PRESTRESS FORCE EFFECT ON = mass f~r unit length. In the case of a simply supported beam.

the solutIOn can be posed in the form

VIBRATION FREQUENCY OF
B .-~
CONCRETE BRIDGES W(X3; t) =L
.-1 exp(iw.t)w. sin(n'1Tx3IL) (6)

from which it is possible to deduce the following frequencies:

4 s
Discussion by A. DaIl'Asta and L. Dezi
w; =::: [ (Eb - ~) Ib+ ( E + ~) Ie] e (7)
The writers appreciated the authors' technical note and re-
. The only terms depending on the tendon force are propor-
tain that the evaluation of the prestress force effectiveness by
tIOnal to N/A b and N/A e, these ratios denote the stress provided
means of nondestructive dynamic tests is a current and inter-
by the prestress force and consequently are much smaller than
esting topic.
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E b and Ee. Furthermore Ie is usually much smaller than lb'

In the paper the authors carry out both field and laboratory
In conclusion, the effect of the prestress on the beam bend-
tests, and the results obtained lead to the conclusion that the
ing vibration frequencies is negligible. Phenomena of different
measured frequencies are not notably affected by the intensity origin, such as cracking, may produce more sensible effects in
of the prestress force; the small variations observed show an
real cases. A qualitatively similar result can be proved for ec-
opposite trend with respect to the theoretical prediction con-
centric cables. These conclusions hold only for the considered
tained in (1), and they are probably attributable to shrinkage
case i~ which the bending behavior of the beam was analyzed.
cracking.
but thiS does not mean that dynamical tests cannot furnish
The discussers wish to clarify that this result is even theo-
information about prestress force if different vibration modes
retically predictable and that the expression, (1), of the fre-
are analyzed.
quencies is not correct for the examined case concerning a
For completeness, it is observed that, when the same stress
prestressed beam but furnishes a good prediction for the dif- on the beam is produced by external forces and not by inter-
ferent case of a beam undergoing an external compressive action with an internal tendon, the problem assumes the dif-
force. ferent form
The frequencies of a prestressed beam can be consistently
derived from the three-dimensional theory by starting from the
differential problem describing the infinitesimal motion of a
continuum in the neighborhood of a nonnatural configuration,
(EJb - ~) Ib f w"8w" dx3 - N f w'8w' dx 3

i.e., a configuration in which the stress is not null everywhere

(Bolotin 1964; Tresdell and Noll 1965). + m LL w8w dx 3
(8)
To describe in a sufficiently simple manner the bending be-
havior of a beam, the Kirchhoff kinematic model can be from which it is possible to deduce the following frequencies:
adopted so that, by posing the axis X3 in correspondence of
the centroid axis and assuming that X2 - X3 is a symmetry
plane for the problem, the components Uk (k = 1, 2, 3) of the w; =;; [n:~' ( b- ~) b- n~~2
E I N] (9)
displacement vector are furnished by the relations
differing from those reported in (1) only for a negligible term.
UI(Xk; t) =0 UlXk; t) = W(X3; t); U3(Xk; t) = -W'(X3; t)x2 (4) The discussers would like also to observe that the form of
(3), even if deduced by (7) instead of (1), involves the dimen-
where primes denote derivatives with respect to the spatial sional parameter N/f; and it does not seem applicable to cases
variable X3 ; and the function w describes the transversal dis- diferent from that considered.
placement of the rod axis. In the specific case, the stress field
provided by a cable posed on the centroid axis has only the
component 0"33, it is a constant and its value is -N/A b, having APPEND~. REFERENCES
denoted by N the prestress force and by A b the area of the Bolotin. V. V. (1964). "The dynamic stability of elastic system." Holden
beam cross section, while the stress field of the cable is fur- Day. San Francisco. Calif.• 194-206.
nished by 0"33 = N/A e , where A e is the area of the cable cross Tresdell. C.• and Noll. W. (1965). "The non-linear field theories of me-
chanics." Handbuch der Physik. Springer. Berlin. Germany. 3(3).
section (the local phenomena occurring near the anchorages
are neglected). Once the model (4) is applied to a prestressed
beam with constant cross section and length equal to L, the
variational form of the problem becomes the following: Discussion by Gyorgy Deak6

The technical note proceeds from the assumption, that the

natural frequency of a prestressed concrete member will be
affected by N prestressing force according to the known equa-
(5) tion

where dots denote time derivatives; Eb and Ib , respectively,

denote the elastic modulus and the moment of inertia of the
w; = _(n;Y;; (n;Y: + (10)

beam; Ee and Ie are the same quantities for the cable; and m
·July 1994. Vol. 120. No.7. by M. Saiidi. B. Douglas. and S. Feng
(Technical note 4625).
·Res. Asst.• Univ. of Ancona. Via Breece Bianche. 60131. Ancona.
Italy.
sProf.• Univ. of Ancona. Via Breece Bianche. 60131. Ancona. Italy.
This equation originally applies to an external axial com-
pressive force that maintains its original line of action during
the vibration of the member, thus being converted into an ec-
6Prof.. Dept of Arch.• Tech. Univ. of Budapest. Budapest. Hungary.
H-1521.

4581 JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING 1 APRIL 1996

J. Struct. Eng. 1996.122:459-460.

 centric force with respect to the axis of the beam, or its ec-
centricity will be altered, respectively. Such a force will reduce
the bar's natural frequency, and may even bring about buck-
ling of the bar. Behavior of the prestressing force can be con-
sidered similar, provided that the tendons pass freely between
anchorages, are not attached to the concrete unit, therefore do
not follow its form of vibration.
The technical note offers no data about the tendons of the
bridge under investigation. As there is no mention of external
posttensioning, it can be assumed that the tendons were em-
bedded in concrete the usual way and the ducts subsequently
grouted. Although with the laboratory testing the straight-line
conduct had not been grouted, but as a result of unavoidable
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installing inaccuracies the tendons, even in such cases, will
press against the wall of the duct and follow deformations of
the member. This way, to the contrary of (1), prestressing force
could not reduce natural frequency of the member in either
case.
This was corroborated by the tests: in the case of the
bridge, as the prestress force decreased, natural frequency
reduced slightly; in the case of the beam, increasing of the
prestressing force went together with the escalating of the
natural frequency.
The authors attribute this event to the formation of initial
microcracks on the members-principally due to shrinkage.
Prestressing force closed these cracks, accordingly increasing
stiffness of the members. Authors even determined extent of
this on the basis of the measured natural frequency values and
by means of (1) (Table 2 and Fig. 6). From the calculated
results, they developed a linear relationship between prestress
force and rigidity without setting limits to the validity of such
dependence.
In the opinion of the discusser, this method of calculation
is erroneous. Fig. 5, demonstrating the relationship between
prestressing force and deflection under static load, reflects the
effect of the prestressing force free from distortions.
According to the calculations of the discusser, cracks de-
veloped on the test beam prior to prestressing due to shrinkage,
weight of the beam, and dynamic action that goes together
with the moving of the unit. (This is also confirmed by the
technical note.) With the increase of prestressing force, these
cracks gradually closed, the neutral axis moved, and the bend-
ing stiffness grew. The middle section reached decompression
state under self-weight plus 247 N (55.5 lb) concentrated load
at about 36 kN (8.1 kips) prestressing force, but to close the
cracks totally required more prestressing force because of the
bonding between reinforcing steel and concrete (a reversed
tension stiffening effect) and the uneven face of the cracks.
Beyond 72 kN (16 kips), prestressing force stiffness of the
member did not grow further.
On the strength of the aforerelated, in the opinion of the
discusser, the following conclusions can be drawn regarding
members with tendons following deformations of the member.
In the case of uncracked units or closed cracks, prestressing
force does not seriously control stiffness of the member, con-
sequently, magnitude of the prestressing force cannot be in-
ferred from natural frequency.
It is, on the other hand, possible to check prestressing force
by measuring the unit's natural frequency in a cracked state.
This, however, requires command of accurate information
about the weight of the member; of the concrete's dynamic
modulus of elasticity; and the application of a calculation
method that will determine the position of the neutral axis with
great accuracy, considers effect of the tension zone between
cracks, and allows for the variation of stiffness along the span
of the member.
J. Struct. Eng. 1996.122:459-460.
Discussion by Sudhir K. Jain' and
Subhash C. Goel8
The discussers very much appreciate the experimental work
reported by the authors on the effect of prestress force on
vibration frequency of concrete bridges. In fact, the first dis-
cusser and his colleagues at the Indian Institute of Technology,
Kanpur, India, are also involved in a similar study. The dis-
cussers, however, disagree with the authors regarding the
change in frequency due to "compression softening" effect of
the prestress force. This concern is explained in the following.
"COMPRESSION SOFTENING" EFFECT DUE TO
PRESTRESS FORCE
An externally applied compressive axial force softens a
beam laterally, i.e., the lateral deflections due to lateral loads
increase, and the natural frequencies of vibration decrease.
This is well known. However, the results cannot be applied to
the situation in which the axial force is applied by prestressing
cables that are themselves anchored to the end faces of the
beam, making the axial force an internal force of the system.
Perhaps the best way to illustrate the difference in the two
situations is to derive the first natural frequency by the energy
method.
As the fundamental mode shape of a simply supported uni-
form beam, with and without the axial force, is sinusoidal, one
can obtain an exact value of fundamental frequency by equat-
ing the maximum kinetic energy to the maximum potential
energy under free vibration. Consider a simply supported uni-
form beam with externally applied axial force, N (Fig. 7), un-
dergoing free vibration in the first mode. Let E be the modulus
of elasticity; I, moment of inertia of the beam cross section;
m, mass per unit length; L, span of the beam; and 00, first
natural frequency. The beam deflection, v(x, t), under the first
mode may be expressed as
v(x, t) =A sin ( ; ) sin wt (11)
where A = amplitude of vibration at midspan. Kinetic energy
during the vibration may be expressed as
1 av()2 1
L
L
KE = - m - dx = - mw 2A 2L cos2wt (12)
o 2 at 4
Potential energy in the beam is due to flexural deformation
minus the work done by the externally applied force due to
the movement of the two ends of the beam (Housner and Vree-
land 1983) and is given by
PE = LL ! EI (a2~)2 dx _ N LL !2 (av)2 dx
o 2 ax 0 ax
4 2
2 2
'TT NA ). 2
'TT EIA
= ( ~-~ smoot
(13)
Equating maximum kinetic energy to maximum potential en-
ergy, one obtains
(14)
Now consider the free vibration of a simply supported beam
'Visiting Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., Univ. of Mich-
igan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125; On leave from, Dept. of Civ. Engrg.,
Indian Inst. of Techno!., Kanpur 208 016, India.
"Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., 2340 G.G. Brown Bldg., Univ.
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125.
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING I APRIL 1996 I 459
 N
%--------~
t v(x,t) // //.
N
-x
FIG. 7. Free Vibration of a Simply Supported Beam with Exter-
nally Applied Axial Compression Force
A: . __ --~-t
t V(X,t) . (a) U///
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(b)
FIG. 8. (a) Free Vibration of a Simply Supported Beam with
Prestressing Force; (b) End of Beam with Internal Forces due to
Prestressing
with prestress force (Fig. 8). The deflection under first mode
of vibration is given by (11) and the kinetic energy is same
as given by (12). Since there is now no externally applied axial
force, the second term in (13), which corresponds to work
done by the external force, does not appear. By equating the
maximum kinetic energy to the maximum potential energy,
one obtains the expression for fundamental natural frequency
of beam with the prestress force as
002 - -rr4EI
_ _
(15)
- mL4
Hence, the prestressing force being an internal force does not
cause "compression softening" effect.
CONCLUSION
The preceding discussion shows that (1) and (2) of the tech-
nical note do not provide the basis for' 'theoretical prediction"
of the variation in natural frequency with loss of prestress.
Hence, the only major effect of loss of prestress on natural
frequencies of the beam is through opening of microcracks in
the concrete. That, of course, is consistent with the experi-
mental observations of the authors wherein with loss of pre-
stress the beam became more flexible and its natural frequen-
cies decreased.
APPENDIX. REFERENCE
Housner, G. W., and Vreeland, T. Jr. (1983). The analysis of stress and
defonnation. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
Closure by M. Saiidi,9 B. Douglas,IO and
S.Fengl l
The writers thank the discussers for their interest in the pa-
per. The discussers present a valid argument that prestress
force effect on the vibration frequency should not be based on
the same equation as that used for an externally loaded beam.
Two equations for the frequency of prestressed beams are de-
rived in the discussions. Both of these are applicable to solid,
"Prof. and Chmn.• Civ. Engrg. Dept., Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV
89557.
IOProf. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV.
II Visiting Scholar, Civ. Engrg. Dept., Univ. of Nevada. Reno, NV.
460 I JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING I APRIL 1996
J. Struct. Eng. 1996.122:459-460.
homogeneous, uncracked elements. The equation by Dall' Asta
and Dezi implies an extreme degree of accuracy by including
even the moment of inertia of the prestressing cable. When
this term is neglected, the equation shows the same trend as
that in (1), although to a lesser extent. The theoretical deri-
vation by Jain and Gool shows that vibration frequency of
prestressed beams is independent of prestress force, giving the
discussers the impression that compression stiffening cannot
exist.
The fact remains that the vibration frequency of both the
laboratory specimen and the actual bridge increased with an
increase in the prestress force. This trend was also observed
by Hop (1991) in dynamic testing of several 5-m-long pre-
stressed concrete beams. The static test data reported in the
paper and those reported by Hop (1991) also support the com-
pression stiffening effect. Closing of microcracks is not mod-
eled by the equations presented by the discussers and, for this
reason, the equations presented are more of theoretical nature
and they cannot explain the observed response.
APPENDIX. REFERENCE
Hop, T. (1991). "The effect of degree of prestressing and age of concrete
beams on frequency and damping of their free vibration." Mat. and
Struct., 24, 210-220.
DYNAMIC RESPONSE ANALYSIS OF
SLAB-TYPE BRIDGES
8
Discussion by P. A. A. Laura3 and R. E. Rossi 4
The authors are to be congratulated for their study of the
dynamic response of a shallow superstructure bridge to mov-
ing vehicles. Their conclusions are quite interesting and useful,
in particular, the fact that the dynamic amplification factors for
multiple vehicles are, in general, lower than those for a single
vehicle. On the other hand, the writers feel that there is one
point that has not been sufficiently clarified. When performing
the free vibration analysis one should take into account the
presence of sprung masses and not just the structural element
(the plane orthotropic plate).
Consider for the sake of simplicity, an isotropic rectangular
plate of thickness, h, flexural rigidity, D, and mass density, p,
carrying an elastically mounted mass, M, the spring stiffness
being k. The discrete system is located at (xo, Yo). When the
system executes normal modes of vibration of circular fre-
quency, 00, its behavior is described by the partial differential
equation (Laura et al. 1977)
oo2MW.
4
DV W - phoo W
2
=1 _ oo2;lIk 8(x - Xo)8(y - Yo) (26)
where W(x, y) = plate displacement amplitude; Wo = W(xo, Yo);
and 8(x) = Dirac delta function. As shown by Avalos et al.
(1993), the natural frequencies, 00, depend on the "couling
parameter" of the mass-plate system, that is, on the values of
ka 2/D for a fixed value of the parameter (plate mass/M).
·January 1995, Vol. 121, No.1, by Jagmohan L. Humar and Ahmed
H. Kashif (Paper No. 5236).
3lnst. of Appl. Mech. (CONICET) and Dept. of Engrg., Universidad
Nacional del Sur, Bahia Blanca (8000), Argentina.
'Inst. of Appl. Mech. and Dept. of Engrg., Universidad Nacional del
Sur, Bahia Blanca (8000), Argentina.