METHODS OF ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION IN R.C.

PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
CONCRETE BEAMS
SLAB FRAMES

PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

ORDINARY CONCRETE has poor tensile strength , the major portion

of an ordinary reinforced concrete beam plays little part in the
flexural strength of the beam underload.
When reinforcement is stretched before or after the concrete is cast
and the stretched reinforcement is anchored to the concrete it
causes a compressive prestress in the concrete as it resists the
tendency of the reinforcement to return to its original length .
This compressive prestress makes more economical use of the
concrete by allowing all of the section of concrete to play some part
in supporting load .
In prestressed concrete the whole or the part of concrete section is
compressive before the load is applied ,so that when the load is
applied the compressive prestress is reduced by flexural tension.
For the prestress to be maintained,the steel reinforcement must not
suffer permanent elongation or creep under load.
High tensile wire is used in prestreesed concrete to maintain the
prestress under load.
Under load, a pre stressed concrete member will bend or deflect and
compressive and tensile stresses will be developed in opposite
faces.
Concrete in parts of the member will therefore have to resist
compressive stress induced by the pre stress as well as compressive
stress developed during bending .for this reason high compressive
strength concrete is used in pre stressed work to gain maximum
advantage of the pre stress
A consequence of the need to use high strength concrete is that pre
stressed members are generally smaller in section than comparable
reinforced concrete ones.

Concrete beams and slab frames:

A beam and slab floor is generally the most economic and therefore
most usual form of floor construction for reinforced concrete frames.
When a reinforced concrete frame is cast monolithically with
reinforced concrete floors it is logical to design the slabs to span in
both directions so that all the beams around a floor slab can bear
part of the load

This two way span of floor slabs effects some reduction in the
overall depth of floors as compared to a one way spanning floor slab
construction.
The insitu cast reinforced concrete floor illustrated, combines main
and secondary beams as a grid to provide the leas thickness of slab
for economy in the mass of concrete in construction, and
comparatively widely paced columns. This square grid results in
minimum thickness of floor slab and minimum depth of beams, and
therefore the minimum dead weight of construction.
Because of the user requirements and circulation needs in a building
which will increase the overall depth, weight and therefore cost of
construction of a reinforced concrete frame.