PRESTRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

CV0436 (4:0:0)

Dr.G.S.Suresh
Dean(AA) & Professor
Civil Engineering Department
The National Institute of Engineering
Mysuru
 Reference.
1. N. Krishna Raju, “Prestressed Concrete”, Mc
Graw Hill, 6th Edition, 2018
2. N.Krishna Raju, “Prestressed concrete-
Problems and Solutions”, CBS, 3rd
edition,2015
3. T.Y. Lin and N.H. Burns, “Design of
Prestressed Concrete Structures, Wiley, 3rd
Edition,2004
4. N. Rajagopalan, “Prestressed Concrete”,
Narosa,2008
5. G.S. Pandit and S.P. Gupta, “Prestressed
Concrete, CBS,1993
6. IS 1343-2012, “ Prestressed Concrete, Code
of Practice
 Evaluation Pattern
• CIE-50 Marks, SEE-100 Marks (Reduced to 50)
• Test 1:- Unit-1 & Unit-3
• Test 2:- Unit-2 & Unit-4
• Test 3:- Unit-5 & Unit-6
• SEE:- 6 questions for 15 marks each with
choice for 2 question (Unit-2 & Unit-6) and
one question on SLE for 10 marks
Introduction to prestressing:
Definition:
Pre-stressing is the application of an internal stress on the structure so as to enable
the structure to counteract the stresses arising during its service period
 Pre-tensioning of spokes in a bicycle wheel
The pre-tension is applied in the spoke to such an extent that there will
always be a residual tension in the spoke. Shrink-fitting of metal tyres on
wooden wheels indicate that art of prestressing

Spokes of a bicycle wheel in pretension Wooden wheel with metal tyres

● The concept of prestressed concrete is also not new. In 1886, a patent was
granted for tightening steel tie rods in concrete blocks. This is analogous to
modern day segmental constructions.
● Early attempts were not very successful due to low strength of steel at
that time.Since we cannot prestress at high stress level, the prestress losses
due to creep and shrinkage of concrete quickly reduce the effectiveness
of prestressing.
Prestressed Concrete
INTRODUCTION
Prestressed concrete members can be defined as
one that has had internal stresses induced to balance out
stresses due to externally loads to a desired degree.
Prestressing applies a precompression to the member that
reduces or eliminates undesirable tensile stresses that would
otherwise be present.
 less cracks, less diagonal tension stresses, less deflection,
smaller section, less dead weight, longer span

 High-strength material and improved design tech.

Reinforced concrete:

• Concrete is strong in compression weak in tension.

• Steel in strong in tension

• Reinforced concrete uses concrete to resist compression
and to hold bars in position and uses steel to resist
tension.
• Tensile strength of concrete is neglected (i.e. zero )

• R.C beams allows crack under service load.

Pre-stressed Concrete

• What is Pre-stressed Concrete?:

– Internal stresses are induced to counteract external
stresses.
– In 1904, Freyssinet attempted to
introduce permanent acting forces
in conc. to resist elastic forces
under loads and was named
“Pre stressing”.
Principle of pre-stressing:

• Pre-stressing is a method in which compression force is

applied to the reinforced concrete section.
• The effect of pre stressing is to reduce the tensile stress in the
section to the point till the tensile stress is below the cracking
stress. Thus the concrete does not crack.
• It is then possible to treat concrete as a elastic material.
• The concrete can be visualized to have two compressive force
i . Internal pre-stressing force.
ii . External forces (DL , LL etc )
• These two forces must counteract each other.
Principle of Pre-stressing:

P/A MDLy/I MLLy/I

• Stress in concrete when pre stressing is applied at the c.g of

the section
Principle of Pre-stressing:

• Stress in concrete when pre stressing is applied eccentrically

with respect to the c.g of the section .

P/A Pe0y/I MDLy/I MLLy/I

 EFFECTS OF PRESTRESSING
Alternative schemes for prestressing a rectangular beam

Plane concrete beam

Axially prestressed beam

Eccentrically
prestressed beam
 EFFECTS OF PRESTRESSING

Prestressed beam
with variable eccentricity

Balanced load stage for beam

with variable eccentricity
EFFECTS OF PRESTRESSING
The best tendon (Steel wires or Cable) profile
produces a prestress moment diagram that
corresponds to that of the applied load.
If the prestress counter-moment is made exactly
equal and opposite to the load-induced moment,
axial compressive stress is uniform all along the span.
(See figure (e) again)
EFFECTS OF PRESTRESSING
1. Prestressing can control or even eliminate
concrete tensile stress for specified loads.
2. Eccentric prestress is usually much more efficient
than concentric prestress.
3. Variable eccentricity is usually preferable to
constant eccentricity, from the view point of both
stress control and deflection control.
EFFECTS OF PRESTRESSING
It may be evident that for any arrangement of applied loads,
a tendon profile can be selected so that the equivalent loads
acting on the beam from the tendon are just equal and
opposite to the applied loads
 pure compressive stress in concrete
An advantage of the equivalent load concept is that it leads
the designer to select what is the best tendon profile for a
particular loading.
PRESTRESSING METHODS
1) Post-tensioning
The tendons are tensioned after the concrete is placed and
has gained their strength.
A significant advantage of all post-tensioning schemes is
the ease with which the tendon eccentricity can be carried
along the span.
PRESTRESSING METHODS
1) Post-tensioning

① Placing of Sheath
PRESTRESSING METHODS
1) Post-tensioning

② Concrete Pouring
PRESTRESSING METHODS
1) Post-tensioning

③ Installation of Tendons
PRESTRESSING METHODS
1) Post-tensioning

④ Prestressing
PRESTRESSING METHODS
1) Post-tensioning

⑤ Instalation of Anchorage

Anchorage
 2) Pre-tensioning
An economical method of prestressing
- Permits reusable steel or fiberglass forms
- Permits the simultaneous prestressing of many members at once
- Expensive and anchorage hardwares not required
 Historical Development
• 1886- Jackson of San Francisco-Prestressed
pavement
• 1888- Dohring of Germany- Slabs and beams
• 1896- Mandal of Austria-First to use idea of
prestressing to counteract the stress due to loads
• 1907-M.Koenen of Germany reported on losses
of prestress
• 1908-Steiner of US-loss due to shrinkage and
creep
• 1923-Emperger of Vienna-Wire bound reinforced
concrete pipe
 Historical Development
Used high tensile steel wires,
with ultimate strength as high as
1725 MPa and yield stress over
1240 MPa. In 1928, he
developed conical wedges for
end anchorages for post-
tensioning and developed
double-acting jacks. He is often
referred to as the Father of
Prestressed concrete. Eugene Freyssinet
(France)

1938 Hoyer, E., (Germany) Developed ‘long line’ pre-tensioning method.

1940 Magnel, G., (Belgium) Developed an anchoring system for post tensioning,
using flat wedges.
Historical Development
 In India, the applications of prestressed concrete diversified
over the years. The first prestressed concrete bridge was built
in 1948 under the Assam Rail Link Project. Among bridges,
the Pamban Road Bridge at Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu,
remains a classic example of the use of prestressed concrete
girders.

 Pamban Road Bridge at Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu

Comparison of PC & RCC:
• Entire section of concrete becomes effective in PSC
members
• Shear capacity of PSC members is significantly more
due to use of curved tendons
• Use of high strength concrete in RC members is
uneconomical as it demands for more quantity of steel
• PSC members are uneconomical for small spans
• Lever arm is constant in RCC, Value of C & T varies
with load
• Lever arm varies in PSC and Value of C & T is constant
Advantages of PC over RCC:
• Take full advantages of high strength concrete and high
strength steel
• Need less materials
• Smaller and lighter structure
• No cracks
• Use the entire section to resist the load
• Better corrosion resistance
• Good for water tanks and nuclear plant
• Very effective for deflection control
• Better shear resistance
 Need for High-Strength Steel &
Concrete
• Initially the mild steel having working stress of
124 MPa and E=200 kN/mm2 was used.
• Strain corresponding to this
 = 124/(200 x 1000)= 0.00062
dL=0.00062 L
• Strain due to shrinkage and creep of concrete
is  -0.00062L
• Hence prestress is completely lost due to this.
• F.Freyssinet of France used high-strength steel wires for
prestressing
• High strength steel has ultimate strength of 1725 MPa
and yield strength of 1240 MPa
• They were prestressed to about 1000 MPa
• Corresponding strain
 = 1000/(200 x 1000)= 0.005
dL=0.005 L which is much greater than strain due to
shrinkage and creep
• High strength concrete is necessary to bear the stress
due to high strength steel
• Strain due to shrinkage and creep of high strength
concrete is less due to higher modulus of elasticity
• Use of high strength concrete results in reduction in the
cross-sectional dimension
Terminology
Terminology
Terminology
 High Strength Concrete
Need for High Strength Concrete:
• High Compressive Strength to bear
large prestressing force from high
tensile steel
• To reduce size of member by increasing
the magnitude of permissible
compressive
• High tensile strength, delays formation
of flexural and diagonal tension cracks
• Low Shrinkage and minimum Creep
• High modulus of elasticity helps in
reducing the loss of pre stress loss due
to elastic shortening
• Impermeable and abrasion resistance
 High Strength Concrete
Introduction:
• Strength in the range of 30 to 100 MPa is preferred
• Minimum Strength: 30 MPa for Pre-tensioned members and 40
MPa for Post-tensioned members
• Minimum Cement content 300 to 360 Kg/m3
• To avoid excessive shrinkage, cement content is limited to 530
Kg/m3
• Concrete is used in nearly every type of construction. Traditionally,
concrete has been primarily composed of cement, water, and
aggregates.
• Concrete is not a homogeneous material, and its strength and
structural properties may vary greatly depending upon its
ingredients and method of manufacture.
Ingredients of Concrete
Ingredients of Concrete
 Ingredients of Concrete
Cement:
• OPC
• Portland slag Cement with not more than 50% slag content
• Rapid-hardening Portland Cement
• High strength ordinary Portland Cement
Aggregate:
• Igneous (Granite &Basalt) and Metamorphic (gneics) for coarse
and fine aggregate
• Max Size: 10 mm less than spacing of rebars or cables or cover
whichever is smaller
• 20 mm aggregate is most commonly used coarse aggregate
• Gap graded coarse aggregate
• Fine aggregate should be free from dust, lumps, mica and other
deleterious material
Water:
• Potable water is most suitable
 Ingredients of Concrete
Admixtures
Mineral Admixtures: Pozzolanic materials like fly ash, blast furnace
slag, silica fumes, rice husk ash, metakoline etc.,
Chemical Admixtures: Used for increasing workability, water proofing,
corrosion-inhibiting, pigments, antifungal, curing compounds

Fresh Concrete
• For prestressed concrete, properly designed controlled concrete
alone can be used
• Mix proportion should ensure strength, durability and workability
of concrete
• Low cement content and water cement ratio are preferred (0.32 to 0.42)
• But to obtain high strength concrete, larger cement content is
required
• Low initial heat of hydration is required
• Curing plays an important role in gaining strength of concrete
 Hardened
Permissible Stress in Concrete
Concrete
• Permissible compressive and tensile stress in concrete at transfer
of prestress and service loads by various code is tabulated.
 High Strength Concrete

• Characteristic strength of concrete (fck) is strength of

concrete based on 95% probability of having minimum
strength
• As per IS456-2000 target mean strength= fck+1.65 ,
where  is standard deviation.
Mechanical properties of concrete that are relevant
to the prestressed concrete design:
• Compressive Strength
• Modulus of Elasticity
• Modulus of Rupture
The properties of concrete which one should be familiar with
before attempting to make use Prestressed concrete design are:
a)Compressive strength
b)Character of the Stress-strain relationship
c)Modulus of elasticity
d)Creep and shrinkage
e)Tensile strength
Compressive strength:
The compressive strength of concrete is given in terms of the
characteristic Compressive strength of 150 mm size cubes tested at
28 days . The characteristic strength is defined as the strength of the
concrete below which not more than 5% of the test results are
expected to fall. This concept assumes a normal distribution of the
strengths of the samples of concrete.
Defects in concrete:
Shrinkage
• Associated with the loss of moisture from gel particles of the paste
• Depends on aggregate type and quantity, relative humidity,
water/cement ratio and the time of exposure
• Depends on the degree of hardening of the concrete at the
commencement of drying
• The total shrinkage strain (cs) =cd + ca
Where, cd = drying shrinkage strain and ca =autogenous shrinkage strain
Shrinkage
Shrinkage
Creep
• Time dependent increase in deformation due to sustained loading
can occur in all types of loading-compression , tension and torsion
• The earlier the age at which loading is applied larger the creep
• Creep is higher in wet conditions than in dry conditions.
• Factors influencing are: relative humidity, stress level, strength of
the concrete, age of concrete at loading, duration of stress,
water/cement ratio, type of cement and aggregate.
• Creep is indicated with a coefficient called creep coefficient and
defined as ratio of sustained strain to instantaneous loading
• Creep coefficient given in IS 1343-2012 is given below
Stress-strain relationship:

EC = 5000 fck
Steel:
The terms commonly used in prestressed concrete are explained. The terms are
placed in groups as per usage.
Forms of Prestressing Steel
Wires
Prestressing wire is a single unit made of steel.

Strands
Two, three or seven wires are wound to form
a prestressing strand.
Tendon
A group of strands or wires are wound to
form a prestressing tendon.

Cable
A group of tendons form a prestressing cable.

Bars
A tendon can be made up of a single steel bar. The diameter of a bar is much
larger than that of a wire.
Materials and Hardwares for prestressing:
Prestressing tendons:
• Prestressing tendon may be in the form of stands , wires , round bar , or
threaded rods

Prestressing steel
• Materials
 High strength steel
 Fiber-reinforced composite ( glass or carbon fibers )
• Common shapes of prestressing tendons.
• Tendons

• Among these 7-wire strand is most popular

• Tendons

• Typical stress-strain curves of reinforcing and prestressing steel

Prestressing strands
• Prestressing strands have two grades
 Grade 250 ( fpu = 250 ksi or 1725 Mpa)
 Grade 270 (fpu = 270 ksi or 1860 Mpa)
• Types of strands
 Stressed relieved strand
 Low relaxation strand ( low prestress loss due to relaxtion of strand )

Properities of prestressing strand and bar

 Prestressing strand
• Modulus of Elasticity
 197000 Mpa for strand
 207000 Mpa for bar
• The modulus of elasticity of strand is lower than that of steel bar because
strand is made from twisting of small wires together.
Hardwares & prestressing equipments
• pretensioned members
 Hold-down devices
• Posttensioned members
 anchorages
i. stressing anchorage
ii. Dead-end ancorage
 Ducts
 Posttensioning procedures
Stages of loading
 Unlike RC where we primarily consider the ultimate loading stage, we
must consider multiple stages of construction in Prestressed Concrete
 The stresses in the concrete section must remain below the maximum
limit at all times!!!
 Typical stages of loading considered are Initial and Service Stages
 Initial (Immediately after Transfer of Prestress)
● Full prestress force
● No MLL (may or may not have MDL depending on construction type)
 Service
● Prestress loss has occurred
● MLL + MDL (LL is liveload DL is dead load)
 For precast construction, we have to investigate some intermediate states
during transportation and erection
Advanages of Prestressing
The use of prestressed concrete offers distinct advantages over ordinary
reinforced listed as follows:
General advantages:
• Prestressing minimises the effect of cracks in concrete elements by
holding the concrete in compression.
• Prestressing allows reduced beam depths to be achieved for equivalent
design strengths.
• Prestressed concrete is resilient and will recover from the effects of
a greater degree of overload than any other structural material.
• If the member is subject to overload, cracks, which may develop, will
close up on removal of the overload.
• Prestressing enables both entire structural elements and structures to
be formed from a number of precast units,
e.g. Segmented and Modular Construction.
• Lighter elements permit the use of longer spanning members with a high
strength to weight characteristic.
The ability to control deflections in prestressed beams and slabs permits longer
spans to be achieved.
Prestressing permits a more efficient usage of steel and enables the economic use
of high tensile steels and high strength concrete.
Cost advantages of Prestressing
• Prestressed concrete can provide significant cost advantages over structural
steel sections or ordinary reinforced concrete.

Limitations of Prestressing
Although prestressing has advantages, some aspects need to be
carefully addressed.
• Prestressing needs skilled technology. Hence, it is not as common as
reinforced concrete.
• The use of high strength materials is costly.
• There is additional cost in auxiliary equipments.
• There is need for quality control and inspection.