TOPIC -1

INTRODUCTION

Definition of Prestress:

Prestress is defined as a method of applying pre-compression to control the stresses resulting

due to external loads below the neutral axis of the beam tension developed due to external

load which is more than the permissible limits of the plain concrete. The pre-compression

applied (may be axial or eccentric) will induce the compressive stress below the neutral axis

or as a whole of the beam c/s. Resulting either no tension or compression.

Basic Concept

Prestressed concrete is basically concrete in which internal stresses of a suitable magnitude

and distribution are introduced so that the stresses resulting from the external loads are

counteracted to a desired degree.

Terminology

1. Tendon:A stretched element used in a concrete member of structure to impart

prestress to the concrete.

Figure: Tendons

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 2. Anchorage:A device generally used to enable the tendon to impart and maintain

prestress in concrete.

Figure: Anchorage

3. Pretensioning: A method of prestressing concrete in which the tendons are tensioned

before the concrete is placed. In this method, the concrete is introduced

by bond between steel & concrete.

4. 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.

Materials for prestress concrete members:

1. Cement:

The cement used should be any of the following

(a) Ordinary Portland cement conforming to IS269

(b) Portland slag cement conforming to IS455. But the slag content should not be more

than 50%.

(c) Rapid hardening Portland cement conforming to IS8041.

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 (d) High strength ordinary Portland cement conforming to IS8112.

2. Concrete:

Prestress concrete requires concrete, which has a high compressive strength reasonably

early age with comparatively higher tensile strength than ordinary concrete. The concrete

for the members shall be air-entrained concrete composed of Portland cement, fine and

coarse aggregates, admixtures and water. The air-entraining feature may be obtained by

the use of either air-entraining Portland cement or an approved air-entraining admixture.

The entrained air content shall be not less than 4 percent or more than 6 percent.

3. Steel

High tensile steel , tendons , strands or cables

The steel used in prestress shall be any one of the following:-

(a) Plain hard-drawn steel wire conforming to IS1785 (Part-I & Part-III)

(b) Cold drawn indented wire conforming to IS6003

(c) High tensile steel wire bar conforming to IS2090

(d) Uncoated stress relived strand conforming to IS6006

High strength steel contains:

0.7 to 0.8% carbons,

0.6% manganese,

0.1% silica

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 TOPIC -II

LOSSESOFPRE-STRESS

Losses in Prestress

The initial prestressing concrete undergoes a gradual reduction with time from the stages of

transfer due to various causes. The force which is used to stretch the wire to the required

length must be available all the time as prestressing force if the steel is to be prevented from

contracting. Contraction of steel wire occurs due to several causes, effecting reduction in the

prestress. This reduction in the prestressing force is called loss in prestress. In a prestressed

concrete beam, the loss is due to the following:

Types of losses in prestress

Pretensioning

During the process of anchoring, the stressed tendon tends to slip before the full grip is

established, thus losing some of its imposed strain or in other words, induced stress. This is

known as loss due to anchorage draw-in  From the time the tendons are anchored until

transfer of prestressing force to the concrete, the tendons are held between the two abutments

at a constant length. The stretched tendons during this time interval will lose some of its

induced stress due to the phenomenon known as relaxation of steel.  As soon as the tendons

are cut, the stretched tendons tend to go back to their original state, but are prevented from

doing so by the interfacial bond developed between the concrete and the tendons.

1. Elastic deformation of concrete

2. Relaxation of stress in steel

3. Shrinkage of concrete

4. Creep of concrete

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Post-tensioning

The tendons are located inside ducts, and the hydraulic jacks held directly against the

member. During stressing operation, the tendons tend to get straightened and slide against the

duct, thus resulting in the development of a frictional resistance. As a result, the stress in the

tendon at a distance away from the jacking end will be smaller than that indicated by the

pressure gauge mounted on the jack. This is known as loss due to friction.

With regard to elastic shortening, there will be no loss of prestress if all the tendons are

stressed simultaneously because the prestress gauge records the applied stress after the

shortening has taken place.

1. No loss due to elastic deformation if all wires are simultaneously tensioned. If the wires

are successively tensioned, there will be loss of prestress due to elastic deformation of

concrete.

2. Relaxation of stress in steel

3. Shrinkage of concrete

4. Creep of concrete

5. Friction

6. Anchorage slip

Loss due to elastic deformation of the concrete

The loss of prestress due to deformation of concrete depends on the modular ratio & the

average stress in concrete at the level of steel.

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Therefore, Loss of stress in steel = αe fc

If the initial stress in steel is known, the percentage loss of stress in steel due to elastic

deformation of concrete can be computed.

FLEXURE

Analysis of Members under Flexure

Introduction

Similar to members under axial load, the analysis of members under flexure refers tothe

evaluation of the following.

1) Permissible prestress based on allowable stresses at transfer.

2) Stresses under service loads. These are compared with allowable stresses underservice

conditions.

3) Ultimate strength. This is compared with the demand under factored loads.

4) The entire load versus deformation behaviour.

The analyses at transfer and under service loads are presented in this section.

The evaluation of the load versus deformation behaviour is required in special type of

analysis.

Assumptions

The analysis of members under flexure considers the following.

1. Concrete is a homogeneous elastic material.

2. With in the range of working stress, both concrete & steel behave elastically, not with

standing the small amount of creep, which occurs in both the materials under the

sustained loading.
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3. 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.

4. Prestress Concrete is one in which there have been introduced internal stresses of such

magnitude and distribution that stresses resulting from given external loading is counter

balanced to a desired degree.

5. Plane sections remain plane till failure (known as Bernoulli’s hypothesis).

6. Perfect bond between concrete and prestressing steel for bonded tendons.

Principles of Mechanics

The analysis involves three principles of mechanics.

1) Equilibrium of internal forces with the external loads. The compression inconcrete (C) is

equal to the tension in the tendon (T). The couple of C and T areequal to the moment due

to external loads.

2) Compatibility of the strains in concrete and in steel for bonded tendons. Theformulation

also involves the first assumption of plane section remaining planeafter bending. For

unbonded tendons, the compatibility is in terms of deformation.

3) Constitutive relationships relating the stresses and the strains in the materials.

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 TOPIC-IV

TRANSFER OF PRESTRESS IN PRETENSIONED MEMBERS

Transmission of Prestress

Pre-tensioned Members

The stretched tendons transfer the prestress to the concrete leading to a self equilibrating

system. The mechanism of the transfer of prestress is different in the pre-tensioned and post-

tensioned members. The transfer or transmission of prestress is explained for the two types of

members separately.

For a pre-tensioned member, usually there is no anchorage device at the ends. The following

photo shows that there is no anchorage device at the ends of the pre-tensioned railway

sleepers.

For a pre-tensioned member without any anchorage at the ends, the prestress is transferred by

the bond between the concrete and the tendons. There are three mechanisms in the bond.

1) Adhesion between concrete and steel

2) Mechanical bond at the concrete and steel interface

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 Figure:End of pre-tensioned railway sleepers

3) Friction in presence of transverse compression.

The mechanical bond is the primary mechanism in the bond for indented wires, twisted

strands and deformed bars. The surface deformation enhances the bond. Each of the type is

illustrated below.

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The prestress is transferred over a certain length from each end of a member which is called

the transmission length or transfer length (L ). The stress in the tendon is zero at the ends
t

of the members. It increases over the transmission length to the effective prestress (f ) under
pe

service loads and remains practically constant beyond it. The following figure shows the

variation ofprestress in the tendon.

Figure :Variation of prestress in tendon along transmission length

Hoyer Effect :

After stretching the tendon, the diameter reduces from the original value due to the Poisson’s

effect. When the prestress is transferred after the hardening of concrete, the ends of the

tendon sink in concrete. The prestress at the ends of the tendon is zero. The diameter of the

tendon regains its original value towards the end over the transmission length. The change of

diameter from the original value (at the end) to the reduced value (after the transmission

length), creates a wedge effect in concrete. This helps in the transfer of prestress from the

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tendon to the concrete. This is known as the Hoyer effect. The following figure shows the

sequence of the development of Hoyer effect.

Figure: Transfer of Prestress

Since there is no anchorage device, the tendon is free of stress at the end. The concrete should

be of good quality and adequate compaction for proper transfer of prestress over the

transmission length.

Transmission Length

There are several factors that influence the transmission length. These are as follows.

1) Type of tendon
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  wire, strand or bar

2) Size of tendon

3) Stress in tendon

4) Surface deformations of the tendon

 Plain, indented, twisted or deformed

5) Strength of concrete at transfer

6) Pace of cutting of tendons

 Abrupt flame cutting or slow release of jack

7) Presence of confining reinforcement

8) Effect of creep

9) Compaction of concrete

10) Amount of concrete cover

The transmission length needs to be calculated to check the adequacy of prestress in the

tendon over the length. A section with high moment should be outside the transmission

length, so that the tendon attains at least the design effective prestress (f ) at the section. The
pe

shear capacity at the transmission length region has to be based on a reduced effective

prestress.

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 TOPIC-V

COMPOSITE BEAMS

Introduction

A composite section in context of prestressed concrete members refers to a section with a

precast member and cast-in-place (CIP) concrete. There can be several types of innovative

composite sections. A few types are sketched below.

Examples of composite sections

Composite construction implies the use, in a single structure acting as a unit, of different

structural element made with similar or different structural materials. • In a composite

member where only concrete is used as a material, the concrete is placed in at least two 2 In

a composite member where only concrete is used as a material, the concrete is placed in at

least two separate stages generally leading to two different unit weights and/or properties. •

This is the case of composites made with precast reinforced or prestressed concrete element

combined with a concrete element cast in situ at a different time. • Typical composite cross-

sections are as shown in the next slide

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The following photos show the reinforcement for the slab of a box girder bridge deck with

precast webs and bottom flange. The slab of the top flange is cast on a stay-in formwork.

The reinforcement of the slab is required for the transverse bending of the slab. The

reinforcement at the top of the web is required for the horizontal shear transfer.

The advantages of composite construction are as follows.

 Total construction time is substantially reduced when precast concrete elements are

used.

 Pre-tensioning in plant is more cost-effective than post -tensioning on site. Because the

precast prestressed concrete element is factory-produced and contains the bulk of

reinforcement, rigorous quality control and higher mechanical properties can be

achieved at relatively low cost. The cast in situ concrete slab does not need to have high

mechanical properties and thus is suitable to field conditions.

 The precast prestressed concrete units are erected first and can be used to support the

formwork needed for the cast in situ slab without additional scaffolding (or shoring) 5

 In addition to its contribution to the strength and stiffness of the composite member, the

cast in situ slab provides an effective means to distribute loads in the lateral direction.

 The cast in situ slab can be poured continuously over the supports of precast units

placed in series, thus providing continuity to a simple span system

 Savings in form work

 Fast-track construction

 Easy to connect the members and achieve continuity

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 TOPIC-VI
Deflection

Introduction

• The effect of deflection in a structure varies according to the use of the structure.

• Excessive deflections may lead to sagging floors, to roof that do not drain properly, to

damage partitions and finishes, to the creation of pools of water on road surface of

bridges, and to other associated troubles

The total deflection is a resultant of the upward deflection due to prestressing force and

deflection deflection due to prestressing prestressing force and downward deflection due

to the gravity loads.

Only the flexural deformation is considered and any shear deformation is neglected in

the calculation of deflection.

Deflection of Prestressed concrete Beam:

1. Fully prestressed concrete members (class 1 and class 2) remain crack-free under

service load

2. Can be assumed linearly elastic

3. Two types of deflection

– Short -term or instantaneous

– Long-term

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4. Short-term deflection occurs immediately upon the application of a load (caused by

elastic deformation of the concrete in response to loading)

5. The short term deflection at transfer is due to the initial prestressing force and self

initial initial prestressing prestressing force and self-weight without weight without

the effect of creep and shrinkage of concrete.

6. Long-term deflection takes into account the long-term shrinkage and creep

movements (time-dependent)

7. The long term deflection under service loads is due to the effective prestressing force

and the total gravity loads.

8. The deflection of a flexural member is calculated to satisfy a limit state of

serviceability

9. Due to external loads

10. Due to prestressed force

11. Can use various methods to calculate deflections

Double Integration Method (McCauley)

Moment Area Method

Conjugate Beam Method

Principle of Virtual Load

Deflection due to Prestressing Force

• The prestressing force causes a deflection only if the CGS is eccentric to the CGC if

the CGS is eccentric eccentric to the CGC.

• Deflection due to prestressing force is calculated by the load by the load-balancing

method. balancing method.

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