PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS IN PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

INTRODUCTION
• What is prestressed concrete?

“Prestressed concrete is a structural

concrete in which internal stresses has been
introduced to reduce potential stresses in
concrete resulting from loads.”
-ACI
INTRODUCTION
• Prestressed concrete is composed of:
1. High strength concrete
2. Tendon / strand
3. Non-prestressed reinforcement (ordinary bar reinforcement)
Concrete
concrete used in PSC members is of higher strength than that used for
RC

Steel tendons
high strength steel used for prestressing
designers must consider strength, differences in ductility, lack of a
well-defined yield point, etc.

Ordinary bar reinforcement

same type used for ordinary RC structures
Used for web reinforcement, supplemental longitudinal reinforcement
Importance of High Strength Steel
The lack of success of most early attempts to PSC was the failure to
employ steel at a sufficiently high stress and strain.

The time-dependent length changes permitted by shrinkage and creep

of the concrete completely relieved the steel of stress.

The importance of high initial strain and the corresponding high initial
stress in the steel is shown by a simple example in Fig. 2.1
Importance of High Strength Steel
Consider a short concrete member that is to be axially prestressed
using a steel tendon.
Importance of High Strength Steel
In the unstressed state,
length of concrete is 𝑙𝑐
unstressed length of steel is 𝑙𝑠

After tensioning of the steel and transfer of force to the concrete

through end anchorages,
length of shortened concrete is 𝑙𝑐 ′
length of stretched steel is 𝑙𝑠 ′

𝑙𝑐′ = 𝑙𝑠 ′
Importance of High Strength Steel
With the passage of time the concrete experiences a shrinkage strain
𝜀𝑠ℎ and a creep strain 𝜀𝑐𝑢

The total length change in the member is

∆𝑙𝑐 = 𝜀𝑠ℎ + 𝜀𝑐𝑢 𝑙𝑐

which may exceed the stretch in the steel that produced the initial
stress. Thus, the complete loss of prestress force will result.
Importance of High Strength Steel
Suppose that the member is prestressed using ordinary reinforcing
steel at an initial stress of 30 ksi. The modulus of elasticity for all steel is
𝐸𝑠 = 29,000 𝑘𝑠𝑖.

The initial strain in the steel is

𝑓𝑠𝑖 30
𝜀𝑠𝑖 = = = 1.03𝑥10−3
𝐸𝑠 29,000

and the total elongation

𝜀𝑠 𝑙𝑠 = 1.03𝑥10−3 𝑙𝑠
Importance of High Strength Steel
A conservative steel estimate of the sum of shrinkage and creep strain
in the concrete is
𝜀𝑠ℎ + 𝜀𝑐𝑢 = 0.90𝑥10−3

The corresponding length change is

∆𝑙𝑐 = 𝜀𝑠ℎ + 𝜀𝑐𝑢 𝑙𝑐 = 0.90𝑥10−3 𝑙𝑐

The effective steel stress remaining after time-dependent effects would

be
𝑓𝑠𝑒 = 1.03 − 0.90 𝑥10−3 𝑥29𝑥10−3 = 4 𝑘𝑠𝑖
Importance of High Strength Steel
Alternatively, suppose that the prestress were applied using high
strength steel at an initial stress of 150 ksi. In this case the initial strain
would be

150
𝜀𝑠𝑖 = = 5.17𝑥10−3
29,000

and the total elongation

𝜀𝑠 𝑙𝑠 = 5.17𝑥10−3 𝑙𝑠
Importance of High Strength Steel
The length change resulting from the shrinkage and creep effects would
be the same as before

𝜀𝑠ℎ + 𝜀𝑐𝑢 𝑙𝑐 = 0.90𝑥10−3 𝑙𝑐

and the effective steel stress after losses due to shrinkage and creep
would be

𝑓𝑠𝑒 = 5.17 − 0.90 𝑥10−3 𝑥29𝑥10−3 = 124 𝑘𝑠𝑖

Importance of High Strength Steel
The loss is about 17% of the initial steel stress in this case compared
with 87% loss when mild steel was used.
TYPES OF PRESTRESSING STEEL
There are three common forms in which steel is used for prestressed
concrete tendons:
1. Cold-drawn round wires
2. Stranded cable
3. Alloy steel bars

Tendons
• Normally composed of groups of wires
• The number of wires in each group depends on the particular system
used and the magnitude of prestress force required
TYPES OF PRESTRESSING STEEL
1. Round wires
• The individual wires are manufactured by hot-rolling steel billets into
round rods
• After cooling, the rods are passed through dies to reduce their
diameter to the required size
• Available in Grades 235 (minimum ultimate strength is 235,000 psi) to
Grade 250 (minimum ultimate strength 250,000 psi)
TYPES OF PRESTRESSING STEEL
2. Stranded cable
• Fabricated with six wires wound tightly around a seventh of slightly
larger diameter
• The pitch of the spiral winding is between 12 to 16 times the nominal
diameter of the strand
• The same type of cold-drawn stress-relieved wire is used in making
stranded cable as is used for individual prestressing wires
• Two grades are manufactured:
• Grade 250 – min ultimate strength of 250,000 psi
• Grade 270 – min ultimate strength of 270,000 psi
TYPES OF PRESTRESSING STEEL
3. Alloy steel bars
• The high strength is obtained by introducing certain alloying
elements, mainly manganese, silicon and chromium during the
manufacture of the steel
• In addition, cold work is done in making the bars, further increasing
the strength
• Available in diameters ranging from 5/8 in to 1 3/8 in, and in Grade
145 (min ultimate strength 145,000 psi) and Grade 160 ( min ultimate
strength 160,000 psi)
NON-PRESTRESSED REINFORCEMENT
• Non-prestressed steel consists of bars, wires, and welded wire fabric
• Used for web reinforcement for diagonal tensile stress
• Used to provide longitudinal bar steel to control shrinkage and
temperature cracking
• Used to increase the flexural strength of prestressed beams using
supplementary longitudinal reinforcement
• Available in Grades 40, 50, 60 (min yield strengths of 40,000 psi,
50,000 psi, 60,000 psi, respectively)
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
The figure below shows a stress-strain diagram for a material subjected
to a tension test,
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Proportional limit
• Up to this point, stress is proportional to strain
• The point where the material leaves the elastic region and moves into
the inelastic (plastic) region of the curve

Elastic limit
• Stress beyond which the material will not return to its original shape
when unloaded but will retain a permanent deformation called
permanent set
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Yield point
• The point at which there is an appreciable elongation or yielding of
the material without any corresponding increase of load

Yield stress
• Closely associated with the yield point
• Determined by an offset of 0.20% for materials that do not have a
well-defined yield point
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Ultimate strength
• Maximum stress the material can sustain
• Corresponds to the highest point on the stress-strain curve

Rupture strength
• Stress at failure

Ductility
• The ability of a material to withstand plastic deformation without rupture
• May also be thought of in terms of bendability and crushability
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL

Stress, ksi
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
PRESTRESSING ORDINARY
STEEL REINFORCING STEEL
ROUND
ALLOY BARS GRADE 60 BARS GRADE 40 BARS
WIRE

PROPORTIONAL
200 ksi 140 ksi 60 ksi 40 ksi
LIMIT

SHARPLY-DEFINED, HAVE A
SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN
YIELD POINT NOT WELL-DEFINED STRAIN WITHOUT AN
ACCOMPANYING INCREASE IN
STRESS

FAILURE STRESS 250 ksi 160 ksi 70 ksi 50 ksi

ONE-THIRD THAT OF
FAILURE STRAIN ORDINARY RC STEEL

DUCTILITY LOW HIGH

STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Observations on prestressing steel vs ordinary steel
• Elastic modulus for all steel is the same, Es=29,000 ksi
• Although Grades 40 and 60 have a well-defined yield point, the same
is not true for higher strength steel
• For higher strength steel, equivalent yield point is defined as the
stress at which the total strain is 0.35%
• Ductility is significantly less for the higher grades
STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Observations on prestressing steel vs ordinary steel
• Elastic modulus
Es = 29,000 ksi (round wires)
Es = 27,000 ksi (stranded wires)
Es = 27,000 ksi (alloy wires)

• Yield stress is taken as the stress producing

1% extension (round wires, stranded cable)
0.7% extension (alloy bars)
STEEL RELAXATION
Stress relaxation is prestressing steel is the loss on prestress when the
wires or strands are subjected to essentially constant strain

It is identical to creep, except that creep is a change in strain whereas

steel relaxation is a loss in steel stress

The loss of stress due to relaxation is stress-relieved wires and strands

can be evaluated from the expression

𝑓𝑝 log 𝑡 𝑓𝑝𝑖
=1− − 0.55
𝑓𝑝𝑖 10 𝑓𝑝𝑦
STEEL RELAXATION
𝑓𝑝 log 𝑡 𝑓𝑝𝑖
=1− − 0.55
𝑓𝑝𝑖 10 𝑓𝑝𝑦
Where:
𝑓𝑝 - final stress after t hours
𝑓𝑝𝑖 - initial stress
𝑓𝑝𝑦 - yield stress defined as the stress at which the total strain is
0.35%
log 𝑡 - has 10 as base
𝑓𝑝𝑖
≥ 0.55
𝑓𝑝𝑦
STEEL RELAXATION
The expression for stress relaxation in pretensioned members at any
time 𝑡𝑛 is given by
𝑓𝑝 log 𝑡𝑛 − log 𝑡𝑟 𝑓𝑝𝑖
=1− − 0.55
𝑓𝑝𝑖 10 𝑓𝑝𝑦
Where
𝑡𝑟 - is the time of release
CONCRETE
Importance of Using High Strength Concrete

• Higher bond strength results in a reduction in the development length

required to transfer prestress force from the cables to the concrete
• Concrete of higher compressive strength also has a higher tensile
strength, so that formation of flexural and diagonal tension cracks is
delayed
CONCRETE
PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

1. Compressive strength
• Concrete is useful mainly in compression and is often subject to a
state of uniaxial stress
• The figure shows a typical stress-strain curve obtained from tests
using cylindrical concrete specimens loaded in uniaxial compression
over several minutes
COCNRETE
CONCRETE
Observations:
• The first portion of the curve to about 40% of the ultimate strength
can be considered linear
• At 70% of the ultimate strength, the material losses a large portion of
its stiffness thereby increasing the curvilinearity of the diagram
• At the ultimate load, cracks parallel to the direction of loading
become distinctively visible, and most concrete cylinders suddenly fail
shortly thereafter
CONCRETE
The following figure shows the stress-strain curves of concrete of
various strengths reported by the Portland Cement Association
CONCRETE
Observations
• The lower the strength of concrete, the higher the failure strain

• The length of the initial relatively linear portion increases with the
increase in the compressive strength of concrete

• There is an apparent reduction in ductility with increased strength

CONCRETE
The strength of concrete varies with age, the gain in strength being
rapid at first, then much slower.

The variation in strength is especially important in the design and

fabrication of prestressed concrete members.
CONCRETE
2. Modulus of Elasticity

• This is the slope of the initial straight part of the stress-strain curve

𝑓
𝐸=
𝑠
Where
f – is the applied stress to the body
s – strain to correspond to the applied stress
CONCRETE
3. Tensile Strength

• Cracks in prestressed concrete members may be caused by direct

tension, flexure, combined shear and flexure in beam webs and
torsion

• The behavior of members often changes abruptly when tensile cracks

form. Thus, it is important to know the tensile strength of the
material.
CONCRETE
• Tensile strength is measured by:
1. Modulus of rupture test
2. Split cylinder test
TIME-DEPENDENT DEFORMATION OF
CONCRETE
Time-dependent deformation of concrete resulting from creep and
shrinkage result in a partial loss od prestress force and significant
changes in deflection.

Creep
• Is the property of materials by which they continue to deform over
considerable lengths of time at constant stress or loads
The initial deformation due to load is the elastic strain, while the
additional strain due to the same sustained load is creep strain.
TIME-DEPENDENT DEFORMATION OF
CONCRETE
Creep strain for concrete has been found experimentally to depend on:
• Time
• Mix proportions
• Humidity
• Curing conditions
• Age of the concrete when first loaded

Creep strain is nearly linearly related to stress intensity.

TIME-DEPENDENT DEFORMATION OF
CONCRETE
It is therefore possible to relate creep strain to the initial elastic strain
by a creep coefficient defined as
𝜀𝑐𝑢
𝐶𝑢 =
𝜀𝑐𝑖
where:
𝜀𝑐𝑖 - is the initial elastic strain
𝜀𝑐𝑢 - is the additional strain in the concrete, after a long
period of time, resulting from creep
TIME-DEPENDENT DEFORMATION OF
CONCRETE
The creep coefficient can also be expressed as
𝐶𝑢 = 𝛿𝑢 𝐸𝑐
where:
𝛿𝑢 - is the unit creep coefficient

The creep coefficient at any time 𝐶𝑡 can be related to the ultimate

creep coefficient 𝐶𝑢 by the equation:
𝑡 0.60
𝐶𝑡 = 0.60
𝐶𝑢
10 + 𝑡
TIME-DEPENDENT DEFORMATION OF
CONCRETE
Shrinkage
• In a concrete element, shrinkage results to a decrease on volume
when the concrete loses moisture by evaporation.