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Local Stress Behavior of Post-Tensioned Prestressed Anchorage Zones in

Continuous Rigid Frame Arch Railway Bridge

Article  in  Applied Sciences · October 2018

DOI: 10.3390/app8101833

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Article

Local Stress Behavior of Post-Tensioned Prestressed

Anchorage Zones in Continuous Rigid Frame Arch
Railway Bridge
Weizhong Mao 1, Hongye Gou 1,2,*, Yannian He 1 and Qianhui Pu 1
1 Department of Bridge Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu
610031, China; wz8811@sina.com (W.M.); heyannian@my.swjtu.edu.cn (Y.H.); qhpu@vip.163.com (Q.P.)
2 Key Laboratory of High-Speed Railway Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong

University, Chengdu 610031, China

* Correspondence: gouhongye@swjtu.cn; Tel.: +86-159-8238-9062

Received: 2 August 2018; Accepted: 2 October 2018; Published: 6 October 2018

Abstract: The concrete stress behavior and cause of cracking at the anchorage zones of top and
bottom slabs of a post-tensioned prestressed concrete box beam were studied. Based on the
complex stress distribution under local anchor problem for the Yichang Yangtze River Bridge,
which is the longest continuous rigid frame arch railway bridge in the world, model tests were
conducted. Two full-scale specimens of top and bottom slabs were fabricated and gradually loaded
based on principle of equivalent stress. The goal was to analyze the longitudinal and transverse
stress distributions of cross sections of specimens at various loading cases during the experiment.
From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the mechanical behavior of the concrete and
steel bars were in good agreement when prestressed tendons were loaded. Tensile stress of
concrete in prestressed anchorage zone gradually increased and surpassed the ultimate tensile
strength of concrete with the increasing load. Consequently, local longitudinal cracking was
formed at the anchorage block. Some recommendations to avoid the concrete at the anchorage zone
continuing to crack are summarized in this paper.

Keywords: local stress distribution; full-scale specimens; post-tensioned; anchorage zone; tensile
stress; cracking

1. Introduction
Post-tensioning techniques have been widely applied to design bridge piers and decks,
building slabs, and long-span girders [1]. However, high prestress and concrete creep can generate
several issues for designing prestress of concrete bridges. One important issue is cracking in
prestressed concrete member, for example, in the construction of continuous rigid frame bridge, the
bottom slab of box girder in the main span cracked due to excessive local stress [2,3]. Similarly, a
prestressed concrete beam with 40 m span of highway bridge also cracked during the construction
[4]. In addition, the vertical and lateral thermal movement of prestressed concrete bridge girders
may also cause concrete cracking [5]. Cracking provides a path for penetration of moisture and salts,
thus presents a potential corrosion and frost damage threat. Moreover, concrete at the anchorage
zone of the prestressed concrete member is easier to crack. Based on the above analysis, we can see
that several prestressed concrete bridges and buildings have experienced severe cracking along the
tendon path when prestress force has been transferred in the anchorage zone [6]. Consequently, one
of the most critical characteristics of post-tensioned prestressed members is stress distribution and
cracking in anchorage zone.
Numerous studies on the anchorage zones have been performed using the theory of elasticity,
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833; doi:10.3390/app8101833 www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 2 of 13

experiments, and finite element analyses. Manisekar and Gou et al. [7,8] studied stress at ultimate
in unbonded post tensioning tendons in simply supported concrete. Hassan et al. [9] reported a
simple function that can be used to assess post-tensioning cable forces in semi-cable stayed bridge
under the action of the dead load. Experimental and analytical studies were conducted by Kwon et
al. [10] to develop an efficient anchorage device and to design an equation of the bearing strength in
the posttensioning anchorage zone. Ellobody et al. [11] evaluated mechanical behavior of unbonded
post-tensioned one-way concrete slabs. They found that the ultimate loads obtained using current
codes are conservative for these concrete slabs. Yong et al. [12] carried out a specimen test and 3-D
finite-element analysis to study transverse shear force effects on the stress and strain distributions
of post-tensioned, rectangular, concrete anchorage blocks. They found that the transverse shear
forces on the beams cause a significant reduction in the values of the transverse tensile strains, but
have relatively little effect on the lateral tensile strains. Yun et al. [1] estimated the ultimate strength
of post-tensioned beams using AASHTO LRFD (American Association of State Highways and
Transportation Officials Load and Resistance Factor Design) approximate stress analysis/design
method, the critical section concept, and bearing strength equation. Marceau et al. [13] presented a
numerical study of a mono-strand anchorage device, and two different representations of the
jaw/tendon device, either as two distinct components or as a single equivalent, were examined. A
comprehensive experimental and analytical study was conducted by oh et al. [5] to explore
characteristics of the local stress distribution and to study the failure mechanism on the anchorage
zones of precast prestressed concrete structures. Combined with the measured stress of box girder
concrete near the anchor plate, a spatial finite element model was established by Zheng et al. [14] to
study the stress distribution in anchorage zone; moreover, the theoretical calculation and measured
data were analyzed and compared. Zhou et al. [15] proposed two possible models for longitudinal
anti-cracking analysis at the anchor end of post-tensioned concrete voided slab girders. The
practical analysis method for longitudinal anti-cracking is established by differential element
analysis. Tensile tests for the new strands were carried out with seven different types of
mono-strand anchorages by Kim et al. [16] to investigate the tensile behavior of a newly developed
uncoated strand according to various types of mono anchorages and appropriate anchorages for
both strands were proposed. Considering the deformations due to anchorage slip, Fallah et al. [17]
studied the influence of bond slip on the seismic behavior of RC structure using nonlinear dynamic
and static pushover analysis. Chen et al. [18] studied the stress distribution and stress transfer
mechanism of the cable-to-girder anchorage structure of tensile anchor plate type under the
designed load. The results of the test and analysis indicated that the cable-to-girder anchorage
structure could meet the requirements of the designed bearing capacity. For existing problems in
Near Surface Mounted (NSM) technique, a promising approach for flexural strengthening of RC
members, U-wrap end anchorage with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) fabrics, was
proposed by Hosen et al. [19] to eliminate the concrete cover separation failure. An experimental
investigation was presented by Ghasemi et al. [20] to show the flexural behavior of continuous
two-span unbonded post-tensioned high strength concrete (HSC) beams, strengthened by
end-anchored CFRP laminates of different configurations in the hogging region. Okumus et al. [21]
investigated reasons for crack growth in the anchorage zones after detension. In this study,
differential cooling, creep, and shrinkage of bulb-tee cross sections are studied as potential reasons
of crack growth. Kim and Gou et al. [22–30] conducted experiments and comparisons between
experimental results and design-equation predictions to determine the effects of steel–fiber and
rebar reinforcements on the ultimate bearing strength of the local anchorage zone. The test and the
comparisons between the design-equation predictions and the test results showed that the ultimate
bearing strength and the section efficiency were highly affected by the reinforcement details and the
concrete strength. Through theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experimental validation,
high order longitudinal guided waves (HOLGW) were studied by Pan et al. [31] for damage
detection in the anchorage zone of stayed cable.
Although much research has been conducted on anchorage zone, especially the new anchorage
devices, ultimate capacity, simulation analysis, etc., there are limited studies on stress transfer and
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 3 of 13

distribution of the anchorage zone of post-tensioned prestressed concrete members, in particular,

with full scale specimens being applied in tests. Based on the Yichang Yangtze River Bridge, which
is the longest continuous rigid frame arch railway bridge in the world, and the first application of
this type of bridge in railway transportation, model tests were conducted. It has spans of 130, 275,
275, and 130 m. It is on the China Yi-Wan Railway Line with a design speed of 175 km/h. The bridge
is composed of a prestressed concrete rigid frame with box girders, reinforced concrete piers, and
two concrete filled steel tube arches at the two internal spans, as depicted in Figure 1a. Section A-A
of the main girder, as illustrated in Figure 1b, was considered due to its thinner top and bottom
slabs resulting in remarkable local bearing pressure effect.
For a long-span prestressed concrete continuous rigid frame arch bridge, optimizing
arrangement of prestressing tendons in the box beam is a key issue. It is very prone to cracks,
affecting the durability and even the normal service due to the relative restricted distance between
the prestressed ducts and anchorage device, and the small cross-section of the box beam [3]. In
addition, compared with other sections, stress concentration is more serious in the mid-span
because of comparatively thinner top and bottom slabs.
The primary objectives of this study were to enrich the experimental data and investigate the
detailed local stress distributions of the post-tensioned prestressed anchorage zones in continuous
rigid frame arch railway bridge. Two full-scale specimens of the top and bottom slabs were
fabricated and gradually loaded based on principle of equivalent stress. The goal was to analyze the
longitudinal and transverse stress distributions of the cross-sections of specimens at various loading
cases during the experiment. Meanwhile, causes of cracking of the concrete at the anchorage zones
were analyzed.

Yichang Wanzhou

A
14400
A 7200 7200
4600 200
1200

400
400
4800

Pier 1 Pier 2 Pier 3 Pier 4 Pier 5 300

300
130000 275000 275000 130000 350
836.4 12727.3 836.4
810000

(a) (b)
Figure 1. Illustration of the Yichang Yangtze River Bridge (Unit: mm): (a) span layout; and (b)
Section A-A of girder.

2. Nature of the Anchorage Zone Stress

In the post-tensioned prestressed structure, prestress is transferred by the anchor device and
anchor base plate to concrete. According to Principle of Saint Venant [32], the local bearing pressure
zone is defined as shown in Figure 2a, b. Load transfer and stress distribution is very complex in this
area.
a a a
a p1 p1 p1
Pressure
H=L

Tension
H=L

H=L
a

L
L L L
(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 2. Stress transfer and distribution of local bearing pressure zone.

The concrete under anchor base plate is in a triaxial compression stress state due to influence of
local bearing pressure effect. For concentrically loaded compression members, the longitudinal
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 4 of 13

stress can exhibit pressure and tension stresses in the anchorage zone, as shown in Figure 2c. The
longitudinal compressive stress reaches a plateau in the middle of the stress distribution and
gradually decreases away from the center in transverse direction of the cross section at or near the
anchorage zone. The stress level gradually decreases, resulting in uniform compressive stress
distribution. Consequently, the effect of local bearing pressure progressively weakens, as illustrated
in Figure 2d. Tensile stress only appears at the anchorage zone. However, the stress level gradually
decreases as the vertical distance from the anchorage zone progressively increases until
disappearance.
Moreover, some factors influence the transfer of longitudinal stress such as the cross section of
the member, ratio of height to thickness of the member, eccentricity, etc. Thus, it is necessary to
study the stress transfer and distribution in the locally stressed areas.

3. Experimental Program

3.1. Specimens
In this research, full-scale top and bottom slabs of Section A-A, as shown Figure 1b, were
fabricated due to small height and thinner top and bottom slabs at this section. Figure 3 illustrates
specimens of the top and bottom slabs.
To fully simulate the stress distribution in the anchorage zone, reduce the influence of box
girder web and reduce the unreasonable local model size on the test, before the test, the overall box
girder model and the top and bottom model were established respectively, as shown in the Figure
4.
To determine the reasonable widths of the specimens, a commercial FE package, ANSYS, was
used to analyze the stress distribution of the anchorage zones of the top and bottom slabs. Before the
test, as shown in Figure 4, compared with the integral box girder model, the stress of the top slab
model agreed well with the box girder when the transverse dimension was 1.4 m. The same is true
for the bottom slab when the width was 1.6 m, as shown in Table 1.
Therefore, the top slab was of 1.4 m × 0.4 m cross-section and 6 m in length. The bottom slab had
dimensions of 7 m  1.6 m with variable thickness from 0.35 m to 0.356 m. Figures 5 and 6 show the
detailed locations of sections and dimensions for the top and bottom slab specimens, respectively.

Table 1. Comparison of local and overall maximum stress (Unit: MPa).

Stress Box Girder Top Slab Box Girder Bottom Slab

Tensile stress 4.52 5.25 2.94 3.32
X direction
Compressive stress 27.9 35.00 8.66 10.00
Tensile stress 6.91 4.00 3.06 3.42
Y direction
Compressive stress 7.75 12.20 11.9 11.40
Tensile stress 1.54 2.20 2.92 3.35
Z direction
Compressive stress 38.6 37.5 42.9 39.4
3.2. Material Properties
The materials and prestressing tendons used to fabricate the specimens were the same as those
used in the real bridge. The top and bottom slabs were cast using concrete with a 28-day
compressive strength of 55.3 MPa. Tensile strength was 2.35 MPa. Young’s modulus was 32.5 GPa.
Low-relaxation and high-strength prestressing strand (Ø 15.24 mm) with a tensile strength of
1860 MPa was used. Ø 14 (mm) and Ø 16 (mm) deformed steel bars with a tensile strength of 455
MPa and yield strength of 335 MPa were used for the main steel bars [32]. The stirrups and local
reinforcing bars in the slabs were Ø 10 and Ø 16 deformed steel bars; the specific layout is shown in
Figure 7. The anchorage devices of the top and bottom slabs were YM15-31 and YM15-19,
respectively, as shown in Figure 8. The dimensions of the base plates of the top and bottom slabs
were 190 mm × 190 mm and 320 mm × 320 mm, respectively.

3.3. Instrumentation and Testing

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 5 of 13

In the test, the specimens casted in lab were placed on the base in a simply supported way
through the plate rubber bearings, and heading anchor was applied in the dead end. Prestressing
force was transferred to concrete by Jack and anchor plate. In addition, to avoid the influence of the
weight of the specimen, dead load strains were felt by the concrete prior to strand stressing.
Both the strain of concrete and embedded mild steel reinforcement were measured. Electrical
resistive strain gauges were densely deployed on the surface of specimens and the steel bars inside
to measure the strain distributions of the girder-arch-pier connections. Figure 9 illustrates the
arrangement of the strain gauges in Sections A-A and I-I of the top slab specimen. Figure 10
illustrates the arrangement of the strain gauges in Sections B-B and D-D of the bottom slab specimen.
The strain gauges deployed on steel bars were installed before concrete casting. A thin layer of
two-part epoxy was applied on the surface of strain gauges for moisture isolation, and then covered
by a piece of 3 mm thin foam to isolate the epoxy from the concrete. The strain gauges attached on
concrete surface were installed before applying any loading with hydraulic jacks. There were 166
measurement points for concrete and 196 measurement points for steel bars in the top slab specimen.

(a) (b)
Figure 3. Full-scale specimens: (a) top slab; and (b) bottom slab.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 4. Global and local ANSYS models: (a) box girder; (b) top slab (1.4 m × 6 m); and (c) bottom
slab (1.6 m × 7 m).

I H G F E D C B A
100 300 800 800 1000 1000 800 800 300 100
400 100
500

Anchorage block
6000
I H G F E D C B A

Figure 5. The test section of the top slab specimen (unit: mm)
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 6 of 13

A B C

800 80 2300 1200 2620

0
Anchorage block

230 23
460
D E

350
356

550 600 1000 1100 1350 2400

A B C D E
7000

Figure 6. The test section of the bottom slab specimen (unit: mm)

8N3Φ10

N2Φ10
6N6Φ10

2N4Φ10

N1Φ16 N1 20

5N5Φ10
(a) (b)
Figure 7. Schematic diagram of reinforcing steel bar under anchor: (a) top slab (A-A–B-B); and (b)
bottom slab (B-B–D-D).

22 56 spiral steel bar

Anchorage plate
anchorage plate
215

120
Anchor ring
270
380

360 100 90 305

(a) (b)
Figure 8. Anchorage devices: (a) YM15-31; and (b) YM15-19 (unit: mm).

Strain gauge number

20 19 18
6 5 4 3 2 1
13 12 11 10 9 8 Strain gauge number
14 15 16 17 154 153 152
200 200 200 200 171 170 169 168 167 166
159 160 161 162 163 164
100

Prestressed Duct 155 156 157 158

200 200 200 200
100

Steel bar
400

300 250 150 300 300

400

300 300 150 250 400

300 250 150 300 300
Strain gauge of steel bar
Strain gauge of concrete 300 300 150 250 400

(a) (b)
Figure 9. The arrangement of the strain gauges on the top slab specimen (unit: mm): (a) Section A-A;
and (b) Section I-I.
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 7 of 13

Strain gauge number

92 93 65 66
200 202 204 206 208 210
199 201 203 205 207 209
80 79 78 77
100 200 200 200 100
Strain gauge number
35 36 19 20
150 152 154 156 158 160
Prestressed Duct 149 151 153 155 157 159
29 28 27 26

410
350 350 200 350 350
Steel bar
300 300 300 300
300 300 300 300 300
300
360

350 350 200 350 350

350 350 200 350 350

(a) (b)
Figure 10. The arrangement of the strain gauges on the bottom slab specimen (unit: mm): (a) Section
B-B; and (b) Section D-D.

3.4. Loading Cases and Protocols

ANSYS was used to analyze the carrying capacity of the box girder of this bridge. The
equivalent loads which would cause the stress in the critical area to be the ultimate capacity of the
tendons or that of the concrete were modeled. The loads on Section A-A of the top and bottom slabs
were 6054 kN and 3711 kN, respectively. The specimens were deformed at various loading cases
during this experiment. Eight load cases were applied. Table 2 illustrates the detailed loading
procedures for these two specimens.

Table 2. Loading forces of the specimens (Unit: kN).

Loading Case 10% 20% 40% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Top slab specimen 605 1211 2422 3633 4238 4843 5449 6054
Bottom slab specimen 371 742 1484 2226 2597 2969 3340 3711

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Stress of the Anchorage Zone at the Top Slab

4.1.1. Stress Distribution of Steel Bars

The steel stresses of Sections A-A through I-I were measured. The steel bars at Sections A-A and
I-I were under the tension condition. For the eight loading cases, the linear relationship between the
stress and load of Section A-A can be observed in Figure 11.
The stress level of the steel bars at the upper layer was higher than that at the lower layer at
Sections A-A and I-I due to the eccentricity of prestressing tendons (approximately 0.1 m). The
tensile and compressive stresses at Section A-A were higher than those of Section I-I, which indicates
the stress level of tension section is higher than that of anchorage section. The effect of local bearing
pressure is more remarkable at tension section.
Test Points 3, 4, 10, and 11 at Section A-A and Test Points 161, 162, 168, and 169 at Section I-I
were arranged at the mid-width of these two sections (see Figure 9). This causes their compressive
stress levels to be higher than those of other test points under these eight loading cases. This result is
a good agreement with principle of Saint Venant, as illustrated in Figure 2d.
The steel stresses at Sections A-A, B-B, and C-C were 295.26, 204.54, and 169.89 MPa,
respectively, when the load was equal to the prestressing force of 100%. It can be concluded that the
compressive stress level and effect of local bearing pressure at each section were gradually
decreased when the distance from the anchorage zone increased along the longitudinal direction of
the slabs. Although no stress exceeded the yield strength of reinforcement and the steel bars were in
good mechanical performance and elastic condition, the anchorage zone was seriously compressed.
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 8 of 13

0 2000 4000 6000 0 2000 4000 6000

50 50
0 0
Stress(Mpa)

Stress(Mpa)
-50 -50
-100 -100
-150 MP 1 -150 MP 8
MP 2 MP 9
-200 -200 MP 10
MP 3
MP 4 -250 MP 11
-250 MP 12
MP 5
-300 -300
Section A Load(KN) Section A Load(KN)
(a) (b)
Figure 11. The relationship between load and stress of the steel bars on the top slab specimen: (a) the
upper layer steel of Section A-A; and (b) the bottom layer steel of Section A-A. MP, measuring point.

4.1.2. Stress Distribution of Concrete

Cracking was observed at the top surfaces of anchorage block at Sections A-A and I-I during the
loading process. With the increase of load, the cracking gradually extended along the longitudinal
direction. Cracking was also observed at the surface of concrete at Sections B-B and H-H when the
load was equal to the prestressing force of 100%. The transfer path of the local stress inside
anchorage block in the anchorage zone increased due to the development of cracks. The concrete
was under compression condition at Sections C-C through G-G during the loading process. The
stress level at the top surface of the concrete of section was higher than that at the bottom surface of
concrete due to the eccentricity of the prestressing tendons.
It can be concluded that the compressive stress level and effect of local bearing pressure at
Sections C-C and G-G gradually decreased when the distance from tension and anchorage sections
progressively increased along the longitudinal direction of the slabs. The compressive stress
gradually extended to the entire section, which caused the stress distribution to gradually become
uniform. The stress level at Section E-E was the lowest. The value of stress gradient near the
anchorage section was higher when compared with that near the tension section. In the same length
scale, the stress dispersion was more remarkable. It can be concluded that the effect of local bearing
pressure was more obvious at the tension section.

4.2. Stress of the Anchorage Zone at the Bottom Slab

4.2.1. Stress Distribution of Steel Bars

The steel stresses at Sections A-A through E-E were measured. For the eight loading cases, the
top layer and bottom layer steel bars at Sections B-B were under the tension and compression
conditions, respectively, due to the eccentricity of the prestressing tendons. All steel bars at Section
D-D were under compression condition. The steel stress level at Section B-B was lower than that at
Section D-D when the sections were under the same loading case. The linear relationship between
the stress and load at Sections B-B and D-D can be observed in Figure 12. Moreover, compared with
the yield stress of the steel bars, the maximum is much less than the yield stress. Thus, the steel bars
showed good mechanical performance and elastic condition under each loading case.
Because Test Points 203, 205, 204, and 206 at Section B-B were arranged at the mid-width of this
section, their compressive stress levels are higher than those of other test points at the same loading
case, as shown in Figure 12. This result agrees with principle of Saint Venant, as shown in Figure 2d.
It can be seen in Figure 12 that the stress distribution at Section D-D is more uniform than that at
Section B-B at these eight loading cases.
The maximum stresses of the bottom layer steel at Sections D-D and E-E was 73.08 and 58.59
MPa, respectively when the load was equal to the prestressing force of 100%. It can be concluded
that the compressive stress level and effect of local bearing pressure at each section were gradually
decreased when the distance from the anchorage zone increased along the longitudinal direction of
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 9 of 13

the slabs. No stress exceeded the yield strength of reinforcement. The steel bars showed good
mechanical performance.

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000

15 0
-5
10
Stress(Mpa)

Stress(Mpa)
-10
5 -15
0 -20 MP 150
MP 152
MP 200 MP 202 -25
MP 154
-5 MP 204 MP 206 -30 MP 156
MP 208 MP 210 MP 158
-10 -35
Section B Load(KN) Section D Load(KN)
(a) (b)
Figure 12. The relationship between load and stress of the steel bars on the bottom slab specimen: (a)
the upper layer steel of Section B-B; and (b) the upper layer steel of Section D-D. MP, measuring
point.

4.2.2. Stress Distribution of Concrete

Concrete stresses at Sections A-A through E-E were measured. Cracking was observed at the
top surfaces of anchorage blocks at Sections B-B and C-C during the loading process. No cracking
was formed at other sections. The linear relationship between the stress and load were observed.
Therefore, the concrete was in good mechanical performance and elastic condition under each
loading case.
When the prestressing tendons were tensioned, the top surface of concrete at Section A-A was
under tension due to the tie-back actions of ahead anchors [33]. With the increase of prestressing
force, the tensile stress was gradually increased. The maximum tensile stress of 1.02 MPa was
measured at the top surface of Section A-A when the prestressing load was equal to the prestressing
force of 100%. No cracking was formed due to no tensile stress exceeding its limit (2.35 MPa).
Higher tensile stress was formed at the top and lateral surfaces of tooth plate (Test Point 65) at
Section B-B. The other test points at this section were under compression at various loading cases.
Section C-C was under compression at these loading cases. The stress level at this section was
relatively high due to the vertical eccentricity of prestressed ducts. The concrete at the top surface of
anchorage block of Section C-C was under higher stress condition than other locations. It can be
concluded that the stress concentration near the anchorage zone was very obvious.
The linear relationship between the stress and load were observed at Sections D-D and E-E
during various loading cases. Therefore, the concrete showed good mechanical performance and
elastic condition under each loading case. The reason for linearity is that the stress increasingly
extended to the entire section, because the effect of local bearing pressure progressively decreased
when the distance from anchorage section gradually increased. The relationship between concrete
stress and load at Section D-D in the bottom slab is illustrated in Figure 13.
The tensile stress that was formed at the area near ahead anchor was relatively small when the
triangular anchorage block was applied to the bottom slab of the box beam. No crack was observed
at the concrete at this area. However, the tensile stress level that was formed at the top surface of the
anchorage block was higher during the tensioning progress, which might make concrete crack.
When the distance from anchorage section gradually increased, the tensile stress gradually
decreased due to the effect of local bearing pressure.
Based on the analysis above, we can see that both the concrete and reinforcement of the
specimens under anchorage was mainly subjected to compression, and the stress was larger.
Meanwhile, there was local tensile stress near the anchorage zone, especially on the anchorage
block. However, no tensile stress exceeded the limit. When the tensile load gradually increased,
excessive local deformation and increasing tensile stress may lead to concrete cracking in anchorage
zone. Therefore, excessive deformation caused by concentrated compressive stress under anchorage
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 10 of 13

had a negative effect on concrete in anchorage zone. Moreover, cracking of concrete may be caused,
and even the normal service of the component might be affected.

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000

0 0

-0.5
Stress(Mpa)

Stress(Mpa)
-5
-1

-10 -1.5
MP 19 -2 MP 26
-15 MP 20 MP 27
MP 35 -2.5 MP 28
MP 36 MP 29
-20 -3
Section D Load(KN) Section D Load(KN)
(a) (b)
Figure 13. The relationship between load and stress of the concrete at Section D-D on the bottom slab
specimen: (a) the top surface of the concrete; and (b) the bottom surface of the concrete. MP,
measuring point.

4.3. Cause of Cracking at Anchorage Zone

Cracking of concrete was observed at the anchorage zone of the top and bottom slabs. The first
cracking was formed at the concrete of the top surface of Section A-A at tension section when the top
slab was loaded until prestressing force of 70% of the equivalent force. With the increase of the load,
the cracking width gradually increased. When the load was equal to the equivalent force, crack was
observed at the top surface of Section B-B. Finally, the cracking was formed at the top surface of the
tooth plate of the top slab between Section A-A and Section C-C. The total length of cracking was 78
cm. The average width was 0.35 mm, as shown in Figure 14a. A crack was observed at the top
surface of Section I-I when the load was increased to the prestressing force of 90%. The top surface of
Section H-H started to crack when the load was equal to the prestressing force of 100%. The crack
had a length of 62 cm and an average width of 0.1 mm. The cracking was also formed at the top
surface of the anchorage block.
The two-longitudinal cracks were observed at the top surface of the triangular anchorage block
when the bottom slab was loaded until the prestressing force of 80%. They were located at the top
surface of Sections B-B and C-C and further extended when the load was equal to the prestressing
force of 100%. The crack at Section B-B had a length of 59 cm and an average width of 0.2 mm. The
crack at Section C-C extended to the end of the anchorage block. The final crack was 62 cm long and
0.1 mm wide, as illustrated in Figure 14b.

Testing point 19

0.2mm
0.35mm

Crack
Crack

(a) (b)
Figure 14. Distribution of the cracking: (a) The top slab; (b) The bottom slab.
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 11 of 13

Through the analysis above, we can see that the concrete in the anchorage zone bear a great
compressive stress under the large prestressed force. Accordingly, the transverse deformation of
compressive concrete (extrusion and expansion) produced. However, influenced by the restraining
effect of surrounding concrete, which is similar to the effect of stirrup, free deformation of the
compressive concrete cannot be fully produced. Then, transverse tensile stress was formed in the
surrounding concrete. With the increase of the load, the deformation and stress gradually increased.
When the surrounding tensile stress exceeded the tensile ultimate strength, the local longitudinal
crack was formed. Thus, the formation of crack is due to the fact that the deformation of compressed
concrete in the anchorage zone is not fully restrained.

5. Conclusions
Based on the above investigations, conclusions can be drawn as follows:
 In the test of the top slab, cracking was formed at Sections A-A and I-I, and the tooth plate. The
cracking was observed at the triangular anchorage block and Section C-C when testing the
bottom slab. The other sections of the top and bottom slabs showed good mechanical
performance and elastic condition during the eight loading cases. Higher local concrete stress
level of the anchorage zone was only formed at a small area. The specimens were not destroyed
under the equivalent force based on the design of the real bridge, which results in safety and
reliability of the two slabs.

 For the eight loading cases, the linear relationship between the stress and load are observed at
concrete and steel bars, respectively. It can be concluded that there was a good bond between
the concrete and steel bars, which exhibits the entire structure is in a good condition.
Consequently, the specimens were safe and reliable.

 The tensile stress of the concrete surrounding the post-tensioned prestressing anchorage zones
surpassed the tensile strength of concrete when the deformation of the concrete could not be
restrained.

 To avoid the concrete at the anchorage zone continuing to crack, some crack-control
recommendations are summarized as follows: Firstly, the connection between tensile
anchorage block and the bottom slab should arrange more reinforcing bars with hooks to
improve the tensile capacity of this part. Secondly, the stirrups should be designed with
closed-loop to increase the restraint of the stirrups. Therefore, they can effectively restrain the
central concrete of the anchorage zone.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, W.Z.M. and H.Y.G.; Methodology, H.Y.G; Software, W.Z.M. and
Y.N.H.; Validation, Y.N.H.; Formal Analysis, W.Z.M. and H.Y.G.; Investigation, W.Z.M. and Y.N.H. and
Q.H.P.; Writing-Original Draft Preparation, W.Z.M. and H.Y.G. and Y.N.H.; Writing-Review & Editing, W.Z.M.
and Y.N.H.; Supervision, Q.H.P.

Funding: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51108382
and 51508474), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2682015CX07), and the
Science and Technology Research and Development Plan of China Railway Construction (Grant No. 2014-C34).

Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge National Natural Science Foundation of China, for
Financial support.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 1833 12 of 13

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