Introduction to Prestressed Concrete

Development of Prestressed Concrete

The development of structural materials can be

described along three different columns, as in Fig
1-1. Column 1 shows materials resisting
compression, starting with stones and bricks,
then developing into concrete and more recently
high-strength concrete. For materials resisting
tension as in column 2, people used bamboos and
ropes, then iron bars and steel, then high strength
steel. Column 3 indicates materials which resists
both tension and compression, namely, bending.
Timber was utilized, then structural steel,
reinforced concrete and finally prestressed
concrete was developed.
The basic principle of prestressing was
applied to construction perhaps
centuries ago, when ropes or metal
bands were wound around wooden
staves to form barrels (Fig 1-2). When
the bands were tightened, they were
under tensile prestress which in turn
created compressive prestress between
the staves and thus enabled them to
resist hoop tension produced by
internal liquid pressure. In other
words, the bands and the staves were
both prestressed before they were
subjected to any service loads.
1886 – P.H. Jackson, an engineer of San Francisco, California,
obtained patents for tightening steel tie rods in artificial stones and
concrete arches to floor slabs
1888 – C.E.W. Doehring of Germany independently secured a patent
for concrete reinforced with metal that had tensile stress applied to it
before the slab was loaded
1908 – C.R. Steiner of the United States suggested the possibility of
retightening the reinforcing rods after some shrinkage and creep of
concrete had taken place in order to recover some of the losses
1925 – R.E. Dill of Nebraska tried high-strength steel bars coated to
prevent bond with concrete
1928 – Eugene Freyssinet of France started using high-strength steel
wires for prestressing
1920’s and 1930’s – E. Hoyer of Germany utilized very small
diameters, called piano wires, as pre-stressing steel, which had a
higher strength as the ones used at that time and introduced Hoyer
system
1935 to 1963 – Preload Company in the United States developed
special wire winding machines and built about 1000 prestress-
concrete tanks throughout United States and other parts of the world
1954 – Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) was founded
1960 – Use of prestressed concrete bridges has become a standard
practice in the United States
1976 – Post – Tensioning Institute was founded
Basic Concepts of Prestressed Concrete

Prestress is a generic term indicating that a preload is applied to the

member during construction and prior to the application of external
loads.
Consider the simple reinforced concrete
beam shown in Figure 1.1a, where the
external loads cause tension in the
bottom of the beam leading to cracking.
Practical reinforced concrete beams are
usually cracked under the day-to-day
service loads. On a cracked section, the
applied bending moment M is resisted
by compression in the concrete above
the crack and tension in the bonded
reinforcing steel crossing the crack
(Figure 1.1b).
Although the steel reinforcement provides the cracked beam with
flexural strength, it prevents neither cracking nor loss of stiffness
during cracking. Crack widths are approximately proportional to the
strain, and hence stress, in the reinforcement. Steel stresses must
therefore be limited to some appropriately low value under in-service
conditions in order to avoid excessively wide cracks. In addition,
large steel strain in a beam is the result of large curvature, which in
turn is associated with large deflection. There is little benefit to be
gained, therefore, by using higher strength steel or concrete, since
in order to satisfy serviceability requirements, the increased capacity
afforded by higher strength steel cannot be utilized.
Prestressed concrete is a particular form of reinforced concrete.
Prestressing involves the application of an initial compressive load to
the structure to reduce or eliminate the internal tensile forces and
thereby control or eliminate cracking. The initial compressive load is
imposed and sustained by highly tensioned steel reinforcement
(tendons) reacting on the concrete. With cracking reduced or
eliminated, a prestressed concrete section is considerably stiffer than
the equivalent (usually cracked) reinforced concrete section.
Prestressing may also impose internal forces that are of opposite sign
to the external loads and may therefore significantly reduce or even
eliminate deflection.
 Comparison Between Nonprestressed and Prestressed Concrete Beams

Service level stresses in prestressed concrete

are assumed to be linearly elastic. Figure 1.3
is a sketch of the strain and stress
distribution over the height of the beam
section. The compressive stresses are on top
and the corresponding strain and stress
sketches are to the right. This strain and
stress convention, with compressive stresses
and strains indicated as positive, is used
throughout.
Figure 1.4 compares the midspan stresses in a rectangular nonprestressed concrete
beam with a similar beam prestressed with a straight tendon located at the centroid of
the section. Both beams are subjected to identical concentrated loads Q at midspan. For
the purposes of this comparison, it is assumed that the compressive stresses due to the
prestress are within all allowable limits and that the prestressed concrete beam has no
tensile stress under full service load.
Figure 1.4a indicates the initial stress in the beam at midspan
ignoring the beam self-weight. The nonprestressed concrete beam has
no initial stress while the prestressed beam has a uniform
compressive stress equal to the prestressing force P divided by the
gross area of the section A. When the beam is first removed from the
formwork, the self-weight of the beam is applied to the member.
Figure 1.4b shows the cumulative effect of the initial stress plus the
tensile and compressive stress from the beam selfweight. The
nonprestressed concrete beam is assumed to remain uncracked under
self-weight so a tensile stress remains at the bottom of the section.
The prestressed beam correspondingly shows an increase in
compressive stress in the top and a decrease in compressive stress at
the bottom for the same loading.
The full service dead load is applied and the resulting cumulative
stresses are seen in Fig. 1.4c. For this comparison, the service
dead load is sufficient to exceed the tensile capacity of the concrete
in the nonprestressed concrete beam. The concrete cracks, the
compressive stress at the top of the beam increases, the tensile
stresses are engaged by the reinforcement, and the neutral axis of
the section moves upward. The prestressed concrete beam exhibits
an increase in compressive stress and an additional reduction of
compressive stress on the bottom of the beam.
Lastly, the full service live load is applied. In Fig. 1.4d the
nonprestressed concrete beam has an increase in the
compressive stress, in the tensile stress in the reinforcement, and
the neutral axis again moves upward. The compressive stress is
shown as linear providing the service load remains within the
linear range of the concrete stress–strain behavior. The
prestressed beam top compressive stress increases and the
bottom stress goes to zero.
Under full service load, the nonprestressed concrete beam has
tension cracks extending up to the neutral axis and the
calculation of beam deflection is based on cracked section
properties. The prestressed beam has no cracks and the
deflection is calculated based on full section properties. Thus,
for the same loading, the prestressed beam has less deflection
and cracking than the corresponding nonprestressed concrete
beam.
Advantages of Prestressed Concrete Structural Elements

a. Suitable for structures of long spans and those carrying heavy

load, principally because of the higher strengths of materials
employed.
b. Prestressed concrete elements are more slender and hence
adaptable to artistic treatment.
c. They yield more clearance where it is needed because of smaller
sections.
d. They do not crack under working loads and whatever cracks may
be developed under overloads will be closed up as soon as the load
is removed.
Advantages of Prestressed Concrete Structural Elements

e. Under dead load, the deflection is reduced, owing to the

cambering effect of prestressing. This becomes an important
consideration for such structures as long cantilevers.
f. Under live load, the deflection is also smaller because of the
effectiveness of the entire uncracked concrete section, which has
a moment of inertia two or three times that of the cracked section.
g. Prestressed elements are more adaptable to precasting because
of the lighter weight.
Classification and Types
Prestressed concrete structures can be classified in a number of ways,
depending upon their features of design and construction.

Externally or Internally Prestressed

Internal prestressing – In this system, a prestressing force is applied to the high
tensile steel i.e. the steel reinforcement. It induces internal compressive stresses in
concrete. it is the most commonly used method because of easy and accurate
application. Internal prestressing can be done by two methods: pre-tensioning or
post-tensioning.
External prestressing – This method is not commonly used. In this method, the
prestressing is done by adjusting the external reactions (by introducing different support
conditions). The externally prestressing system requires very much accuracy in the
planning and applications. The method of prestressing involves pre-tensioning and post-
tensioning methods.
 Linear or Circular Prestressing

Circular prestressing is a term applied to prestressed circular

structures, such as round tanks, silos and pipes, where prestressing
tendons are wound around in circles.

Linear prestressing is often employed to include all other

structures such as beams and slabs. The prestressing tendons are
not necessarily straight; they can be bent or curved, but they do not
go round in circles as in circular prestressing.
Pretensioning and Post-tensioning
Pretensioned concrete – Figure 1.3 illustrates
the procedure for pretensioning a concrete
member. The prestressing tendons are
initially tensioned between fixed abutments
and anchored. With the formwork in place,
the concrete is cast around the highly
stressed steel tendons and cured. When the
concrete has reached its required strength,
the wires are cut or otherwise released from
the abutments. As the highly stressed steel
attempts to contract, it is restrained by the
concrete and the concrete is compressed.
Prestress is imparted to the concrete via bond
between the steel and the concrete.
Pretensioned concrete members are often precast in pretensioning
beds that are long enough to accommodate many identical units
simultaneously. To decrease the construction cycle time, steam
curing may be employed to facilitate rapid concrete strength gain,
and the prestress is often transferred to the concrete within 24
hours of casting. Because the concrete is usually stressed at such
an early age, elastic shortening of the concrete and subsequent
creep strains tend to be high. This relatively high time- dependent
shortening of the concrete causes a significant reduction in the
tensile strain in the bonded prestressing steel and a relatively high
loss of prestress occurs with time.
Post-tensioned concrete – The procedure for post-
tensioning a concrete member is shown in Figure 1.4. With
the formwork in position, the concrete is cast around hollow
ducts which are fixed to any desired profile. The steel
tendons are usually in place, unstressed in the ducts during
the concrete pour, or alternatively may be threaded through
the ducts at some later time. When the concrete has reached
its required strength, the tendons are tensioned. Tendons
may be stressed from one end with the other end anchored
or may be stressed from both ends, as shown in Figure 1.4b.
The tendons are then anchored at each stressing end. The
concrete is compressed during the stressing operation, and
the prestress is maintained after the tendons are anchored
by bearing of the end anchorage plates onto the concrete.
The post-tensioned tendons also impose a transverse force
on the member wherever the direction of the cable changes.
End-anchored or Non-End-Anchored Tendons
By mechanical devices anchors are placed in end or sometimes in middle by
tendons and then prestressed to the concrete. It is for posttensioning
method. In pretensioning method the tendons are transmitted stress by
bonding by wires.

Bonded or Unbonded Tendons

Bonded tendons means bonded throughout the length of concrete. Non-end-

anchored tendons are bonded but end-anchored tendons are either bonded or
unbonded.
 Precast, Cast-in-Place, Composite Structures

Precast means concrete is casted away from its final position. Precasting permits
better control in mass production and is often economical.

Cast-in-Place means concrete is casted in the final place. It requires more form and
falsework per unit of product but saves the cost of transportation and erection, and it
is a necessity for large and heavy members. In between these two methods of
construction, there are tilt up wall panels and lift slabs which are constructed at
places near the final place or within the structure and then erected where no
transportation needed.

Oftentimes, it is economical to precast part of a member, erect it and then cast the
remaining portion in place. These type of structures are called composite structures.
Partial or Full Prestressing

When a member is designed so that under the working load there

are no tensile stresses in it then the concrete is said to be fully
prestressed. If some tensile stresses will be produced in the
member under working load then it is partially prestressed.