PRESTRESS CONCRETE

Prestressing - the application of a predetermined force or moment to reduce

stresses within specific limits.

Methods of Prestressing

1. Pre-tensioning – the application of the predetermined force or

moment before concrete hardens.
2. Post-tensioning – the application of the predetermined force
or moment after concrete hardens.

Effective Prestressing Force:

P = kAsfs P =kPi
Where :
As = cross sectional area of the prestressing tendons
fs = allowable stress in the prestressing tendons.
k = coeffecient of prestress losses
Pi = initial prestressing force at transfer
Pretensioning
The prestress reinforcement is initially pulled
and concrete is poured until it hardens then reinforcement
is released to transfer the stress to concrete

Post tensioning

Ducts for future introduction of

prestressing reinforcement
Sources of Prestress Losses:

Creep of concrete – change in strain when a member is held at

constant stress
Relaxation of steel– loss of stress in a material placed under
stress and held at constant strain
Friction or Anchorage losses

Note : Combined losses ranges from 10 to 30%

Permissible Stresses in Concrete Flexural Members

Allowable Stress in concrete after prestress transfer ( before time-

dependent prestress losses) shall not exceed the following :
a) Extreme fiber stress in compression 0.6 fc’
b) Extreme fiber stress in tension 1/ 4 fc'
 Allowable Stress in concrete at service loads (after allowances for
prestress transfer ) shall not exceed the following :
a) Extreme fiber stress in compression 0.45 fc’
b) Extreme fiber stress in precompressed tension zone 1/ 2 fc'

Elastic Analysis of Prestressed Beams

Method of Analysis
Superposition of stress blocks: Stresses due to dead loads, live loads,
prestressing force and moment are added or subtracted to obtain the net
stress in the concrete fiber.
 fDt fLt fp - fmt fct

M + +
c.g + =
P

- fDb - fLb fp fmb fcb

Note : D L S
S C
Convention of E I T T O
A V R R M
signs of stress D E E E B
S S I
L L S S N
+ compressive O
A
O
A D D
E
D
- tensile D D U U
E
E S
S S T
T T T T R
R R O O E
E E S
S S P M S
S S
Where :

fDt = dead load stress at the topmost fiber

fLt = live load stress at the topmost fiber
fDb = dead load stress at the bottom fiber
fLb = live load stress at the bottom fiber
fp = stress due to prestressing force P
fmt = stress due to prestressing moment at the topmost fiber
fmb = stress due to prestressing moment at the bottom fiber
P = Prestressing force
M = Prestressing moment = Pe
e = eccentricity
 Basic Formulas:

Flexure Formula Axial stress

Mc
Any section f  
P
I A
Rectangular section 6M P
f   
bd 2 bd
Combined stress due to P and M : Rectangular Sections
top fibers: bottom fibers:

P 6e P 6e
ft  (1  ) fb  (1  )
bd d bd d
CE Board May 1997
A simply supported beam 400 mm by 800mm of 10.0 m span is loaded with
a uniform load of 40 kN/m including its own weight. The center of gravity of the
prestressing tendons is 200 mm above the bottom of the beam and produces
an effective prestressing force of 1200 KN. Compute the fiber stress at the
midspan section and show the resulting stress distribution.
1 8
 400 40kN/m

400
c.g 10 m
e =200
P=1200 kN
200

Dead load moment at midspan bottom

WD L2 40(10) 2 6M D
MD    500kN .m f Db   2
 11.72MPa (T )
8 8 bd
Dead load stress at midspan
top Stress due to P and M
top
6M D 6(500)(10) 6
f Dt    11.72MPa (C ) P 6e
bd 2
400(800) 2
ft  (1  )
bd d
 1200(1000) 6[200]
ft  (1  )  1.88MPa (T )
400(800) 800
bottom

P 6e
fb  (1  )
bd d
1200(1000) 6[200]
fb  (1  )  9.38MPa (C )
400(800) 800
Net stress
top
f ct  f Dt  f t  11.72  1.88  9.84MPa (C )
bottom

f cb   f Db  f b  11.72  9.38  2.34MPa (T )

 STRESS DISTRIBUTION DIAGRAM

DL stress Stress due Net stress

to P & M
400
11.72 -1.88 9.84

400 + =
c.g
e =200
P=1200 kN
200
-11.72 9.38 -2.34
CE Board May 1996
A 200 mm by 400 mm concrete beam is prestressed
with a final prestressing force of 500 kN at an
eccentricity of 100 mm below the neutral axis.
Determine the maximum moment that will produce no
tension in the bottom fibers. Neglect the weight of the
beam.
stress Stress due Net stress
due to to P and M
200 Unknown Moment

200 + =
c.g
e =100
P=500 kN
100
fDb fb 0
 P 6e
fb  (1  )
bd d
500(1000) 6[100]
fb  (1  )  15.63MPa (C )
200(400) 400

So that the tensile stress in the bottom fiber is zero

f b  f Db 15.63(200)(400) 2
M
6M 6(10) 6
fb  2
bd
M  83.36kN.m
6M
15.63 
200(400) 2
 CE Board Nov 1984
A simple beam 10 m long 400 mm by 600 mm in cross section is post
tensioned with tendons 500 sq.mm in area and stretched to a stress of
660 KN. The tendons passed through a hole 60 mm by 70 mm. The center
of the hole is 75 mm from the bottom of the beam. Find the maximum
fiber stress in the concrete immediately after prestressing. Loss of
prestressing at anchoring is 6%. Concrete weighs 23.50 KN/m3.
400 mm
Member a y ay
400x600 240000 300 72000000
1 60x70 - 4200 75 - 315000
A = 235800 71685000
c.g
A y   ay
600 mm
e
60 y
70 2 235800 y  71685000
75 mm
y  304mm
y  e  75
e  229mm
 400 mm

Effective prestressing force

P =kPi
1
P =0.94(660) = 620.4kN
c.g
600 mm d1 Weight of beam
WD =WcA
60 e=d2 y=304
300 23.5(235800) kN
70 2 wD   5.54
75 mm (1000) 2 m

I   ( I  Ad 2 )

b1h13 b2 h23
I  A1d1  (
2
 A2 d 22 )
12 12
3
400(600)3 60(70)
I  (400)600(4 )  (
2
 60(70)[ 229]2 )
12 12
I  6981.9 x106 mm4
 5.54kN/m 400 mm

1 C1=296
10 m
Maximum dead load Moment c.g
600 mm

WD L2 5.54(10) 2 60 C2=304
MD    69.25kN .m 70 2
8 8
Maximum dead load stress
bottom fiber
top fiber
M D c2
f Dt 
M D c1 f Db  
I I
69.25(10)6 304
f Dt 
69.25(10) 6 296 f Db  
6981.8(10) 6 6981.8(10)6

f Dt  2.94MPa(C ) f Db  3.02MPa (T )
 Stress due to Prestressing force P

P
P 
A
620.4(1000)
P   2.63MPa (C )
235800
Prestessing Moment

M  Pe  620.4(229)  142071.6kN .mm

stress due to M
bottom fiber
top fiber
Mc2
f mt  
Mc1 f mb 
I I
142071.6(10)3 304
f mt  
142071.6(10)3 296 f mb 
6981.8(10) 6 6981.8(10)6

f mt  6.02MPa(T ) f mb  6.19MPa (C )
 DL stress stress stress due Net stress
due to P to M

400 mm 2.94 -6.02 -0.45

c.g + + =
600 mm
60
70 2

-3.02 2.63 6.19 5.8

Maximum stress at midspan

Top fiber f ct  2.94  2.63  6.02  0.45MPa (T )

bottom fiber f cb  3.02  2.63  6.19  5.8MPa (C )
 The prestressed concrete T beam shown is to span 9.0 m and to be
prestressed with tendons located 100 mm from the bottom of the beam
at the midspan. 500 mm

150 mm

350 mm
150 mm

100 mm

a) Find the ratio of the effective prestressing force P to a total uniform load
if the resulting moment at the midspan is zero,
b) if the steel tendons having an area of 1500 sq. mm has an effective
stress of 1050 MPa, what will be the uniform load that it can support to
meet the condition in “a”.
 500 mm

150 mm
1

350 mm
2 150 mm
e
y
100 mm

a y ay
1 500x150 75000 525 39375000
2 150x450 67500 225 15187500
A = 142500 ∑ay = 54562500

A y   ay 142500 y  54562500 y  383mm

Eccentricity y  e  100 e  283mm  0.283m
 W kN/m

L= 9m
Moment at the midspan due to W

WL2
MD  ()
8
Moment at the midspan due to Prestressing force P

c.g M  Pe()
e P
For the moment at the midspan to be zero
100
MD  M P
 35.78  (a)
WL2 W
 Pe
8 P  As f s  1500(1050)  1575000N  1575kN
2
P L
 1575
 35.78
W 8e W
P 92 kN
 W  44  (b)
W 8(0.283) m
Deflection of Prestress Beams:

Deflection due to prestressing moment at midspan of simple

beams
2
ML
  If P is applied below the center of gravity
8 EI

Problem :
A rectangular concrete beam 7 m long, is 200 mm wide and 300 mm
overall depth is reinforced with straight post tensioned cable placed
centrally 75 mm above the bottom of the beam. Determine the amount
by which the midpoint of the beam lift off the forms when a tension of 214
KN is applied to the cable. Assume that concrete does not crack in
tension. Ec = 13800 MPa Wc = 23.5 KN/cu.m
200
WD kN/m

150
c.g
e =75 7m
P =214kN
75 Weight of the beam
kN
wD  23.5(0.2)(0.3)  1.41
m
Midspan Deflection of the beam due to its weight
5wD L4 5(1.41)(7000) 4
D  D 
384 EI 200(300)3
384(13800)
12
N
mm 4
 D  mm  mm  D  7.1mm 
N 4
mm
mm 2
M=Pe
M =214(75)1000=16050000 N.mm
Midspan Deflection of the beam due to Prestress
2 2
ML N .mm ( mm)
P  P   mm
8 EI N 4
mm
mm2
16050000(7000) 2
p 
200(300) 3
8(13800)
12
 P  15.83mm 
Amount by which the forms is lifted at the midspan

 N   P   D  15.83  7.1  8.73mm 

 Load Balancing Method:

The beam will not be subjected to any transverse load. At the end the supports
take care of the vertical components while the horizontal components produces
uniform compression along the entire beam thus producing no eccentricity.

Psinθ Psinθ

P P
Pcosθ Pcosθ
θ

R = Psinθ R = Psinθ
Stress at the midspan due to prestress:

PCos

A
Problem :
A prestressed concrete beam has a cross section of 400 mm by
800 mm and a simple span of 24 m. The beam is designed to carry
a concentrated load of 196 kN at the midspan. Concrete covering
is 80 mm.
a) Compute the effective prestress required by load balancing method
and compute the stress at the midspan section of the beam.
b) Compute the stress at the section if an additional load of 78.5 kN is
applied at the midspan.
 PRESTRESS CONCRETE (USD)
BONDED TENDONS

YpPpfpu
fps  fpu(1  )
1 fc'
fse > 0.5 fpu
fpy
Yp = 0.40 if  0.85
fpu
fpy
Yp = 0.28 if  0.90
fpu
UNBONDED TENDONS

L
a)
 35
d
fc'
fps  fse  70 
100 Pp
fps < fpy nor fse + 400

L
b)
 35
d
fc'
fps  fse  70 
300 Pp
fps < fpy nor fse + 200
where :
fpu = specified tensile strength of prestressing tendons
fpy = specified yeild strength of prestressing tendons
fps = stress of prestressing tendons at nominal length
fse =effective stress in the prestressed reinforcement
after allowance for prestress losses

Steel ratio :
Aps
Pp 
bd

Aps = area of prestress reinforcement at tension zone

Parameter Wp:
Pp fps
Wp 
fc'
Depth of concrete stress block:

Wp  0.361 a 
Apsfps
0.85 fc' b

Wp  0.361 a  0.4231d

Problem:
Find the safe liveload that the prestressed section shown could carry if it has a
simple span of 6m. fpu = 1300 MPa , fse = 750 MPa, fc’ = 35 MPa. Aps = 1000
sq.mm. The beam is not grouted after the application of the prestress. Beam is
rectangular with b =250 mm , d = 420 mm, center cover = 80 mm
 250 mm

420 mm

80 mm

Problem :
Determine the ultimate moment capacity of the beam described in the
preceding problem if the tendons are bonded with fpy = 1160 MPa. All other
data remain unchanged.
 A simple beam 10 m long 450 mm by 700 mm in cross section is post
tensioned with tendons 800 sq.mm in area and stretched to a stress of
100 MPa. The tendons passed through a hole 70 mm by 80 mm. The
center of the hole is 80 mm from the bottom of the beam. Find the
maximum fiber stress in the concrete immediately after prestressing. Loss
of prestressing at anchoring is 5%. Concrete weighs 23.50 KN/m3.

450 mm
Member a y ay
450x700 315000 350 110250000
1 70x80 - 5600 80 - 448000
A =309400 109802000
c.g
A y   ay
700 mm
e
70 y
80 2 309400 y  109802000
80 mm
y  354.9mm
y  e  80
e  274.9mm
 450 mm

Effective prestressing force

P =kAsfs
1
P =0.95(800)1000 = 760kN
c.g
700 mm d1 Weight of beam
WD =WcA
70 e=d2 y=354.9
350 23.5(309400) kN
80 2 wD   7.27
80 mm (1000) 2 m

I   ( I  Ad 2 )

b1h13 b2 h23
I  A1d1  (
2
 A2 d 22 )
12 12
3
450(700)3 70(80)
I  (450)700(4.9 )  (
2
 70(80)[ 274.9]2 )
12 12
I  12443.82 x106 mm4
 7.27kN/m 450 mm

1 C1=345.1
10 m
Maximum dead load Moment c.g
700 mm

WD L2 7.27(10) 2 70 C2=354.9
MD    90.875kN .m 80 2
8 8
Maximum dead load stress
bottom fiber
top fiber
M D c2
f Dt 
M D c1 f Db  
I I
90.875(10)6 354.9
f Dt 
90.875(10)6 345.1 f Db  
12443.82(10) 6 12443.82(10)6

f Dt  2.52MPa(C ) f Db  2.59MPa (T )
 Stress due to Prestressing force P

P
P 
A
760(1000)
P   2.46MPa(C )
309400
Prestessing Moment

M  Pe  760(274.9)  208924kN .mm

stress due to M
bottom fiber
top fiber
Mc2
f mt  
Mc1 f mb 
I I
208924(10)3 354.9
f mt  
208924(10)3 345.1 f mb 
12443.82(10) 6 12443.82(10)6

f mt  5.79MPa(T ) f mb  5.96MPa (C )
 DL stress stress stress due Net stress
due to P to M

450 mm 2.52 -5.79 -0.81

c.g + + =
700 mm
70 274.9

80 2

-2.59 2.46 5.96 5.83

Maximum stress at midspan

Top fiber f ct  2.52  2.46  5.79  0.81MPa (T )

bottom fiber f cb  2.59  2.46  5.96  5.83MPa(C )