TP19 Adiaz PDF

50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines
RETROFITTING OF STEEL WIDE FLANGE BEAMS USING EXTERIOR

POST-TENSIONING
Dr. Bernardo A. Lejano, Patricia C. Adiaz, David Joseph J. Vidad
ABSTRACT: Structural steel beams under excessive load may not only be damaged, but deform
significantly when subjected to heavy loads over a certain span of time. It could deflect and
permanently deform. In this study, a retrofitting technique is developed particularly intended to
address problems of steel beams that has excessively deflected. The proposed retrofitting
technique is a simplified technique of Exterior Post-Tensioning (EPT) that enables a structural
steel beam to be retrofitted after it has reached conditions beyond its elastic range. Unlike the
conventional way of using hydraulic jack to prestress the tendon, the proposed EPT is done by
simply tightening a turnbuckle connected to the tendon. This is makes the technique very
simple, inexpensive and not requiring specialized apparatus and machines. The applicability of
the proposed EPT was validated by retrofitting steel wide flange beam specimens that were
deflected beyond the elastic limit. Experimental tests were also conducted to determine the
performance of the steel wide flange beams with the proposed EPT as compared to beams
without EPT. Analyses of data through graphs and tables are presented and the effectiveness of
the proposed exterior post-tensioning was measured. The EPT was analysed according to its
consistency, serviceability, and load capacity. Data show that the EPT was able to compensate
the weakness of the beam due to excessive loads. Results show that EPT can be applied again
and again with no significant change in its effectiveness. Furthermore, in observance of its
serviceability, the beam with applied EPT was able to exceed the original strength of the beam.
Also, it is significant to note that the load carrying capacity of the beam with EPT increased.
KEYWORDS: exterior post tensioning, retrofitting, wide flange steel beam
1. INTRODUCTION
Post-tensioning of structural members is a method used to strengthen or retrofit a structural

member. This is done by adding stretched high-strength steel bars termed “tendons” in the
tension region to increase the load capacity of the member. One type of post-tensioning is
exterior post-tensioning. This is normally done for retrofitting reinforced concrete beam. This
retrofitting scheme is also applied to structural steel beam to enhance its load carrying capacity.
This study includes the design of an external post-tensioning system which will be adopted for
structural repair of a damaged steel beam. While damage in steel beams varies from different
incidents, the study would only look in the repair of steel beams that have reached passed its
yield strength. The exterior post-tensioning would be applied specifically underneath the beam.
The study is intended to analyze the effectiveness of exterior post-tensioning in retrofitting of

steel beams that have inelastic deflection. The specific objectives are as follows:
232
1.To conduct center point loading tests for small section wide flange beams up to specific points
after its yield point.
2.To incorporate, after loading, an exterior post-tensioning design to regain or exceed the
strength of the steel beam.
3.To determine the effectiveness of post-tensioning as a retrofitting technique to steel beams
under different stages of plastic deformation, and
4.To analyze its failure mode, deformation, load capacities as well as other manifestations.
2. METHODOLOGY
The beam is a built-up wide flange section made from 100mm x 6mm plates for flanges and
50mm x 6mm plates for web. The tendon is made of 25 mm diameter high strength steel rod.
The design of the EPT consisted of two plate anchorages connected at the bottom flange near the
support. High strength steel bar was used as tendons for the proposed EPT of the beam section.
To accommodate the tendon, the anchorage plates were drilled with a hole at the center. The
tendon is composed of two threaded steel bars threaded anchored at both ends and connected to a
turn-buckle at the middle. By simply turning the turn-buckle, post tensioning is applied into the
system. This makes the setup very simply and practical to implement. A schematic drawing of
the beam set up is shown in Fig. 1.
Steel Wide Flange beam specimen
Turn-buckle
Figure 1. Test setup of the beam specimen.
The beam test rig used in this experiment is shown in Figure 2. Single point loading at the
midspan was implemented for the test. Strain gauges were used to measure the strain at selected
points in the beam. The beam specimen was placed perpendicular to the rig and was supported by
two rollers atop of the concrete platforms at each end of the beam. A displacement transducer
233
was placed at the midspan to measure the displacement. Strain gauges were also placed on the
tendons.
Figure 2. Beam test rig used in te experiment.
Testing was done in two stages; initial testing, that is, without EPT and final testing, that is, with
EPT. Eight beam specimens were prepared and tested under four conditions. Two specimens
were used per condition. The conditions were as follows. The first condition was at the elastic
state, that is, the applied force was not allowed to exceed the yield point. The second condition
was loading until the strain reached 1.5 times of the yield strain. The third condition was loading
until a strain of twice the yield strain was attained. The last condition was also reaching the
inelastic region but at a point 3 times the yield strain.
2.1 Pilot Testing
The pilot testing was done to establish the load and displacement of the beam at the yield
condition as shown in Figure 3. The deformation at Fy, δFy can also be estimated using this data.
From the computed 26 kN load applied based from a yield stress of 248 MPa, it is observed that
the beam has already passed the elastic limit. Actual value was only around 22 kN when it
reached the plastic state. The yield deformation δFy is estimated to be around 5 mm. This δFy may
be used to estimate the extents of the succeeding experiments.
234
Figure 3. Load-displacement diagram of the beam.
2.2 First Loading Cycle
From the pilot testing, deflections for the different test conditions were established as shown in
Table I. First loading was done to obtain the load that corresponds to the test condition. The
beam was loaded until it reached the required deflection and the load obtained was noted and was
used in the succeeding procedures. The beam was then applied with EPT to bring the beam back
to its original state.
Table 1. Loading Test Conditions using Deflection as Control
Test Conditions Deflection (mm)

0.5(FY) 2.5
1.5(FY) 7.5
2.0(FY) 10
3.0(FY) 15
2.3 Second Loading Cycle
After the beam was brought to its original state (zero displacement), the second loading was
carried out. The beam with EPT was loaded up to the load obtained from the first loading and
then released. Permanent deflection that developed was removed (retrofitted) by the EPT.
2.4 Third Loading Cycle
235
The similar beam was tested to carry the same load from the previous cycles. However, after the
application of EPT has been applied, the load was applied up to failure.
3. TEST RESULTS
The first two beams were used for the pilot testing. The other beams were tested to investigate
the effectiveness of the EPT in retrofitting after the beams underwent inelastic deformation.
Loads, displacements and strains were measured for this purpose. Two beams were tested for
each test condition indicated in Table I.
3.1 Load Versus Displacement
Load-displacements curves were obtained from initial (without EPT) and final (with EPT) testing
of the beam specimens. For the 1.5(δFy) test, the loading was done to approximately 26 kN. While
for the 2.0(δFy) and 3.0(δFy) loading of 30 kN and 32 kN were done respectively. Each beam was
loaded up to the third cycle, and done up to failure of the EPT system at the last cycle. From the
test, the load-displacement relationship at each loading cycle can be plotted. Due to limited
space, only sample of the obtained load-displacement curves are presented in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.
The label “Beam 1” or “Beam 2” indicated in the figure refers to the first beam or second beam,
respectively, of a particular test condition being subjected to the loading cycles.
Figure 4. Beam 1 – 1st Cycle for 2.0 δF
236
Figure 5. Beam 2 – 3rd Cycle for 3.0 δF
3.2 Analysis of the Bending Moment
The theoretical moment at yield point, My(theo), may be obtained through the flexural formula. On
the other hand, the experimental moment at yield, My(exp), may be obtained by calculating the
moment caused by the load that would result to the first yielding of the steel wide flange.
Although moment-curvature curves were also plotted, only the bending moment values will
presented here.
For the moment-curvature curve when EPT was in effect, the moment may be considered as
follows:
Mtotal = Mbeam + MEPT (1)
where: Mbeam = moment resisted by the beam

MEPT = moment resisted by the EPT
Mtotal = total moment resisted by the system
Experimentally, Mtotal(exp) may be computed as PL/4. While the theoretical moment, Mtotal(theo),
may be computed as, Mtotal = Mbeam + MEPT = (fy S) + (Pj*e), where fy = yield stress, S = elastic
section modulus, Pj = jacking force, e = tendon eccentricity.
237
The idea that the beam has already lost its strength as it enters the inelastic stage is the main
reason why EPT is applied. Therefore, the EPT compensates the losses that the beam had
incurred. The ratio of MEPT over the Mtotal shows the proportion of moment resisted by the EPT.
This is shown in Table II. Conversely, the table also shows the proportion of moment that the
beam carries.
Table 2. Moment Carried by the Steel Wide Flange Beam and the EPT.
1.5(δFy) Mtotal MEPT %MEPT/Mtotal Mbeam %Mbeam/Mtotal

st
1 Cycle– Beam1 8.09 5.50 67.99 2.59 32.01
2nd Cycle– Beam1 8.15 3.23 39.63 4.92 60.37
1st Cycle- Beam2 8.38 4.71 56.21 3.67 43.79
st
1 Cycle- Beam 1 9.41 6.02 63.97 3.38 36.03
2nd Cycle- Beam 1 9.63 7056.35 65.97 3.28 34.03
3nd Cycle- Beam 1 9.72 6.89 70.88 2.83 29.12
2nd Cycle- Beam 2 9.47 8.42 88.91 1.05 11.09
3nd Cycle- Beam 2 9.03 7.705 85.38 1.32 14.62
st
1 Cycle- Beam 1 10.13 3.03 29.93 59.63 70.07
2nd Cycle- Beam 1 10.13 3.40 38.52 43.04 61.48
1st Cycle- Beam 2 10.75 6.41 59.63 29.93 40.37
2nd Cycle- Beam 2 10.71 4.61 43.04 38.52 56.96
In theory, the total moment, Mtotal(theo) is the addition of the bending moment induced by the EPT
plus the moment due to the load. At yield, the equation is: Mtotal = Mbeam + MEPT = (fy S) +
(Pj*e). However this equation applies to beam members that have not yet yielded. Therefore, the
experimental total moment may be considerably less than the theoretical value. The strength
could have reduced significantly because the test beams are under plastic conditions. Table III
shows the comparison of the experimental and theoretical total moments of the beams that had
reached pass its yield point during testing with EPT. In most cases My(exp) was indeed smaller
than My(theo). The percent difference of the two moments range from 20-30%.
Table 3. Comparison Between Experimental and Theoretical Moment
My(exp) My (theo) %
kN-m kN-m Difference
1.5(δFy) 14.8 20.06 30.2%
1.5(δFy) 14.4 18.66 25.7%
3.0(δFy) 13.8 17.26 22.3%
238
A good observation that can be seen from the moment-curvature diagrams is that EPT has in all
cases effectively compensated the loss of strength that the beam had incurred due to the loadings
applied.
3.3 Effectiveness of EPT
One observation that shows good performance of EPT is the consistency of effects. Evaluating
the load versus displacement diagrams, it shows that there is a clear difference between the
dissipation of energy. There is almost no dissipation of energy while the EPT was applied and
released. That consistency shows that the EPT can be applied time after time with no significant
change in effectiveness of the EPT. Consistency is very crucial to the design of EPT. Figure 6
shows the comparison of energy dissipation.
This dissipated area (with EPT) is also an indication of the stiffness of the beam which proves
the increase in the strength of the beam. Having a stiffer beam makes a structure rigid and is
much less prone to vibration. This convenience can be to an advantage when applied to structures
such as bridges wherein vibration needs to be controlled. However this can also be unfavorable if
used for a structure that needs to be less rigid.
Figure 6. Energy Dissipation per Cycle for Beam 1 of 2.0 δFy
Additionally, the consistency of the effectiveness of EPT can be seen by observing the slope seen
on the load versus displacement diagram. Figure 7 shows the resemblance of the slope for the
three cycles of loading with EPT. It is seen that it consistently rises on an average of 1.15 kN/mm
every time.
239
The use of EPT has also improvement in serviceability. Serviceability is defined as the
usefulness of structural members and is able to fulfill its function adequately. For structural
beams, this means that the smaller the deformation is, the more serviceable the beam is. Test
results show that EPT not only retrofits beams so that the beam can go back to its original state,
but it can also increase the serviceability with regard to the decrease in deformation.
Lastly, test results have also showed increase in load carrying capacity.
Figure 7. Load vs. Displacement Diagram for 2.0 FY with EPT
4. CONCLUSIONS
This study analyzed the use of EPT as a retrofitting measure for wide flange steel beams. It has
been observed that when a steel beam exceeded its yield point and deflected to a certain amount,
EPT was able to put the beam back to its original state and was able exceed the original strength
of the beam.
Moreover, upon the application of EPT the beam’s serviceability increased; in view of the fact
that with the same load, the deflection is less when EPT has been applied compared to the
unutilized beam. Likewise, the load carrying capacity also increased. When the beam has reached
way passed its elastic state, the beam could no longer carry an increase in load. However, as the
second loading with the applied EPT reached this equal amount of load, the beam can still
withstand loads greater that the original applied load.
240
Furthermore, the study showed that EPT consistently dissipated the same amount of energy from
the first cycle to the last. This consistency manifests that the EPT can be applied time after time
with no significant change in effectiveness of the EPT.
Therefore, the researches fully recommend the use of EPT as a retrofitting means for wide flange
steel beams that have reached the plastic state.
REFERENCES
Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, ASEP Steel Handbook, Dimensions and
Properties (3rd ed., Vol. 1). (2004). Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, Inc.
Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (2001). National Structural Code of the
Philippines (NSCP). Quezon City: Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (ASEP).
A. F. Daly and W. Witarnawan, (1997). Strengthening of bridges using external post-tensioning. EASTS
'97, Seoul, 29 - 31 October 1997.
Alberta Transportation, (2004). Repair of Bridge Structural Steel Elements Manual. Province of
Alberta: Abdul Waheed, P. Eng, Ed Kowal, C.E.T. & Tom Loo, P.Eng.
Fabio Matta, Antonio Nanni, Ahmad Abdelrazaq, Doug Gremel & Ryan Koch, (September 20, 2007).
Externally post-tensioned carbon FRP bar system for deflection control. June 29, 2009
Kam, W.Y., Pampanin, S., Bull, D. (April 2009). Experimental Validation of Selective Weakening
Approach for the Seismic Retrofit of Exterior Beam-Column Joints. Proc. of 2009 NZSEE Conference,
Christchurch, New Zealand.
Marc Badoux Ph.D. and Olivier Burget Ph.D., (August 2009). Deflection Monitoring Prestressed
Concrete Bridges Retrofitted by External Post-Tensioning. IABSE Symposium, Rio de Janeiro.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dr. Bernardo Lejano earned his Doctorate in Engineering at Nihon University in Japan. He is currently
an associate professor at the De La Salle University-Manila, Civil Engineering Department. He may be
contacted for queries via email at bernardo.lejano@dlsu.edu.ph.
Patricia C. Adiaz obtained her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with specialization in Structural
Engineering at the De La Salle University, Manila. She took and passed the recent May 2011 Civil
Engineering licensure examinations.
David Joseph J. Vidad obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with specialization in
Structural Engineering at the De La Salle University, Manila. He took and passed the November 2010
Civil Engineering licensure examinations. He is now working for First Balfour Inc.
241
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to express their gratitude to the faculty and staff of the Civil Engineering Department
of DLSU-Manila, not only for their moral support but also for their suggestions that made this work more
scholarly. Special acknowledgement are due for Jay and Tony for their assistance in the doing the
experiments.
242

TP19 Adiaz PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

TP19 Adiaz PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”

RETROFITTING OF STEEL WIDE FLANGE BEAMS USING EXTERIOR

Dr. Bernardo A. Lejano, Patricia C. Adiaz, David Joseph J. Vidad

KEYWORDS: exterior post tensioning, retrofitting, wide flange steel beam

Post-tensioning of structural members is a method used to strengthen or retrofit a structural

The study is intended to analyze the effectiveness of exterior post-tensioning in retrofitting of

Steel Wide Flange beam specimen

Figure 1. Test setup of the beam specimen.

Figure 2. Beam test rig used in te experiment.

2.1 Pilot Testing

Figure 3. Load-displacement diagram of the beam.

2.2 First Loading Cycle

Table 1. Loading Test Conditions using Deflection as Control

Test Conditions Deflection (mm)

2.3 Second Loading Cycle

3.1 Load Versus Displacement

Figure 4. Beam 1 – 1st Cycle for 2.0 δF

Figure 5. Beam 2 – 3rd Cycle for 3.0 δF

3.2 Analysis of the Bending Moment

Mtotal = Mbeam + MEPT (1)

where: Mbeam = moment resisted by the beam

1.5(δFy) Mtotal MEPT %MEPT/Mtotal Mbeam %Mbeam/Mtotal

Table 3. Comparison Between Experimental and Theoretical Moment

3.3 Effectiveness of EPT

Figure 6. Energy Dissipation per Cycle for Beam 1 of 2.0 δFy

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

You might also like