Art.

1–8] PRESTRESSING NETHODS AND MATERIALS 9

pre-tensioned elements are to be utilized, it is not uncommon for the general

contractor to set up a temporary pre-tensioning plant at or near the job site.
Each method of making prestressed concrete has particular theoretical and
practical advantages and disadvantages, which will be more apparent after
the principles are well understood. The final determination of the mode of
prestressing that should be used on any particular project can only be made
after careful consideration of the structural requirements and the economic
factors which prevail for the particular project.

1–7. Linear vs. Circular Prestressing. The subject of prestressed

concrete is frequently divided into linear prestressing, which includes the
prestressing of elongated structures or elements such as beams, bridges, slabs,
piles, etc., and circular prestressing, which includes pipe, tanks, and domes.
The construction of circularly prestressed structures is confined to a few
contractors who specialize in this type of construction and who control
patented methods of accomplishing the prestress. There are no generally
recognized criteria for the design and construction of circularly prestressed
structures, although the theory of such construction, which is relatively
simple, is adequately covered in the literature (see Refs. 6 through 13). Due
to these considerations, this book has been confined to the study of the
structural design and analysis of linear prestressed structures and the
methods of prestressing used in this type of construction.

1–8. Physical Properties of the Prestressing Steel. It was stated

in Art. which results from the effects of steel
1–2 that the loss in prestress
creep and the shrinkage and plastic flow of the concrete is generally from
10 to 20% of the initial prestressing stress. The computation of the losses of
prestress due to the various causes is discussed in detail in Art. 4–2, but it is
very important for the student of prestressed concrete to be aware that the
greater portion of the loss of prestress is normally the result of the shrinkage
and plastic flow of the concrete. It should also be recognized that this fact
accounts for the necessity of using high strength steel, with a relatively high
initial stress, in the construction of prestressed concrete.
The shrinkage and plastic flow of concrete are inelastic volume or strain
changes. Since the prestressing tendons are anchored to the concrete either
by bond or by end anchorages, the strain changes in the concrete result in
equal strain changes in the tendons. Furthermore, since the steel used for
prestressing tendons is fundamentally an elastic material at the stress levels
employed in normal designs, the reduction of the stress in the prestressing
tendons which results from the inelastic strain changes in the concrete is
equal to the product of the elastic modulus of the steel and the strain change
in the concrete. This should be apparent since the fundamental relationship
for the elastic modulus is expressed by:

Elastic modulus = stress/strain