensile strength lacking in the concrete.
Reinforced concrete combines concrete's compressive strength with the tensile strength
of steel reinforcement. This synergy makes it ideal for various construction applications,
including buildings, bridges, and pavements.
4. Advantages and disadvantages of ordinary reinforced concrete:
Advantages:
•
Concrete offers excellent compressive strength relative to its cost, making it more
economical than many other materials.
•
Reinforced concrete demonstrates superior resistance to fire and water, making it ideal
for wet environments. In moderate fires, concrete provides adequate protection to steel
reinforcements, typically incurring only surface damage without structural failure.
•
Structures made from reinforced concrete exhibit high rigidity, enhancing their stability
under load.
•
Concrete requires minimal maintenance over its lifespan, reducing ongoing costs.
•
Compared to alternative materials, reinforced concrete boasts exceptional longevity.
Properly designed and maintained structures can retain their load-bearing capacity
indefinitely. This durability stems from the unique property of concrete, which
strengthens over time due to the prolonged solidification of cement paste.
•
For foundational applications like footings, floor slabs, basement walls, and piers,
reinforced concrete is often the most cost-effective option.
•
One of concrete's defining characteristics is its versatility. It can be molded into a wide
range of shapes, from simple structural elements to complex architectural forms like
arches and shells.
Disadvantages:
•
Concrete inherently has low tensile strength, which necessitates the addition of
reinforcement materials like steel to handle tensile forces effectively.
•
Temporary formwork is essential to shape and support the concrete until it hardens
sufficiently. In some cases, additional shoring or falsework is needed to hold the forms
in place, especially for structural elements like roofs, walls, and floors. This formwork
significantly adds to the overall cost of construction.
•
Concrete's low strength-to-weight ratio results in heavier structural elements, which is a
critical drawback for long-span designs. The substantial dead weight of concrete can
greatly influence bending moments. While lightweight aggregates can reduce this
weight, their use increases the material cost.
•
Similarly, the low strength-to-volume ratio of concrete means structural components
tend to be larger. This is particularly impactful for tall buildings and long-span
constructions, where size and weight are significant considerations.
•
Concrete's properties are highly variable due to differences in its composition and
mixing process. Additionally, field placement and curing often lack the stringent
controls typical of materials like structural steel or laminated wood, leading to
potential inconsistencies in quality.
5. Advantages and disadvantages of prestressed concrete:
Advantages:
Prestressed concrete members are designed to remain crack-free under working loads,
which improves their visual appearance and watertightness. This feature offers superior
protection against corrosion for embedded steel reinforcements. Additionally, the
absence of cracks reduces maintenance requirements and extends the lifespan of the
structure, making prestressed concrete an economical choice. When factoring in
reduced maintenance costs, it often proves to be the most cost-effective option for
many applications.
The inherent camber induced by prestressing counteracts deflections, minimizing
overall deformation. Other benefits of prestressed concrete include:
•
Reduced Diagonal Tension Stresses: Enhances structural durability.
•
Greater Stiffness Under Loads: Ensures structural stability during service.
•
Improved Fatigue and Impact Resistance: Outperforms conventional reinforced
concrete in dynamic and repetitive loading conditions.
Disadvantages:
•
Prestressed concrete demands stricter quality control during manufacturing to ensure
the accuracy of tensioning and the performance of the materials. Any deviation in
production can affect the structural integrity.
•
There are inevitable losses in the initial prestressing forces due to the shortening of the
concrete when compressed, which partially relaxes the tension in the cables. This
reduction is further exacerbated by the concrete's shrinkage and creep over time,
leading to additional prestress loss.
•
The design process for prestressed concrete requires consideration of various stress
conditions, such as initial stresses during prestress application, adjustments after
prestress losses, and those arising from different loading scenarios. This complexity
adds to the design challenges.
•
Prestressed concrete systems may incur higher costs due to the need for specialized
end anchorage devices and end-beam plates, which are critical for securely transferring
the prestress forces to the structure.
6. Equivalent loads - This concept simplifies complex load into single-point loads or
uniform loads for easier analysis. It helps in designing and checking structures under
varied loading conditions
7. Prestressing methods:
Pre-Tensioning: Steel tendons are stretched before concrete placement. Once the
concrete hardens, the tendons are released, transferring the prestress.
Post-Tensioning: Tendons are tensioned after the concrete has hardened, using
anchorage devices.
8. Losses in prestressed concrete - Losses refer a gradual reduction with time from the
stages of transfer due to various causes:
•
Elastic Deformation of Concrete: Concrete compresses, reducing tension in tendons.
•
Creep and Shrinkage: Long-term concrete deformation causes stress loss.
•
Relaxation of Steel: Tendons lose stress over time even without external force.
•
Friction: Resistance during tensioning leads to uneven force distribution.
•
Anchorage Slip: Tendon slippage at anchor points decreases prestress
9. Anchorage slip - Occurs when tendons slide slightly within the anchorage during
stress transfer, leading to loss in tension. It can be minimized with proper anchorage
systems. The extent of slippage in prestressed tendons depends on the specific system
being used and typically ranges from about 0.10 inches to 0.20 inches. This deformation
is more significant in shorter members where the percentage loss relative to the total
length of the tendons is higher. However, in longer members, the proportional impact of
this slippage diminishes, making it less critical to the overall prestressing performance.
10. Elastic shortening - If a compressive load is applied to a concrete member, an
immediate or instantaneous elastic shortening occurs. As concrete is compressed
during prestressing, it shortens, causing the tensioned tendons to lose some of their
prestress. The amount depends on the material's modulus of elasticity and the level of
stress applied
11. Friction losses - Friction losses occur in post-tensioned prestressed concrete when
the tendons rub against ducts as they are tensioned. This leads to uneven stress
distribution. Friction depends on the curvature of the tendon path and imperfections in
the ducts. Proper design and lubrication can minimize these losses. The stress in the
tendons of a prestressed concrete structure decreases as the distance from the tension
points increases. This reduction in stress is caused by friction between the tendons and
the surrounding concrete, a phenomenon known as "friction losses." The losses are
influenced by both the length and the curvature of the tendon path. The longer and
more curved the tendon, the greater the frictional effect, which results in a greater
reduction in prestress. These effects are crucial to account for in design, as they can
lead to significant tension losses over long spans
12. Concrete shrinkage - After the concrete has been cured and begins to dry, the
excess water used during mixing gradually moves to the surface, where it evaporates.
This evaporation leads to the shrinkage of the concrete, which, if not properly managed,
can cause cracks to form. These cracks are particularly problematic because they
reduce the material’s durability and aesthetic quality, allowing water and other harmful
elements to penetrate, potentially leading to corrosion of the reinforcing steel. In
prestressed concrete, this can lead to stress reduction in the tendons. Using proper
curing methods and low water-cement ratios helps mitigate shrinkage
13. Concrete creep - Creep refers to the long-term deformation of concrete under
sustained load. In prestressed concrete, it reduces the tension in the tendons over time.
High-strength concrete and precise load calculations minimize creep effects. The losses
in prestressing due to concrete shrinkage and creep are highly variable. Shrinkage,
which refers to the reduction in volume as the excess mixing water evaporates, can
range from nearly zero to approximately 0.0005 inches per inch (in./in.), depending on
factors like moisture levels and the age of the concrete when it is first loaded. On
average, a typical value used for shrinkage is about 0.0003 in./in. This shrinkage
contributes to a reduction in prestress, along with the long-term effects of creep, which
causes further deformation over time under sustained
loading. Both factors must be considered in the design of prestressed concrete
structures to ensure that the prestress forces are accurately accounted for and
maintained
14. Materials used in prestressed concrete – The concrete used in prestressed concrete
is typically stronger than that used in ordinary reinforced concrete for several reasons:
•
The higher modulus of elasticity of the stronger concrete reduces elastic strains when
the tendons are tensioned, minimizing stress losses over time.
•
In prestressed concrete, the entire section remains in compression, meaning all the
concrete is used to resist forces. This justifies using stronger concrete, unlike in
reinforced concrete, where much of the section is in tension and often cracked.
•
Most prestressed concrete work in the U.S. is precast and pretensioned in controlled
environments, allowing for consistent use of high-strength concrete.
•
For pretensioned work, stronger concrete enables higher bond stresses between the
tendons and the concrete, improving overall performance
Concrete: High-strength concrete is essential for its compressive properties.
Steel Tendons: Includes wires, strands, or bars made of high-strength steel to handle
tensile forces.
Ducts and Anchorages: For post-tensioning, ducts guide the tendons, and anchorages
hold them in place
15. Difference between ordinary reinforcing bar and high strength steel
Ordinary Reinforcing Bar: Lower tensile strength mainly resists cracks, and supports
moderate loads.
High-Strength Steel: Much stronger, handles higher stresses, and is used in prestressed
systems for better performance
16. Importance of using high strength steel - High-strength steels are essential for
maintaining sufficient prestress forces in prestressed concrete members. These steels
exhibit much greater strains during stressing compared to ordinary reinforcing steels,
enabling them to withstand
higher levels of stress. As a result, when the concrete experiences elastic shortening in
compression, as well as further shortening due to creep and shrinkage, the strain and
stress losses in the steel are a smaller proportion of the total stress, making the system
more efficient.
Another advantage of using high-strength steel is its ability to generate a large prestress
force in a small area, which is particularly beneficial in designs requiring compact and
efficient prestressing. This allows for optimized use of materials while achieving the
desired structural performance
17. Types of prestressing steel
1.
Wires: Single steel units.
2.
Strands: Bundled wires, often 2–7 strands twisted together.
3.
Bars: Single, larger-diameter steel bars.
Each type has specific applications based on required strength and structure
18. Stress-strain curve/diagram - The stress-strain diagram illustrates the relationship
between applied stress and material deformation. For prestressing steel:
•
It shows high yield strength and ductility.
•
In concrete, the curve demonstrates compressive strength, with a steep rise and
gradual flattening as it approaches failure
19. Steel relaxation - Relaxation is the reduction in stress in tendons over time, even
when deformation is held constant. This happens due to the material's internal
molecular changes. High-strength steel minimizes relaxation losses
20. Ordinary concrete - Concrete with typical compressive strength (e.g., 20–30 MPa)
and made with standard materials like cement, sand, and aggregates. It’s widely used in
general construction but is not ideal for prestressing due to its lower strength
21. High strength concrete - Concrete with higher compressive strength (usually above
40 MPa) referred to as high-strength concretes. Another name sometimes given to them
is high-performance concretes It’s specially formulated with high-grade materials, lower
water-cement ratios, and sometimes admixtures for added durability
22. Importance of using high strength Concrete -High-strength concrete is crucial for:
•
Withstanding high compressive stresses in prestressed structures.
•
Reducing creep and shrinkage effects.
•
Allowing slender and efficient designs for longer spans
23. Compressive strength of high strength concrete - High-strength concrete typically
has a compressive strength above 40 MPa, often ranging up to 100 MPa or more for
specialized applications like high-rise buildings or bridges
24. Modulus of elasticity - The ratio of stress to strain in elastic materials. The higher its
value, the smaller the deformations in a member. This measures a material’s stiffness or
ability to deform elastically under load. For high-strength concrete, the modulus is
higher, indicating greater stiffness, which is critical for minimizing deflections in
prestressed structures.
25. Tensile strength - Concrete’s tensile strength is its ability to resist pulling forces.
While much lower than compressive strength, prestressed designs overcome this by
inducing compression, enhancing its load-bearing capabilities
References:
M, V. & Gude Rama Krishna. (500). Lecture Notes On Prestressed Concrete Structures.
In Iv B. Tech Ii Sem [Lecture Notes]. Institute Of Aeronautical Engineering.
Nawy, E. G. (2010). Prestressed Concrete: A Fundamental Approach. Pearson.
PCI (n.d.). Fundamentals of Prestressed Concrete Design. Precast/Prestressed
Concrete Institute
Lin, T. Y., & Burns, N. H. (1981). Design of prestressed concrete structures. John Wiley
& Sons.