Chapter 5:

Introduction To Prestressed
Concrete Design
Prepared by:
Koh Heng Boon
Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering
31 October 2012
5.1 Principles of Prestressed Concrete
Design
Prestressed concrete can easily be
defined as pre-compressed concrete.
This means that a compressive stress is
put into a concrete member before it
begins it working life and positioned to be
in areas where tensile stresses will under
working load.
Figure 5.1 (a) shows a plain concrete
beam carrying a concentrated load. As
load increases, the beam deflects slightly
and then fails abruptly. Under load, the
stresses in the beam will compressive in
the top fibres, but tensile in the bottom
fibres. We can expect the beam to crack at
the bottom and break, even with a
relatively small load, because of the low
tensile strength of concrete.
The tensile strength of concrete is about
10% of its compressive strength.
Figure 5.1
There are two ways of countering this
low tensile strength:-
1. By using passive reinforcement (reinforced
concrete)
Reinforcement in the form of steel bars is
placed in areas where tensile stresses will
develop under load. The reinforcement
absorbs all the tension and, by limiting the
stress in this reinforcement, the cracking of
the concrete is kept within acceptable limits.
(Figure 5.1(b))
2. By using active reinforcement (Prestressed
concrete)
The compressive stresses introduced into
areas where tensile stresses develop under
load will resist or annul this tensile stresses.
So the concrete now, behaves as if it had
high tensile strength of its own and, provided
the tensile stresses do not exceed the pre-
compression stresses, cracking is not allow
to occur in the bottom of the beam. (Figure
5(C) & 5(d)).
5.2 What Is Prestressing
Prestressing is best explained by considering a
row of books. Each book is a discrete element
but, if they are stacked closely together and an
axial compressive force is applied at each end of
the stack, it is possible to lift the whole row as a
single unit (Figure 5.2).
Figure 5.2: Row of
books lifted as a
single unit
This is prestressing in its simplest form. It
provides the unit, in this case a row of books,
with a strength and stability that it would not
otherwise possess. Other forms of prestressed
items in everyday use include:
- The barrel and the cartwheel (timber segments
held in compression by iron bands in tension).
- The bicycle wheel (steel rim held in compression
by spokes in tension);
- The umbrella (membrane held in tension by ribs
in compression).
In the case of concrete, prestressing is used as
in the row of books, to form beams and similar
members, and as in the barrel, to form cylindrical
tanks and silos.
5.3 Method Of Prestressing
Prestressing tendons may be tensioned
before the concrete is placed (pre-
tensioned) or after the concrete has
hardened (post-tensioned).
The resulting prestressed concrete
members are also frequently described as
being either pre-tensioned or post-
tensioned.
1. Pre-Tensioning
Here the tendons are
tensioned and anchored
between fixed supports
before the concrete is
placed around the
tendons. The concrete is
either cast in moulds or
formed by an extrusion or
slip-form process to
provide the required
cross-section. When the
concrete has achieved
sufficient strength, the
tendons are slowly
released from the support
at one end (Figure 5.3).
Figure 5.3: Pre-tensioning
The prestressing force is
transferred from the
tendons to the concrete
by the bond existing
between the hardened
concrete and the
tendons. The transfer of
force occurs over a short
transmission length at
each end of the
concrete, as the tendons
outside the concrete
revert to their original
untensioned condition
(Figure 5.4). The elastic
shortening of the
concrete that occurs at
this stage causes a
corresponding reduction
of the tendon force.
Figure 5.4: Transmission
zone at end of member
Pre-tensioning may be used on site where
large numbers of similar precast units are
required, but is usually carried out in a
factory where permanent stressing beds
have been installed. Single units and units
cast side-by-side may be produced in rigid
steel moulds, against which the tendons
are tensioned and anchored until the
forces can be transferred to the concrete,
but the most effective use of pre-
tensioning is in long-line production.
In long-line production, a number of similar units are produced
in line at the same time. Tendons, generally 7-wire strands,
are tensioned between anchor plates placed at opposite ends
of a long stressing bed. The anchor plates bear against steel
joists embedded in concrete abutments. The base to the
casting surface may sometimes act as a strut between the
abutments but, in most cases, the abutments are sufficiently
massive to be independently stable. In very long stressing
beds, intermediate abutments with preformed pockets to
receive temporary steel joists may be provided, so that a
shorter stressing bed can be created should the need arise. A
typical arrangement for long-line production is shown in
Figure 5.5.
Figure 5.5: Long-line production
Compacting and Curing of Concrete
Vibrators are used to achieve full compaction of the
concrete. Internal vibrators, if badly handled, can result
in small pockets of water adjacent to the tendons that will
reduce the effective bond. External vibrators are
generally more effective provided there are enough of
them and the moulds are sufficiently rigid. As with all
concrete, proper curing is essential. In order to obtain a
high concrete strength at an early age, the hardening
process is often accelerated by raising the temperature
of the concrete using steam-curing (Figure 5.6) which
enables a more rapid turn-round in production.
Figure 5.6: Typical Steam-Curing Cycle
Altering the Prestress (Deflecting and Debonding)
In the arrangements considered so far, the tendons have all
been straight and bonded to the concrete for their entire
length. Although most pre-tensioned units are made in this
way, the arrangement does not provide the most efficient
use of the prestressing force in members of constant cross-
section.
The location of the prestressing force is limited by the
conditions that can be permitted at the ends of the member.
In large units, where self-weight is significant, a smaller
force can be used if the eccentricity of the force can be
increased within the central portion of the span without
exceeding the critical value at the ends.
Typically, the tendons are arranged in several layers with
multiple tendons in each layer, and the eccentricity and
magnitude of the prestressing force are progressively
reduced towards the ends of the unit by deflecting and/or
debonding some of the tendons.
Deflecting typically involves holding down
the tendons at two symmetrically placed
positions within each unit, and holding up
the tendons within the gaps between units
and at the ends of the line, as shown in
Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7: Deflecting pre-tensioned tendons
Debonding is a more straightforward procedure, in
which specified lengths of plastic tubing are placed
around several tendons in different layers, so that no
bond can develop between the tendons and the
concrete. In this way, the transmission lengths for the
encased tendons begin at the end of the tubing and, by
varying the lengths of tubing, both the magnitude and the
eccentricity of the prestressing force may be adjusted in
steps, as shown in Figure 5.8.
Figure 5.8: Debonding of pre-
tensioned tendons
2. Post-tensioning
The concrete is cast first in the
mould and allowed to harden
before the prestress is applied.
The steel may be placed in
position to a predetermined
profile and cast into the concrete,
bond being prevented by
enclosing the steel in a protective
metal sheathing. Or ducts may
be formed in the concrete and
the steel passed through after
hardening has taken place. When
the required concrete strength
has been achieved, the steel is
stressed against the ends of the
unit and anchored off, thus
putting the concrete into
compression (Figure 5.9).
Figure 5.9: Prestressing
using post-tensioned internal
tendons
5.4 Reinforced Versus Prestressed Concrete
The similarities and differences between prestressed
and reinforced concrete are:
1. Because of the high compression transferred by the
prestressing tendons to the concrete, the compressive
strength of the concrete to be used in prestressed
concrete structures has to be much higher than in
reinforced concrete construction.
2. Mild steel and high tensile steel, normally used for
reinforced concrete, are unsuitable for prestressing
because it cannot be stressed to an adequate extent to
overcome the anticipated losses in prestress.
3. A fully prestressed structure behaves as a
homogeneous, elastic material and its behavior before
the onset of cracking is more akin to that of steel then
a heterogeneous material such as reinforced concrete.
4. A fully prestressed structure is a crack-free structure under service
loads. On the other hand, a reinforced concrete structure is assumed
to be cracked below the neutral axis from the very beginning. Even
the cracks in a prestressed structure which open up under overloads,
tend to close on the removal of load.
5. The principle stresses in a prestressed beam tend to be small
because of the pre-compression of the concrete and the reduction in
vertical shear caused by the upward reactions produced by the
curved tendons on the concrete. Hence, it is possible to design
prestressed concrete beam with very thin webs. The leads to
considerable reduction in self weight.
6. In both reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, the external
bending moment is resisted by an internal couple, the steel being in
tension and the concrete in compression. There is, however, an
important difference. In a reinforced concrete beam, the lever arm
remains more or less constant and as the beam is progressively
loaded, the stress in the steel increases to build up the resisting
moment. On the other hand, in a prestressed concrete, the stress in
the tendon remains more or less constant and it is the change in the
lever arm which contributes to the increase in the resisting moment
as the load on the beam is raised.
7. When once the prestress is overcome, the behavior of a prestressed
concrete beam does not materially differ from that of a reinforced
concrete beam.
5.5 Advantages Of Prestressing
1. Being made of higher strength steel and
concrete, prestressed concrete is inherently
superior to reinforced concrete.
2. Prestressed concrete structures tend to be
more economical than reinforced concrete
structures for long spans and heavy loads.
3. A prestressed concrete structure is a crackles
structure. This is an advantage in an
aggressive atmosphere and for water-
retaining and other structures which call for
high degree of impermeability.
4. Prestressed structures are lighter, partly because
thin webs are practicable. The advantage is quite
pronounced in long span bridges where self-
weight is a dominant factor controlling the design.
5. They deflect less because the prestressing
operation causes an upward camber to start with.
6. It is sometimes claimed that a prestressed
structure is a pretested structure. What is implied
is that the steel and concrete are subjected to very
high stresses during prestressing and, if the
structure behaves satisfactorily at his stage, there
is a reasonable assurance that it will perform
equally well at other stages.
5.6 Disadvantages of Prestressed Concrete
1. Increased cost of materials and
shuttering.
2. Greater supervision required to ensure
correct concrete strength and magnitude
of prestress forces.
3. Design calculations are more extensive.
5.7 Materials
1. Concrete
In prestreseed concrete construction, higher grade of
concrete is normally used compared to reinforced
concrete.
Cl 5.10.2.2(3) EN1992-1-1, states that The strength of
concrete at application of or transfer of prestress should
not be less than the minimum value defined in the
relevant Technical Approval.
At transfer, the concrete strength must not be less than
0.6f
ck
(t). where f
ck
(t) is the characteristic compressive
strength of the concrete at time t when it is subjected to
the prestressing force.
The development of strength in concrete with
age is shown in Table 5.1
37 36 35 33 20 30 C30
50 47.5 45.5 44 28 40 C40
60 57.5 55.5 54 36 50 C50
31 30 29 27.5 16.5 25 C25
25 24 23 22 13.5 20 C20
1 year 6
months
3
months
2
months
7 days
Cylinder strength at an age of
(N/mm
2
)
Characteristic
strength, f
ck
(N/mm
2
)
Grade
Table 5.1: Strength of concrete
2. Steel
Prestressing tendons are usually formed from high
tensile steel wires or alloy steel bars. The wires can be
used singly or twisted together to form strand (usually of
seven wires). Several tendons may be arranged in a
group with a common anchorage to form a cable (Figure
5.10).
Figure 5.10: Types of tendon
(from the top): wire, standard
strand, drawn strand, cable of
seven strands, Dividing bar
and Macalloy bar
(i) Wire
Cold-drawn wire is produced in coil form from hot-rolled
rod which is heat treated to make it suitable for cold
drawing. The wire surface is initially smooth but may be
indented by a subsequent mechanical process. In the
as-drawn condition, the wire has a natural curvature
approximately equivalent to the capstan of the drawing
machine. A final stress-relieving heat treatment to
improve some of the mechanical properties of the wire is
carried out before it is wound into large diameter coils.
The stress-relieving treatment pre-straightens the wire,
so that it will pay out straight from the coil, and enhances
its elastic and relaxation characteristics. Wire to be used
for pre-tensioning is supplied in a de-greased condition
and is often indented to ensure that the maximum bond
is obtained between steel and concrete. Wire is used in
factory-produced items such as lintels and small flooring
units.
(ii) Strand
Strand is made from cold-drawn wires: a seven-wire
strand consisting of a straight core wire (the king wire)
around which are spun six helical wires in one layer. The
diameters of the outer wires have to be slightly less than
that of the king wire to allow for their helical form. Strand
can be supplied with the outer wires having either a left-
hand or a right-hand twist and the stressing jacks need
to be adjusted accordingly. In BS 5896, there are three
types of seven wire strand: standard, super and drawn
(Figure 5.11).
Figure 5.11: Cross
Sections Of (a) Standard
And Super Strand, And (b)
Drawn Strand
(iii) Bar
There are two types of bar in common use:
1. Macalloy bars are produced from hot-rolled carbon-
chrome steel bars that are then cold-worked by
stretching to obtain the specified properties. The bars
are available in lengths up to 17.8 m for diameters
between 25 mm and 50 mm. Stainless steel bars are
available in lengths up to 6 m for diameters between 20
mm and 40 mm. Both types of bar are provided with
cold-rolled threads at each end, or over the full length if
needed, and can be joined together by threaded
couplers to obtain longer tendon lengths.
2. Dywidag threadbars are produced to a German
Standard specification in diameters between 20 mm
and 40 mm, with a coarse thread extending over the full
length of the bar. The bars may be cut to finished length
at the factory or on site and couplers can be used to
connect or extend bars as required.
The matching between types of tendons and their
usage is shown in Figure 5.12.
Figure 5.12: Types of tendons and their usage
5.8 Strength of Tendons
The strength of a prestressing tendon is
specified in terms of characteristic load values
for the breaking (or failure) load and the 0.1%
proof load, which is defined as the load that
produces a permanent elongation equal to 0.1%
of the gauge length. For wire and strand, the
load at lO/o elongation may be used as an
alternative to the proof load (Figure 25). The
British (BS 5896 and BS 4486) and European
(EN 10138) standards include a range of sizes
and strengths for each type of tendon, a
selection of which is shown in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2: Dimensions and properties of wires, 7-wire stands and bars
5.9 Prestressing System & Anchorage
1. Pre-Tensioning
With pre-tensioning, the wires or strands are held by temporary
grips during and after tensioning. The method of tensioning may
vary but in all cases the grip consists of a barrel and wedge.
Stressing is carried out either by extending the tendons one at a
time, or by multi-stressing, where all the tendons are extended at
the same time. In both cases, the process starts at the non-
jacking end, where grips are forced onto the unstressed tendons
close to the anchor plate. Spring-loaded anchors are often used
to apply a consistent force and retain the anchor in position when
the tendons are being handled.
For tendons that are stressed individually, a relatively small
power-operated jack is used to enable stressing to be carried out
quickly and efficiently. A popular jack for this purpose is shown in
Figure 5.13. Once the controls have been set to pre-determined
values, the stressing and anchoring operations are carried out
automatically.
2. Post-Tensioning
A large number of systems have been developed and
used throughout the world as shown in the following
photos and Figure 5.14 shows the anchorage systems
and their components.
Figure 5.13: CCL Stressomatic jacks and pump
Figure 5.14: Anchorage system and their components
5.10 Loss of Prestress
When stress is applied to concrete, it undergoes
dimensional changes: an immediate elastic deformation
followed by a time-related creep deformation. These
changes are in addition to the shrinkage caused by
changes in moisture content. Any shortening of the
concrete that occurs after the tendons have been
tensioned and anchored causes a loss of prestress that
must be allowed for in the design of the member.
Concrete shrinks over time by an amount that varies with
the initial water content of the mix, the thickness of the
section and the relative humidity of the environment. The
shrinkage develops rapidly at first and continues at a
reducing rate for many years. The resulting loss of
prestress that occurs in the tendons depends on the age
of the concrete at transfer, and is greater with pre-
tensioning than with post-tensioning.
The loss of prestress due to the elastic deformation of
the concrete that occurs at transfer is greatest in pre-
tensioning, since the tendons are already anchored by
bond, and all the stress is applied to the concrete at the
same time. In post-tensioning, there is no loss if all the
tendons are stressed at the same time, since the elastic
deformation takes place before the tendons are
anchored. When the tendons are stressed sequentially,
a progressive loss occurs in any tendons that are
already anchored. The total loss is then intermediate
between nil and half the value that occurs in pre-
tensioning.
Concrete under applied stress also undergoes an
inelastic creep deformation. Like shrinkage, creep
develops rapidly at first and continues at a decreasing
rate for many years. The creep value depends upon the
thickness of the section, the relative humidity of the
environment and the maturity of the concrete at transfer
of prestress. As a result, the loss of prestress that occurs
in the tendons is greater with pre-tensioning than with
post-tensioning.
5.11 Limitation of Prestressed Concrete Stress
The stress limits for prestressed concrete structures
under transfer and service condition are stated in clause
5.10.2.2, EN 1992-1-1. The stress limits are summarized
in Table 5.3.
0 f
ctm
Tensile
0.6f
ck
0.6f
ck
(t) Compressive
Service Transfer Stresses
Table 5.3: Stress Limits
5.12 Stress Distribution
Figure 5.15 shows the stress distribution of a simply
supported prestress concrete member.
Figure 5.15
If = coefficient of short term losses
= coefficient of total losses (short term + long
term losses)
Stress
Distribution at
transfer stage.
f
min
= Limit of
tensile stress at
transfer
f
max
= Limit of
compressive
stress at transfer
Stress
Distribution at
service stage.
f
min
= Limit of
tensile stress at
service
f
max
= Limit of
compressive
stress at service
Example 1
Given the following data
Moment due to selfweight, Mi = 100 kNm,
Moment due to external load, Ms = 200 kNm
Initial prestressing force, P
i
= 2000 kN (e = 0)
Rectangular section: b = 400mm , h = 800mm
Sketch the stress distribution diagram and state the stress
value
Solution:
A = bh = 400 x 800
= 320 x 10
3
mm
2
4 10
3 3
10 7 . 1
12
800 400
12
mm x
x bh
I = = =
3 6
3
10 5 . 42
400
10 7 . 1
mm x
x
y
I
Z Z
b t
= = = =
Example 2
The diagram on the left shows a
simply supported prestress
concrete beam and its cross
section. Given the following data:
Z
b
= Z
t
= 70.73 x 106 mm
3
Ac = 2.9 x 105 mm
2
= 0.9
= 0.8
Concrete strength, f
ck
= 40 MPa
Concrete strength at transfer (7
days), f
ck
(t) = 28 MPa
Check the limiting stress at
transfer and service stage.
Solution:
Limiting stress:
f'
min
= f
ctm
= 0.3xf
ck
(t)
(2/3)
= 0.3(28)
(2/3)
= 2.77 N/mm
2
f'
max
= 0.6f
ck
(t) = 0.6 x 28 = 14 N/mm
2
f
min
= 0
f
max
= 0.6f
ck
= 0.6 x 40 = 24 N/mm
2
m kN x
x
/ 96 . 6 24
10
10 9 . 2
= W
6
3
i
=
kNm
x L W
i
196
8
15 696
8
= M
2 2
i
= =
kNm
x WL
1602
8
15 50
196
8
M = M
2 2
i s
= + = +
Stress Distribution At Transfer Stage
Stress Distribution At Service Stage