REPUBLIC OF BENIN

MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY OF ABOMEY CALAVI
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POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF ABOMEY CALAVI
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Department of Civil Engineering

English

THEME: PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

Supervisor
Students Name Dr. Olory Bienvenu
1- AKOBI A. Karamatoullah
2- DANSOU Giovanni J.
3- HOUENOU Norbert

By: GROUPE 10

Academy year: 2022-2023

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Text: Prestressed concrete
The idea of subjecting concrete to a permanent compressive force allowing it to work in
bending without resulting in traction had been put forward as early as the end of the 19th
century. However, its construction was hampered by the insufficient mechanical properties of
the steels of the time, as well as the poorly controlled consequences of delayed deformations of
concrete subjected to significant permanent forces.
Prestressed concrete consists of eliminating the tensile forces of concrete by introducing
artificial compressive stresses before the application of external loads which, superimposed on
them, cause the permanent total stresses to remain within the limits that the material can
withstand indefinitely. The use of this technique in the construction of all types of architectural
and engineering projects is today indisputable and totally standardized thanks to its great. Thus,
the main advantages of using prestressed concrete in construction are:
STRUCTURAL STRENGTH: The use of the concrete prestressing technique makes it
possible to provide it with a higher strength, providing an internal compressive force
compensating for the tensile force produced by the loads of the structural elements.
DURABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION: One of the great advantages of prestressed parts is
the elimination of cracks and cracks in all loading stages. This absence of cracking means that
the structure has a greater ability to withstand loads, impacts, vibrations and knocks, while
minimizing the possibility of corrosion of the steel, thus increasing the durability of the
construction.
DESIGN: Thanks to the prestressed concrete elements, the architectural elements obtained are
more efficient and thinner, and offer endless construction possibilities.
SPEED OF CONSTRUCTION: Greater speed of construction by being able to work at the
same time on different fronts or build several parts of the structure simultaneously; This
generally has significant economic advantages during the complete economic and financial
analysis of the work.
Different types of prestressing.
There are currently 2 main types of prestressing: pre-tensioning and post-tensioning.
Pre-tensioning: The strands, arranged in the formwork in the desired locations, are tensioned
beforehand, i.e., before pouring the concrete. The concrete is then poured into the formwork.
Once hardened and sufficiently strong, the strands are cut at the end of the beams, and, by
adhesion, the strands stress the concrete in compression. This method is used in prefabrication
plants.
Post-tensioning prestressing: In the post-tension, pipes intended to receive the strands are
placed in the formwork, following the pre-established layout. A cable is a set of strands. After
concreting and hardening of the concrete to a minimum value (to be precisely checked), the
strands are introduced into the pipes, assembled in anchor heads, and then tensioned with a
cylinder.

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Keywords

• Concrete
• Prestressing
• Prestressing by pretensioning
• Post-tensioning
• Beams

Explications

 Concrete: composite material consisting of aggregates as well as water and

cement and sometimes admixtures, all within well-defined proposals.
 Prestressing: Prestressing is a technique for constructing concrete structures or
components that involves creating favorable internal forces in the material
before subjecting it to a load.
 Prestressing by pretensioning: it is an operation carried out in the factory
which consists of tensioning the cables before pouring the concrete.
 Post-tensioning: It is an operation carried out on site which consists of
tensioning the cables after pouring the concrete via anchors.
 Beams: is a member that can be comprised of a number of materials to withstand
loads-typically applied laterally to the beam axis.

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Comment
Prestressed concrete is composed of reinforcement such as reinforced concrete. In contrast,
prestressed concrete is under stress at these reinforcements. This process (prestressing)
increases its compression quality. Compression that will oppose the tensile stresses of the
different loads. For engineering structures (bridges, interchanges, etc.) we can only use
prestressed concrete because it is the material best placed to support certain loads. But just like
any material, it would not have remained without drawbacks.