Chapter 2: Precast–Pretensioned

Concrete Girder Bridges

By: Amir Reza Ghiami Azad

Assistant Professor
The University of Tehran
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 Precast–Pretensioned Concrete Girders

• Usually referred to as precast girders

• Fabricated of-site and then transported, erected, or launched into the

project site

• During the period of development of the United States’ Interstate highway

system in the late 1950s and early 1960s, prestressed concrete became a

practical solution in the design and construction of highway bridges.

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 Why Precast–Pretensioned Concrete Girders?

• Most states in the United States adopted the precast–pretensioned

concrete girder bridges as a preferred structure type because they

facilitated of-site fabrication, leading to rapid construction techniques,

minimal traffic disruption, and reducing on-site construction time.

• These bridges have served many state departments of transportation

well for almost 50 years in the United States

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 Future of Precast–Pretensioned Concrete Girders

• It is expected that the application of precast–pretensioned

Concrete bridges continue well into the future, particularly as new

concrete materials such as self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and

ultrahigh performance concrete (UHPC) become mainstream,

thereby further enhancing the versatility of precast concrete

structures.

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 Precast bathtub girder

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 • Normally, the precast concrete girder bridge type is a very

economical solution for any situation where large quantities of

girders are required and details are repeatable or where bridge

projects face constraints such as falsework restrictions, limited

construction time, minimum traffic disruptions, environmental

impact requirements, complex construction staging, utility

relocation, preservation of existing roadway alignment, and future

deck replacement.
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 Precast Concrete Girder Features

• Precast girders are prestressed to produce a tailored stress

distribution along the member at the service level to help prevent

flexural cracking

• precast girders employ prestressing strands that are stressed before

the concrete hardens.

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 Precast Concrete Girder Features
• Pre-tensioning requires the use of a stressing bed, often several hundred feet

long for efficient casting of a series of members in a long line using abutments,

stressing stands, jacks, and hold downs/hold ups to produce the desired

prestressing profile.

• The transfer of strand force to the pretensioned members by bond between

concrete and prestressing steel is typically evident by the upward deflection

(camber) of members when the strands are detensioned.

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 Typical Sections (PCI Design Manual)

• Precast I-Girder

• Precast Bulb-Tee Girder

• Precast Wide-Flanged Girder

• Precast Bath-Tub or U Girder

• Precast Solid and Voided Slab

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 Typical Sections (PCI Design Manual)

• Precast Box Girder

• Precast Trapezoidal Girder

• Precast Double-Tee Girder

• Precast Deck Bulb-Tee Girder

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 California Wide-Flange Girder

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 Girder Types and Applicable Span Length

• Depth-to-Span Ratios : 0.04 to 0.05

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 Primary Characteristics of a Precast Girder

• For a precast girder, the following three basic stages of performance are

addressed in design: transfer, service, and strength.

• The stage of transfer refers to the time at which the prestressing force in

the strands is transferred to the precast girder at the plant, typically by

cutting or detensioning the strands after a minimum concrete strength

has been verified

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 Concrete Flexural Stress Distribution

• near midspan—at transfer

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 Concrete Flexural Stress Distribution

• near midspan—at deck pour (non-composite section)

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 Concrete Flexural Stress Distribution

• at service under dead and live loads (composite section)

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 Prestressing Strand Profile

• To reduce the tensile and compressive stresses at the ends of

girders, the designer normally considers two primary options:

(1) harping (or draping) strands to reduce the strand eccentricity at the ends

or

(2) debonding (or shielding) selected strands at the member ends to reduce

the prestress force

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 Prestressing Strand Profile

• Typically the drape points are located between approximately 0.30

L and 0.40 L. Draping also provides shear resistance.

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 Hold-Down Mechanism in Stressing Bed

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 Debonding Strand Using Plastic Sheathing

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 Precast Girder Bridge Types

• The trucking length, crane capacity, and transporting routes may

limit the girder length. Therefore, a girder may need to be

manufactured in two or more segments and shipped before being

spliced together onsite to its full span length. Such splicing

techniques can be applied by using posttensioning systems for

both single-span and multiple-span bridges.

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 Precast Girder Bridge Types

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 Single-Span Bridge

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 Continuous Multi-Span Bridge

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 Continuous Multi-Span Bridge

• Integral bent cap connection

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 Posttensioned Spliced Precast Girder Bridges
• Splicing of girders is typically conducted onsite, either on the ground

near the bridge location, or using temporary supports.

• Full continuity should be developed between spliced girder segments.

This is commonly achieved using continuous posttensioning tendons

between segments and mechanical coupling of reinforcement that is

extended from the ends of the girder segments within a cast-in-place

closure pour.

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 Posttensioned Spliced Precast Girder Bridges

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 Posttensioned Spliced Precast Girder Bridges

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 Posttensioned Spliced Precast Girder Bridges

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 Posttensioned Spliced Precast Girder Bridges

• The simplest multi-span precast spliced girder system includes

consideration of a minimum of four stages: 1) Transportation, 2)

Erection, 3) Deck Pour, and 4) Posttensioning

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