University of Gondar

Institute of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering
Reinforced concrete III
Chapter 4
Introduction to Prestressed Concrete
Design

D e ce m b er, 2 0 2 0
Content
1. Introduction
2. Methods of Pre-stressing
3. Materials and Permissible Stresses
4. Analysis and design of pre-stressed concrete
 1. Introduction
•Prestressing a concrete is preloading of a member before application of the design
(service) loads so as to improve its overall performance.
•Prestressed concrete is a concrete in which internal stresses are introduced so that
the stresses resulting from external loads are counteracted to a desired degree.
•The initial load or ‘prestress’ enable the structure to counterbalance the stresses
arising during its service period.
1. Introduction
•A pre-stressed 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.
•Concrete is strong in compression, but weak in tension. Due to such a low tensile
capacity, flexural cracks develop at early stages of loading.
1. Introduction
•In order to reduce or prevent such cracks from developing, a concentric or
eccentric force is imposed in the longitudinal direction of the structural element.
•This force prevents the cracks from developing by eliminating or considerably
reducing the tensile stresses at the critical midspan and support sections at
service load, thereby raising the bending, shear, and torsional capacities of the
sections.
1. Introduction
•Prestressed concrete sections are then able to behave elastically, and almost the
full capacity of the concrete in compression can be efficiently utilized across the
entire depth of the concrete sections when all loads act on the structure.
•Such an imposed longitudinal force is termed a prestressing force, that is, a
compressive force that prestresses the sections along the span of the structural
element prior to the application of the transverse gravity dead and live loads or
transient horizontal live loads.
1. Introduction
Difference between reinforced
concrete and prestressed
concrete
1. Introduction
Reinforced concrete Prestressed concrete

•It is assumed that the tensile strength of the
concrete is negligible and disregarded. This is
because the tensile forces resulting from the
bending moments are resisted by the bond
created in the reinforcement process.
•Cracking and deflection are therefore essentially
essentially irrecoverable in reinforced concrete
once the member has reached its limit state at
service load.
•Pre-stress relies on bond and/or bearing
mechanisms to achieve stress transfer to
concrete.
• Cracking can be controlled or totally
eliminated at the service load level.
•The reinforcement required to produce the
prestressing force preloads the member,
and permit a relatively highly controlled
recovery of cracking and deflection.
1. Introduction
1.1 Forms of prestressing steels
Wires: Pre-stressing 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 pre-
stressing tendon.
Cable: A group of tendons form a pre-stressing 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.
1. Introduction
1.2 Full and Partial prestressing
•Full Prestressing: In these case sufficient precompression force is
applied to ensure “crack-free” at full design load.

•Partial Prestressing: Precompression is not sufficient to prevent

cracks under full design load. Therefore, the member will
normally contain some conventional reinforcement bars.

•In many cases, partial prestressing improves the structural

performance and is commonly used.
1. Introduction
1.3 Advantages of Prestressed concrete 1.4 Limitations of Prestressed concrete
i. Section remains uncracked under i. Requires skilled technology. Hence, it is
service loads not as common as reinforced concrete
• Thus, it has improved serviceability; ii. Use high strength materials, which is
increased shear capacity; improved costly
performance under dynamic and fatigue iii. Additional cost for auxiliary equipment
loads,
iv. It needs high quality control and
ii. High span to depth ratios inspection
• For the same span, less depth as compared
to RC member; Reduction in self weight
iii. Suitable for precast construction
• Rapid construction; reduced maintenance
and better quality control; mass production
of standard shapes
2. Method of Pre-stressing
Prestressed concrete is constructed by employing two basic techniques
i. Steel tensioning process is performed before the concrete casting (Pre-tensioning)
ii. Steel tensioning process is performed after the concrete harden (Post-tensioning)
2. Method of Pre-stressing
2.1 Pre-tensioning
• The steel tendons are tensioned before the concrete is cast.
The tendons are temporarily anchored against some
abutments and then cut or released after the concrete has
been placed and harden.
• The prestressing force is transferred to the concrete by the
bond along the length of the tendon.
• During the transfer of prestress, the member undergoes
elastic shortening.
• If the tendons are located eccentrically, the member is likely to
to bend and deflect (camber).
• Pre-tensioning is generally done in pre-casting plants in
permanent beds, which are used to produce pretensioned
precast concrete elements for the construction industry.
 2. Method of Pre-stressing
2.1 Pre-tensioning
Stages of the pre-tensioning operation can be summarized as follows.
Anchoring of
Applying
tendons against Casting of Cutting of the
Placing of jacks tension to the
the end concrete tendons.
tendons
abutments

Prestressed concrete sleeper production in Ethiopia, Welenchity precast manufacturing plant (Mesfin K., 2015)
2. Method of Pre-stressing
Advantages of Pre-tensioning Disadvantages of Pre-tensioning

The relative advantages of pre-tensioning as The relative disadvantages are

as compared to post-tensioning are
• A prestressing bed is required for the pre-
• Pre-tensioning is suitable for precast tensioning operation.
members produced in bulk.
• There is a waiting period in the prestressing
• In pre-tensioning large anchorage device is bed, before the concrete attains sufficient
not present. There should be good bond strength.
between concrete and steel over the
transmission length.
 2. Method of Pre-stressing
2.2 Post-tensioning
• Hollow conduits containing the unstressed tendons are placed in
the forms to the desired profile before pouring of the concrete.
• When the concrete hardens and gains sufficient strength, the
tendons are tensioned where they are anchored by special fitting
at the far end of the member
• And then anchored at the jacking end by similar fitting after which
which the jack is removed.
• The jacking force is usually applied against the ends of the
hardened concrete eliminating the need for massive abutments.
2. Method of Pre-stressing
Advantages of Post-tensioning
• Post-tensioning is suitable for heavy cast-in-
in-place members.
• The waiting period in the casting bed is less
less
• The transfer of prestress is independent of
transmission length.
Disadvantage of Post-tensioning
• Relative to pre-tensioning post-tensioning
has a disadvantage due to the requirement
of anchorage device and grouting
equipment.
 2.3 Losses in prestressed concrete Elastic
shortening

 Prestress loss is a reduction in

Immediate loss Friction
prestressing force
 There are two categories of prestress
Anchorage slip
losses
i. Immediate loss Prestress losses
ii. Long-term loss Creep

 For prestress losses determination, see Time

ES EN 1992-1-1:2015 Clause 5.10.3 dependent Shrinkage
(long-term)

Relaxation
 2.3 Losses in prestressed concrete
Type of loss Pre-tensioning Post-tensioning
1. Elastic shortening Yes i. No, if all the cables are simultaneously tensioned
ii. If the wires are tensioned in stages loss will exist.
2. Anchorage slip No Yes
3. Friction loss No Yes
4. Creep and shrinkage Yes Yes
of concrete
5. Relaxation of steel Yes Yes
3. Materials and Permissible stresses
3.1 Materials
 Early attempts to produce prestressed concrete members was unsuccessful by limited steel strength
available and by shrinkage and creep of concrete under sustained compression.
 Now a days, stronger concretes which have a good creep properties and very high strength steel
have made it possible to successfully gain the desired properties of prestressed members

i. Concrete

Minimum Strength Class for Prestressed Concrete:

for post-tensioned members C30, and
for pre-tensioned members C40

ii. Steel – high strength steel with fpk > 1000 MPa
3. Materials and Permissible stresses
Rationale to use high strength materials
i. High-strength concrete has a higher modulus of elasticity.
In effect, a reduced loss in prestress
ii. In post-tensioned members, high bearing stress result at
the ends of beams where the prestressing force is
transferred from the tendons to anchorage fittings. For
this, an increased the bearing capacity can be achieved by
using high strength concrete
iii. In pre-tensioned members, where prestress forces are
transfer by bond, using high strength concrete will result in
in higher bond stress
iv. Similarly, high strength steel can possibly be stressed to
achieve a higher level of prestress force
 3. Materials and Permissible stresses
3.2 Permissible stresses

 Normally prestressed concrete structures are primarily designed to satisfy the serviceability limit
state, it is necessary to limit the stresses in concrete and steel. The structure is assumed to behave
elastically.

 There are two critical conditions to be considered

i. Stress state at transfer of prestress:- at this stage the loads acting are the self-weight of the
structure and prestress with only elastic shortening during transfer having taken place
ii. Stress state at serviceability limit state:- when the loads acting are the dead and live loads
along with the prestress with all the long-term losses assumed to have taken place.

3. Materials and Permissible stresses
3.2 Permissible stresses in concrete
 At transfer
For compression 𝑓 ≤ 0.6𝑓 (𝑡)
Where:- 𝑓 (𝑡) the compressive strength at the time
time of stressing for posttensioned members or at
force transfer in the case of pretensioned members
𝑓 permissible stress in compression at the extreme
extreme fiber
 For pretensioned elements the stress at the time
of transfer of prestress may be increased to
0.7𝑓 (𝑡)
For tension 𝑓 is limited to 𝑓 (𝑡)
ES EN 1992-1-1:2015 Clause
5.10.2.2(5)
During service
Permissible stresses in compression (𝑓 )
and tension (𝑓 ) at serviceability limit state
are similar to the expressions given earlier
for transfer state except that 𝑓 is equal to
the compressive strength at 28 days.
In order to ensure that creep deformation
is linear, compressive stress under quasi
permanent loads should be limited to
0.45𝑓
 ES EN 1992-1-1:2015 Clause
5.10.2.1
3. Materials and Permissible stresses
3.2 Permissible stresses in steel
 During tensioning(stress at jacking)  0 . 8 f pk
f P , max  
 0 . 9 f p 0 . 1 ( proof stress )
Where:- is characteristic tensile strength of prestressing steel
. is the stress that causes a specified amount of permanent deformation
 Overstressing is permitted if the force in the jack can be measured to an accuracy of ±
± 5% of the final value of the prestressing force. In such cases the stress in steel can be
be increased to , .
 4. Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
4.1 Analysis of Prestressed concrete
• A primary analysis of prestressed concrete is based on service conditions, and on the assumption that
stresses in the concrete are limited to values which will correspond to elastic behavior.

• In the analysis, the following assumptions are made

1.Plane sections remain plane.
2.Stress–strain relationships are linear.
3.Bending occurs about a principal axis.
4.The prestressing force is the value remaining after all losses have occurred.
5.Changes in tendon stress due to applied loads on the member have negligible effect on the
behavior of the member.
6.Section properties are generally based on the gross concrete cross-section.
•The stress in the steel is unimportant in the analysis of the concrete section under working conditions, it
being the force provided by the steel that is considered in the analysis
 4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
• In statically determinate structures, the stresses at top and bottom fibers
are given by the following equations

1) Stress at transfer state

 At this state, the external load acting is normally only the self weight.
With a large prestress force applied below the neutral axis. The beam will
hog up.

 The critical stress condition are

(A) Tension at the top of the beam and

(B) Compression at the bottom of the beam

 4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
2) Stress at serviceability state

 At working loads, external loads on the beam increase due to live loads and other dead loads.

 In addition due to long-term loss the prestress in the cables also decreases.

 The critical stress conditions are

(A) Compression at the top of the beam

(B) Tension at the bottom

4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
Sign conventions

• Eccentricity e is positive below the neutral axis

• Tensile stresses are negative and compressive stresses are positive

• Bending moment causing sagging is considered positive

 4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
•The expressions for the stress at top and bottom fibers of centrically prestressed beam at the stage
of prestressing (prestress transfer), are given by

𝑓 = + 𝑓 = −

And at service the stress at top and bottom fibers, are given by

𝑓 = + 𝑓 = −

Where:- 𝑃 is prestress at transfer

𝑃 is prestress at service

𝑍 and 𝑍 are the section moduli of the beam for top and bottom fibers respectively
 4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
The critical condition for tension in the beam is given by the following
equation, which for there is no tension at the bottom, i.e. 𝑓 =0

𝑓 = −

0= − = 𝑝= 𝐴

 𝑀 Minimum prestress force required to avoid resultant tension on the

𝑝= 𝐴
𝑍
bottom fiber
4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
 In the stress distribution shown on the left, the
top fiber is generally in a considerable
compression, while the bottom fiber is generally
at lower stress.

 A better use of concrete can be made if the

stresses at both top and bottom can be caused
vary over the full range of permissible stresses
the two extreme loading condition.

 This may be achieved by providing the force at

an eccentricity e form the centroid, as shown on
the figure on the right.
 4.Analysis and Design of Prestressed concrete
•The expressions for the stress at top and bottom fibers of eccentrically prestressed beam
at the stage of prestressing (prestress transfer), are given by

𝑓 = + − 𝑓 = − +

And at service the stress at top and bottom fibers, are given by

𝑓 = + − 𝑓 = − +

Where:-

𝑃 is prestress at transfer

𝑃 is prestress at service

𝑍 and 𝑍 are the section moduli of the beam for top and bottom fibers respectively
Example 4.1
A simply supported, rectangular beam of 300x150mm cross-section and span length of
4m, supports a live load of 10kN/m. If a straight tend is provided at an eccentricity of
65mm below the centroid of the section,
i. Find the minimum prestress force necessary for no tension under live load at
mid-span
ii. Calculate the corresponding stresses under self-weight only at mid-span and at
the ends of the member.
Example 4.1
Solution:-
Example 4.1
Solution:-
 4.2 Design of Prestressed concrete for serviceability limit state
• For a given structural configuration and loads, design in prestressed concrete for serviceability
limit state requirements involves two items:-
i. Selecting a suitable section
ii. Choice of prestress and corresponding eccentricity
• Consider the following four equations associated with the calculation of stresses at the top
and bottom fibers at a cross-section under transfer and serviceability conditions

+ − ≥𝑓 (1) − + ≤𝑓 (3) 𝑃 = 𝛼𝑃
𝑃 = 𝛽𝑃
𝑃 = ή𝑃
+ − ≤𝑓 (2) − + ≥𝑓 (4)
 4.2 Design of Prestressed concrete for serviceability limit state
i. Selecting a suitable section (initial sizing of section)
Expressing Pt in terms of Ps, equation (1) and (2) can be expressed as

(5) (6)

Eliminating Ps and e, from equations (5) and (3)

( ή)
(7)
ή
 4.2 Design of Prestressed concrete for serviceability limit state
i. Selecting a suitable section (initial sizing of section)
Similarly, eliminating Ps and e, from equation (6) and (4)
( ή)
(8)
ή

• Initially the self-weight moment is not known. However, ( )

represent the moment due to external loads which are known.
• Therefore for an initial estimate, it is reasonable to take After initial
section has been decided upon, if necessary, the required value of section modulus can
be recalculated.
 4.2 Design of Prestressed concrete for serviceability limit state
ii. Choice of prestressing force and eccentricity

•Having chosen a section, the next step is to choose the required value of prestress and eccentricity such
that none of the stress criteria are violated.

•By dividing throughout by 1/Ps, equation (3) and (6) can be rewritten as follows.

− ≥ή 𝑓 − (9) − ≤ −𝑓 − (11)

+ ≤ ή −𝑓 + (10) + ≥ −𝑓 + (12)
4.2 Design of Prestressed concrete for serviceability limit state
 If the inequality signs are replaced by an
equality signs are replaced by equality sign, a
plot of e versus 1/Ps of each equation is a
straight line and the plot of all the four
equations encloses a quadrilateral as shown in
the figure.
 Any choice of e and Ps inside the quadrilateral
satisfies all the four stress criteria. This plot is
known as a Magnel Diagram
 Example 4.2
Select a rectangular section for a post-tensioned beam to carry, in addition to its own self-weight, a
uniformly distributed load of 3kN/m over a simply supported span of 10m. The member is to be designed
with a concrete strength class of C40/50 and is restrained against torsion and the ends and at mid-span.
Assume 20% loss of prestress (K=0.8)

Solution:-
Example 4.2
Example 4.3

The 10m span beam given in Example 4.2 was determined to have a breadth of 200mm and a
depth of 350mm (𝑍 = 𝑍 = 4.08𝑥10 𝑚𝑚 ). Determine the minimum initial prestress force
required for an assumed maximum eccentricity of 75mm.

From Example 4.2 (a) Prestress force determination

Example 4.3

Similarly from the other three equations

Thank You!