PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

Basic Concept
 A prestressed concrete structure is different from a conventional reinforced
concrete structure due to the application of an initial load on the
structure prior to its use.

 The initial load or ‘prestress’ is applied to enable the structure to

counteract the stresses arising during its service period.

 Prestressing, itself means, an intentional application of a pre-determined

force on a system, for resisting the internal stresses that may be developed
in the system, due to external loads.
Development of prestressed Concrete

 The basic principle of prestressing was applied to construction perhaps

centuries ago, when ropes or metal bands were wound around wooden
staves to form barrels.
Compressive
prestress

Wooden
Staves
Wooden stave as a free body
Tensile
Metal prestress
bands
Radial
A wooden Barrel Pressure
Half of metal band as a free body

Principle of prestressing applied to barrel construction

 Brief History
The following events were significant in the development of prestressed
concrete.
1886 Jackson, P. H., (USA)
Introduced the concept of tightening steel tie rods in artificial stone and
concrete arches.

Steel tie rods in arches

1923 Emperger, F., (Austria)
Developed a method of winding and pre- tensioning high tensile steel wires
around concrete pipes.
1924 Hewett, W. H., (USA)
Introduced hoop-stressed horizontal reinforcement around walls of concrete
tanks through the use of turnbuckles. Thousands of liquid storage
tanks and concrete pipes were built in the two decades to follow.
1925 Dill, R. H., (USA)
Used high strength unbonded steel rods. The rods were tensioned and
anchored after hardening of the concrete.
1926 Eugene Freyssinet (France)
Used high tensile steel wires, with ultimate strength as high as 1725 MPa and
yield stress over 1240 MPa.
In 1939, 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.
1938 Hoyer, E., (Germany)
Developed ‘long line’ pre-tensioning method.
1940 Magnel, G., (Belgium)
Developed an anchoring system for post-tensioning, using flat wedges.
 Prestressed concrete was started to be used in building frames, parking
structures, stadiums, railway sleepers, transmission line poles and other
types of structures and elements.
 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
Definitions

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
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.
 Advantages of Prestressing
The prestressing of concrete has several advantages as compared to traditional
reinforced concrete (RC) without prestressing.
A fully prestressed concrete member is usually subjected to compression
during service life.
This rectifies several deficiencies of concrete.
1) Section remains uncracked under service loads
Reduction of steel corrosion
Increase in durability.
Full section is utilized
Higher moment of inertia (higher stiffness)
Less deformations (improved serviceability).
Increase in shear capacity.
Suitable for use in pressure vessels, liquid retaining structures.
Improved performance (resilience) under dynamic and fatigue loading.
2) High span-to-depth ratios
Larger spans possible with prestressing (bridges, buildings with large column-
free spaces)
Typical values of span-to-depth ratios in slabs are given below.
Non-prestressed slab 28:1
Prestressed slab 45:1
For the same span, less depth compared to RC member.
Reduction in self weight
More aesthetic appeal due to slender sections
More economical sections.
3) Suitable for precast construction. The advantages of precast
construction are as follows.
Rapid construction
Better quality control
Reduced maintenance
Suitable for repetitive construction
Multiple use of formwork
Reduction of formwork
Availability of standard shapes.

Typical Precast Members

Limitations of Prestressing
1. Although prestressing has advantages, some aspects need to be carefully

addressed.

2. Prestressing needs skilled technology.

3. Hence, it is not as common as reinforced concrete.

4. The use of high strength materials is costly.

5. There is additional cost in auxiliary equipment.

6. There is need for quality control and inspection.

Types of Prestressing

Source of prestressing force

This classification is based on the method by
which the prestressing force is generated.
There are four sources of prestressing force:
 Mechanical
 Hydraulic
 Electrical and
 Chemical.
Hydraulic Prestressing
This is the simplest type of prestressing, producing large prestressing forces.
The hydraulic jack used for the tensioning of tendons, comprises of calibrated pressure gauges
which directly indicate the magnitude of force developed during the tensioning.
Mechanical Prestressing
In this type of prestressing, the devices includes weights with or without lever transmission,
geared transmission in conjunction with pulley blocks, screw jacks with or without gear drives
and wire-winding machines.
This type of prestressing is adopted for mass scale production.
Electrical Prestressing
In this type of prestressing, the steel wires are electrically heated and anchored before placing
concrete in the moulds. This type of prestressing is also known as thermo-electric prestressing.
Chemical Prestressing
In the chemical method, expanding cements are used and the degree of expansion is controlled
by varying the curing conditions.
Since the expansive action of cement while setting is restrained, it induces tensile forces in
tendons and compressive stresses in concrete.
Pre-tensioning or Post-tensioning
This is the most important classification and is based on the sequence of
casting the concrete and applying tension to the tendons.

Pre - tensioning
A method of prestressing concrete in which the tendons are tensioned before
the concrete is placed.
In this method, the prestress is imparted to concrete by bond between steel
and concrete.

Post – tensioning
A method of prestressing concrete by tensioning the tendons against hardened
concrete.
In this method, the prestress is imparted to concrete by bearing.
Pre-tensioning
 The tension is applied to the tendons before casting of the concrete.
 The pre-compression is transmitted from steel to concrete through bond
over the transmission length near the ends.
 The following figure shows manufactured pre-tensioned electric poles.

Pre-tensioned Electric Poles

Post-tensioning
 The tension is applied to the tendons (located in a duct) after hardening of
the concrete.
 The pre-compression is transmitted from steel to concrete by the anchorage
device (at the end blocks).
 The following figure shows a post-tensioned box girder of a bridge.

Post-tensioning of a box girder

Other Terminologies
Anchorage
 A device generally used to enable the tendon to impart and maintain

prestress in the concrete.

 The commonly used anchorages are the Freyssinet, Magnel Blaton,

Gifford-Udall, Leonhardt-Baur, LeeMcCall, Dywidag, Roebling and

B.B.R.V. systems.
Eccentric Prestressing
 A section at which the tendons are eccentric to the centroid, resulting in a

triangular or trapezoidal compressive stress distribution.

Transmission Length
 The length of the bond anchorage of the prestressing wire from the end of

a pre-tensioned member to the point of full steel stress.

Cracking load
 The load on the structural element corresponding to the first visible crack.
Creep in concrete
 Progressive increase in the inelastic deformation of concrete under

sustained stress component.

Shrinkage of concrete
 Contraction of concrete on drying.

Relaxation in steel
 Decrease of stress in steel at constant strain

Proof stress
 The tensile stress in steel which produces a residual strain of 0.2 percent of

the original gauge length on unloading.

Creep coefficient
 The ratio of the total creep strain to elastic strain in concrete.

Degree of prestressing
 A measure of the magnitude of the prestressing force related to the resultant

stress occurring in the structural member at working load.

Materials Required

High Strength Concrete

 Prestressed concrete requires concrete which has a high compressive
strength at a reasonably early age, with comparatively higher tensile
strength than ordinary concrete.
 Low shrinkage, minimum creep characteristics and a high value of Young’s
modulus are generally deemed necessary for concrete used for prestressed
members.
 Many desirable properties, such as durability, impermeability and abrasion
resistance are highly influenced by the strength of concrete.
 The minimum 28-day cube compressive strength prescribed in the IS:
1343-1980 is 40N/mm2 for pre-tensioned members and 30N/mm2 for
post-tensioned members.
According to IS:1343-1980,
 The compressive stress varies linearly from 0.54 to 0.37 fci for post

tensioned work and from 0.51 to 0.44 fci for pre-tensioned work
depending on the strength of concrete. (fci Compressive strength of
concrete at initial transfer of prestress )
 At transfer, there is no tensile stress

 At service load, the compressive stress varies linearly from 0.41 to 0.35

fck depending upon the strength of concrete.(fck-Characteristic cube

strength of concrete)
 At service load, the tensile stresses are

 Type 1 members: none

 Type2 members: tensile stresses not to exceed 3N/mm2
 Type 3 members: hypothetical tensile stresses vary from 3.2N/mm2
for M30 to a maximum of 7.3N/mm2 for M50 grade concrete
depending upon the limiting crack-width.
High tensile steel
 For prestressed concrete members, the high tensile steel used generally
consists of wires, bars or strands.
 The higher tensile strength is generally achieved by marginally increasing
the carbon content in steel in comparison with mild steel.
Permissible stresses in steel
 At the time of initial tensioning, the initial stress not to exceed 80% of the
characteristic tensile strength of tendons.
 Immediately after prestress transfer, no stress in steel.
 Final stress after allowing for all losses of prestress should not be less the
45% of the characteristic tensile strength of tendons.
Durability, Fire Resistance and Cover Requirements for PSC members
 The IS code IS1343-1980 provides for a minimum clear cover of 20mm for

protected pre-tensioned members, while it is 30mm or the size of the

cable(whichever is bigger) in the case of protected post-tensioned members.
 If the prestressed members are exposed to an aggressive environment, these

cover requirements are increased by 10mm.

 The IS 1343-1980 also prescribes minimum cement content and maximum

water cement ratio in concrete to ensure durability under specified conditions of

exposure.
Fire resistance of structural concrete elements is influenced by the following
parameters:
 Size and shape of the element

 Detailing, type and quality of reinforcement or prestressing tendons

 The level of load supported and pattern of loading

 Type of concrete and aggregate

 Conditions at end bearing

 Protective cover to reinforcement

Prestressing Systems
The various methods by which pre-compression is imparted to concrete are
classified as follows:
 Generation of compressive force between the structural element and
its abutments using flat jacks.
 Development of hoop compression in cylindrically shaped structures
by circumferential wire winding.
 Use of longitudinally tensioned steel embedded in concrete or
housed in ducts.
 Use of the principle of distortion of a statically indeterminate
structure either by displacement or by rotation of one part relative to
the remainder.
 Use of deflected structural steel sections embedded in concrete until
the hardening of the latter.
 Development of limited tension in steel and compression in concrete
by using expanding cements.
Post-tensioning
The various stages of the post-tensioning operation are summarized as
follows.
1) Casting of concrete.
2) Placement of the tendons.
3) Placement of the anchorage block and jack.
4) Applying tension to the tendons.
5) Seating of the wedges.
6) Cutting of the tendons.
The stages are shown schematically in the following figures.
After anchoring a tendon at one end, the tension is applied at the other end by
a jack. The tensioning of tendons and pre-compression of concrete occur
simultaneously. A system of self-equilibrating forces develops after the
stretching of the tendons.
Post-tensioning ducts in a box girder
Post-tensioning of a box girder
Advantages of Post-tensioning
The relative advantages of post-tensioning as compared to pre-tensioning are as
follows.
 Post-tensioning is suitable for heavy cast-in-place members.
 The waiting period in the casting bed is less.
 The transfer of prestress is independent of transmission length.
Disadvantage of Post-tensioning
 The relative disadvantage of post-tensioning as compared to pre-tensioning is
the requirement of anchorage device and grouting equipment.
Devices
The essential devices for post-tensioning are as follows.
1) Casting bed
2) Mould/Shuttering
3) Ducts
4) Anchoring devices
5) Jacks
6) Couplers (optional)
7) Grouting equipment (optional).
Anchoring Devices
 In post-tensioned members the anchoring devices transfer the prestress to
the concrete.
 The devices are based on the following principles of anchoring the
tendons.
1) Wedge action
2) Direct bearing
3) Looping the wires
Wedge action
The anchoring device based on wedge action consists of an anchorage block
and wedges.
The strands are held by frictional grip of the wedges in the anchorage block.
Some examples of systems based on the wedge-action are Freyssinet,
Gifford-Udall, Anderson and Magnel-Blaton anchorages.
The following figures show some patented anchoring devices.

Freyssinet “T” system

anchorage cones
Direct bearing
 The rivet or bolt heads or button heads formed at the end of the wires

directly bear against a block.

 The B.B.R.V post-tensioning system and the Prescon system are based
on this principle.
 The following figure shows the anchoring by direct bearing.

Anchoring with button heads

Looping the wires
 The Baur-Leonhardt system, Leoba system and also the Dywidag single-

bar anchorage system, work on this principle where the wires are looped
around the concrete.
 The wires are looped to make a bulb.

 The following photo shows the anchorage by looping of the wires in a

post-tensioned slab.

Anchorage by looping the

wires in a slab
Sequence of Anchoring
 The following figures show the sequence of stressing and anchoring
the strands.
 The photo of an anchoring device is also provided.
Couplers
 The couplers are used to connect strands or bars.
 They are located at the junction of the members, for example at or near
columns in post-tensioned slabs, on piers in post-tensioned bridge decks.
 The couplers are tested to transmit the full capacity of the strands or bars.
 A few types of couplers are shown in the figure below.
Grouting
 Grouting can be defined as the filling of duct, with a material that
provides an anti-corrosive alkaline environment to the prestressing steel
and also a strong bond between the tendon and the surrounding grout.
 The major part of grout comprises of water and cement, with a
water-to-cement ratio of about 0.5, together with some water-
reducing admixtures, expansion agent and pozzolans.
 The following figure shows a grouting equipment, where the
ingredients are mixed and the grout is pumped.

Grouting equipment
Manufacturing of Post-tensioned Bridge Girders
 The following photographs show some steps in the manufacturing of a
post-tensioned I-girder for a bridge.
 The first photo shows the fabricated steel reinforcement with the ducts
for the tendons placed inside.
 Note the parabolic profiles of the duct for the simply supported girder.
After the concrete is cast and cured to gain sufficient strength, the tendons are
passed through the ducts, as shown in the second photo.
The tendons are anchored at one end and stretched at the other end by a
hydraulic jack. This can be observed from the third photo.
 The following photos show the construction of post-tensioned box girders
for a bridge.
 The photograph shows the fabricated steel reinforcement with the ducts
for the tendons placed inside.
 The top flange will be constructed later.
 The photo below shows the formwork in the pre-casting yard.
 The formwork for the inner sides of the webs and the flanges is yet to be
placed.
In this photo a girder is being post-tensioned after adequate curing.
This photograph shows a crane on a barge that transports a girder to the bridge
site.
The completed bridge can be seen in the last photo.
Analysis of Prestress and Bending Stresses

Basic Assumptions
The analysis of stresses developed in a prestressed concrete structural
element is based on the following assumptions:
 Concrete is a homogeneous elastic material
 Within the range of working stresses, both concrete and steel behave
elastically, notwithstanding the small amount of creep which occurs
in both the materials under sustained loading, and
 A plane section before bending is assumed to remain plane even
after bending, which implies a linear strain distribution across the
depth of the member.
Analysis of prestress
 The stresses due to prestressing alone are generally combined stresses due
to the action of direct load and bending resulting from an eccentrically
applied load.
 The stresses in concrete are evaluated by using the well known
relationship for combined stresses used in the case of columns.
Stages of Loading
The analysis of prestressed members can be different for the
different stages of loading. The stages of loading are as follows.
1) Initial : It can be subdivided into two stages.
a) During tensioning of steel
b) At transfer of prestress to concrete.
2) Final : It can be subdivided into two stages.
a) At service, during operation.
b)At ultimate, during extreme events.
The following notations and sign conventions are used for the analysis of
prestress:
P = Prestressing force
e = eccentricity of prestressing force
M = P . e = Moment
A = cross-sectional area of the concrete member
I = second moment of area of section about its centroid.
Zt and Zb = section modulus of the top and bottom fibres
fsup and finf = prestress in concrete developed at the top and bottom
fibres (positive when compressive and negative when tensile in
nature)
yt and yb = distance of the top and bottom fibres from the centroid of the
section
i = radius of gyration
Concentric Tendon
Consider a concrete beam with a concentric tendon as shown in the figure

P P

Stress = P/A

• Uniform prestress in concrete = P/A, which is compressive across the

depth of the beam.
Eccentric Tendon
 The figure shows a concrete beam subjected to an eccentric
prestressing force of magnitude P located at an eccentricity e.
 The stresses developed at the top and bottom fibres of the
beam are obtained by the relations:
Eccentric Prestressing
Resultant stresses at a section
 The concrete beam shown in figure, supports uniformly distributed live
and dead loads of intensity q and g.
 The beam is prestressed by a straight tendon carrying a prestressing force
P at an eccentricity e.
 The resultant stresses in concrete at any section are obtained by
superposing the effect of prestress and the flexural stresses developed due
to the loads.
 If Mq and Mg are the live and dead load moments at the central span
section,
 Pressure line or Thrust line and internal resisting couple
 At any given section of a prestressed concrete beam, the combined effect
of the prestressing force and the externally applied load will result in a
distribution of concrete stresses that can be resolved into a single force.
 The locus of the points of application of this resultant force in any
structure is termed as the ‘pressure or thrust line’.
 The concept of pressure line is very useful in understanding the load-
carrying mechanism of a prestressed concrete section.
 In the case of prestressed concrete members, the location of the
pressure line depends upon the magnitude and direction of the
moments applied at the cross-section and the magnitude and
distribution of stress due to the prestressing force.
 Consider a concrete beam shown in the figure below, which is prestressed
by force P acting at an eccentricity e.
 The beam supports a uniformly distributed load (including self-weight) of
intensity q per unit length.
 The load is of such magnitude that the bottom-fibre stress at the central
span section of the beam is zero.
 Figure below shows the resultant stress distribution at the support, centre
and quarter span sections of the beam.
 At the support section, since there are no flexural stresses resulting from the
external loads, the pressure line coincides with that of the centroid of steel,
located at an eccentricity of h/6.
 At the center of the span section, the external loading is such that the
resultant stress developed is maximum at the top fiber and zero at the
bottom fiber.
 It ca easily be seen that for this section the pressure line has shifted
towards the top fiber by an amount equal to h/3 from its initial position.
The external moment at the quarter span section being smaller in magnitude,
the shift in the pressure line also is correspondingly smaller, being equal to
h/4 from the initial position.
In a similar manner, it can be shown that a larger uniformly distributed load
on the beam would result in the pressure line being shifted even higher at the
center and quarter span sections.
These observations lead to the following important principle:
“A change in the external moments in the elastic range of a prestressed
concrete beam results in a shift of the pressure line rather than in an
increase in the resultant force in the beam.”
 This in contrast to a reinforced concrete beam section, where an increase
in the external moment results in a corresponding increase in the tensile
force and the compressive force.
 The increase in the resultant forces are due to a more or less constant
lever arm between the forces, characterized by the properties of the
composite section.
Basically, the load-carrying mechanism is comprised of a constant force with a
changing lever-arm, as in the case of prestressed concrete sections, and a
changing force with a constant lever arm prevailing in reinforced concrete
sections as shown in the figure below.
 However, if a prestressed concrete member is cracked, it behaves in a
manner similar to that of a reinforced concrete section.
 The pressure line or thrust line method is generally referred to as the
internal resisting couple method or the C-line method, the prestressed
beam is analysed as a plain concrete elastic beam using the basic
principles of statics.
 The prestressing force is considered as an external compressive force
with a constant tensile force T in the tendon throughout the span.
 Consequently, at any section of a loaded prestressed beam, equilibrium is
maintained satisfying the equations, H= 0 and M = 0.
The figure below shows the free-body diagram of a segment of a beam without
and with transverse loads respectively.
 When the gravity loads are zero, the C and T lines-coincide since there
is no moment at the section.
 Under transverse loads, the C-line, or the centre of pressure or thrust
line, is at a varying distance a from the T-line.
 If M = bending moment at the section due to dead and live loads.
 e = eccentricity of the tendon
 T = P = Prestressing force in the tendon
Moment equilibrium yields the relation,

The shift of pressure line e measured from the centroidal axis is obtained as

The resultant stresses at the top and bottom fibres of the section are expresses
as
Concept of Load Balancing
 It is possible to select suitable cable profiles in a prestressed concrete
member such that the transverse component of the cable force balances
the given type of external loads.
 This can be readily illustrated by considering the free-body of concrete,
with the tendon replaced by forces acting on the concrete beam as shown
in the figure and table below.
 The various types of reactions of a cable upon a concrete member depend
upon the shape of the cable profile.
 Straight portions of the cable do not induce any reactions except at the
ends, while curved cables result in uniformly distributed loads.
 Sharp angles in a cable induce concentrated loads.
 The concept of loading – balancing is useful in selecting the tendon profile,
which can supply the most desirable system of forces in concrete.
 In general, this requirement will be satisfied if the cable profile in a
prestressed member corresponds to the shape of the bending moment
diagram resulting from the external loads.
 Thus, if the beam supports two concentrated loads, the cable should follow
a trapezoidal profile.
 If the beam supports uniformly distributed loads, the corresponding tendon
should follow a parabolic profile.