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Elongations have been used to assess the forces inside post- end. This has been systematically observed on building proj-
tensioned tendons immediately after the post-tensioning operation. ects and all PT systems. In such scenarios, lift-off proce-
However, the measured elongations are characterized by a high dures have shown that the force inside the tendons did meet
degree of uncertainty and variability due to site tolerances, and the targeted force and the elongation discrepancies were left
that the calculated elongations are based on the ideal equations
unexplainable. However, because lift-off measures come
using theoretical parameters. Building codes acknowledge such
with the risk of breaking the tendon and cannot be easily
variability as a limitation and include tolerances for the elongation
deviations between the calculated and measured values. Even done in the field, an update of code allowable deviations that
so, the specified tolerances are quite stringent and unrealistic reflect the practical limit of precision is needed.
for relatively short tendons. In this study, to resolve this issue, In an effort to resolve this problem, an analysis of a large
a statistical analysis is carried out using a large database of database of actual elongations from built projects in the
tendon elongations measured from actual projects of bonded post- United Kingdom is carried out. The data are mostly from
tensioned building structures. Based on the analysis of the data bonded flat systems using two to five 15.7 mm (0.62 in.)
collected, a practical and rational tolerance between measured diameter strands per duct, where each strand is stressed
and calculated elongations is proposed. separately using monostrand jacks. All bonded tendons
are grouted at the time of stressing, so they are similar to
Keywords: bonded; elongation; measurement; post-tensioned building
structures; short tendons; tolerance; unbonded. unbonded tendons. The data are presented along with a statis-
tical analysis over the tendon length and deviations between
INTRODUCTION calculated and measured values. The aim is to help define a
Elongations are a key to determining the forces inside reasonable tolerance that is consistent with site observations.
post-tensioned tendons. Post-tensioning (PT) force is applied The discussion is limited to the tendon stress and elongation
by calibrated hydraulic jacks and pumps. Once the force is at the initial prestressing stage. Tendon stress at the service
applied and the wedges are seated, it is impractical to assess load stage or ultimate state and concrete compressive stress
the actual force in the tendon unless special measures are at the initial stage are not part of the discussion, which are
carried out. For that reason, elongations have always been given elsewhere (PCI 1975; Zia et al. 1979; Hale and Russell
used as a way to assess the post-tensioned forces within the 2006; Dolan and Krohn 2007; Yang and Kang 2011).
tendons because the tendon force is directly proportional to
the elongation through a known equation. The elongations RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
are calculated for each tendon, then compared to the elonga- ACI 318-14 Sections 26.10.2(e) and 26.10.2(f), specify
tions measured on site. Ideally, one would want to have very that differences between measured and calculated PT tendon
low deviations between them to ensure that the forces used elongations should not exceed the ±7% tolerance. However,
at the design stage are in line with the ones obtained on site. for relatively short PT tendons, meeting this requirement
However, the equation uses parameters that are averages is nearly impossible as the elongation variations due to
or taken from experience which makes the calculated elon- wedge seating losses and/or measuring workmanship are a
gation (output of the equation) an estimate as opposed to significant portion of the total tendon elongation variations.
a fixed one. Equally relevant, measured elongation values This study proposes a more practical and realistic tolerance
carry their own variability due to site tolerances. The between measured and calculated elongations based on a
compounded variability and uncertainty in the calculation statistical analysis of approximately 38,000 measurement
and site tolerance make the agreement between the two data of bonded tendons collected from actual construction
values even harder. Building codes acknowledge this vari- sites of post-tensioned building structures.
ability and include tolerances for the elongation deviations
between the calculated and site measured values. CODE REQUIREMENTS
The code’s specified variability is a fixed percentage ratio All building codes recognize the variability in the tendon
irrespective of tendon length. Meeting the allowable devi- elongation values and therefore allow for a certain deviation
ation ratios has often proven difficult especially for short
tendons, whether used in bonded or unbonded PT applica- ACI Structural Journal, V. 114, No. 4, July-August 2017.
MS No. S-2015-259.R3, doi: 10.14359/51689619, received September 22, 2016, and
tions. In this paper, the short tendon is defined as the tendon reviewed under Institute publication policies. Copyright © 2017, American Concrete
Institute. All rights reserved, including the making of copies unless permission is
shorter than approximately 15 m (49 ft), ranging from very obtained from the copyright proprietors. Pertinent discussion including author’s
short to moderately short in length, and stressed from one closure, if any, will be published ten months from this journal’s date if the discussion
is received within four months of the paper’s print publication.
DATA COLLECTION
In this section, actual field data of tendon elongations
Fig. 1—Histogram of collected data. (Note: 1 m = 3.3 ft.)
are analyzed to understand the practical experience and
12. Tendons tied too tightly or too loosely to the rein- tolerance levels of the deviations. Actual site elongation
forcing bar or support chairs. was collected from over 340 stressing reports. It includes
approximately 38,000 elongation values spread out over
Cumulative effects lengths between 5 and 40 m (16 and 131 ft) where all the
Both uncertainties in the calculation and site tolerances bonded tendons were stressed from one end. Figure 1 shows
impact the elongation measurement. This is why often the a histogram of the collected data. Figure 1(a) shows the
code-specified deviations cannot be met, especially in the number of elongations collected for each strand individually,
case of short tendons. Apart from doing a parametrical sensi- while Fig. 1(b) shows the number of elongations collected,
tivity analysis, it would be hard to quantify the cumulative averaged per duct. Because EC2 has an elongation limita-
effect. However, if one considers as an example a tendon of tion requirement per group of tendons or per duct for bonded
10 m (33 ft), which can have an elongation of approximately tendons, the average elongation per duct was obtained by
60 mm (2.4 in.), fluctuation in the wedge seating from 6 to taking the average elongation given the number of strands
9.5 mm (1/4 to 3/8 in.) will lead to a deviation of 5.3%; plus in each duct. Tendons stressed from two ends which cover
actual versus nominal mill properties adds approximately lengths of 32 to 80 m (105 to 262 ft) are excluded from the
4%; plus a reading tolerance of 2 mm (0.08 in.) will lead analysis due to lack of sufficient data.
to a deviation of 3.3%; leading to a cumulative deviation The data were collected for bonded post-tensioned
of 12.6%, which exceeds the code-allowable values by far. tendons from various building projects in the United
If the tendon is 20 m (66 ft) and the same analogy is used, Kingdom (Fig. 1). The PT system used was (refer to Fig. 2)
then the deviation will be 6.6% which is more in line with a grouted system for flat ducts, which can house one to five
code values. T15 (15.7 mm [0.62 in.] diameter) or smaller size strands.
The jacking force was either 75% or 80% of the ultimate
tensile strength. Before grouting, the bonded system is derive all the calculated values, though the values could vary
essentially unbonded. The strands are placed inside a voided from 185,000 to 205,000 MPa (26,825 to 29,725 ksi) on site.
duct, whereas strands are individually greased and sheathed The anchor set (wedge slip) was taken as constant (6 mm
for unbonded systems. The ACI 318 code does not distin- [1/4 in.]), as well as the friction coefficients. The dead end
guish between bonded and unbonded tendon elongation of the tendon was assumed to be fully anchored (that is, no
tolerances. The difference in the elongation values, if any, dead-end slip was assumed).
comes from the friction coefficients. Based on the industry
experience and PTI Technical Notes (Aalami 1994), the DATA ANALYSIS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
elongation values are close to each other and the deviation Mean and standard deviation
discrepancies between calculated and measured are similar Figures 3 and 4 are plots of the absolute elongation devi-
to both systems. It is also worth mentioning that there is ations in percentage and in value (millimeter) per tendon
not much curvature for short and lightly profiled tendons in length, respectively, for all the recorded data points. The
building construction, which is the focus of this study, so absolute value was used so the deviations do not average
that the influence of different friction coefficients on total out (that is, +5% difference and –5% difference would lead
elongation would be expected to be very small. to a zero averaged difference while in reality the average
Measuring was performed with a hand tape and dial gauge, is ±5%).
which is accurate to within 2 mm (0.08 in.) for the projecting The scatter in the deviations in percentage is very clear for
strand at the beginning and end of the stressing process, short lengths as well as the decreasing trend overall (Fig. 3).
generally from the anchor face. In this study, a nominal This indicates that the percentages are not the same across
Young’s modulus of 195,000 MPa (28,275 ksi) was used to the lengths. Tendons shorter than 15 m (49 ft) have much
more scatter and a considerable number of data points
Fig. 5—Normal distributions for: (a) 29 to 32 m (95 to Fig. 7—Statistics for elongation difference in percentage for
105 ft) length; and (b) 6 to 9 m (20 to 30 ft) length. average tendons with 5 to 35 m (16 to 115 ft) length. (Note:
1 m = 3.3 ft.)
have much higher percentages than tendons longer than
15 m (49 ft). μ – σ and μ + σ and 95% range between μ – 2σ and μ + 2σ).
Figure 5(a) shows a sample statistical distribution of the The 95% interval, for example, signifies that the deviations
elongation deviations for tendons between 29 and 32 m (95 will be within that interval 95% of the time. Figures 6 to 9
and 105 ft). The mean (μ) is 4% with a standard deviation (σ) cover strand or tendon length from 5 to 35 m (16.4 to 115 ft),
of 3%, showing the spread in the data from the mean value. which relates to typical tendons stressed from one end. For
In contrast, the same graph for lengths between 6 and 9 m example, in Fig. 6, for a value of 5 m (16 ft) with 95% prob-
(20 and 29.5 ft) shows a much flatter distribution (Fig. 5(b)). ability, the deviations will be within ±28%, and with 68%
A mean value of 9.6% and a standard deviation of 7.2% are probability the deviations will be within ±20%. Figures 6
consistent with the observed large scatter. In a normal distri- and 7 show a decreasing trend overall. The deviations are
bution of data, also known as a bell curve, approximately very high, starting at 5 m (16 ft) length and then decreasing
68% and 95% of the data in the distribution will fall, respec- as the tendon gets longer. The deviations stabilize somewhat
tively, within plus or minus one standard deviation and two between the 10 to 15 m (33 to 49 ft) mark and then fluctuate
standard deviations from the mean. between ±5% and ±9% for greater length.
Figures 6 to 9 show the mean, mean plus standard devi- Figures 8 and 9, however, showing elongation differ-
ation, and mean plus two standard deviations in absolute ence in value for the same probability levels of 68% and
value for percentage deviation and difference in value as 95%, suggest that for short tendons, the difference is more
a function of tendon length (that is, 68% range between of a constant value irrespective of tendon length. The graph
Discussion
The results presented are a common case in PT slabs and
consistent with what is usually experienced on site. Elonga-
tions for short tendons are often problematic and it is often
left to the PT company to submit explanation letters or to
do a tendon lift-off on site to verify the force. Most of the
Fig. 9—Statistics for elongation difference in value (mm) for time, the lift-off operation yields forces meeting the calcu-
tendons with 5 to 35 m (16 to 115 ft) length. (Note: 1 mm = lated design forces while the elongation discrepancies are
0.039 in.; 1 m = 3.3 ft.) left unexplained. It may be explained by the relationship
between tendon force and elongation. While the assumed
points to the fact that the elongation difference lies between linear relationship might work in theory, in reality, the
±5 mm (0.2 in.) and ±10 mm (0.39 in.) for tendon length up uncertainty factors can highly skew the elongation results
to 12 m (39 ft). and lead to non-code compliance. This becomes especially
problematic for short tendons as they have smaller elon-
Comparison with code limits gations and consequently, these uncertainties can overtake
As a rule of thumb, elongation can be taken between the calculated value, and therefore lead to larger devia-
5 and 7 mm/m (0.06 and 0.084 in./ft) for tendons in slab tion impact. In any case, this does not relieve the stressing
systems whether bonded or unbonded. Based on an average operation crew from following the necessary procedures to
of 6 mm/m (0.072 in./ft) and for tendon length of 5 and achieve proper stressing according to PTI Field Procedures
10 m (16 and 33 ft), the elongation will be 30 and 60 mm Manual for Unbonded Single Strand Tendons (PTI M10.3;
(1.2 and 2.4 in.), respectively. An elongation discrepancy of PTI Committee M10 2000) and use engineering judgment
only 5 mm (0.2 in.) will cause, respectively, 17% and 8% when analyzing elongations.
deviation for the 5 and 10 m (16 and 33 ft) tendons, and a While 5 m (16 ft) tendons are rarely used on PT slabs
10 mm (3.3 in.) discrepancy will cause 33% and 17% devi- and are usually avoided by using non-prestressed rein-
ations, all of which are way beyond the code limits. This forcement, tendons of 7 m (23 ft) and longer are common
is intuitively explainable because for the same elongation because PT slabs are known to be efficient starting from
difference, the shorter the tendon, the higher the deviation in 7 m (23 ft) spans. Feedback from several PT companies
and engineers echoes a similar understanding that for short shall be ascertained and corrected, unless otherwise
tendons, the code-specified percentages are seldom met. It is approved by the licensed design professional.”
often considered that for short tendons, a fixed value should Where, Section 26.10.2(e) of ACI 318-14 is as follows:
be considered as opposed to percentages. The aim of this “Prestressing force and friction losses shall be verified by
paper is to justify this claim and emphasize the importance (1) and (2).
of updating the code values. The observed deviations show (1) Measured elongation of prestressed reinforcement
that the elongations fit more ±9.5 mm (3/8 in.) or smaller compared with elongation calculated using the modulus
for length up to 15 m (49 ft), and are within current code of elasticity determined from tests or as reported by the
values (±7%) beyond 15 m (49 ft). The on-site practicalities, manufacturer.
industry experience, and actual site data are very important (2) Jacking force measured using calibrated equip-
for the prestressing operation-related research. However, ment such as a hydraulic pressure gauge, load cell, or
more research would be needed to scientifically explain the dynamometer.”
site data.
AUTHOR BIOS
CONCLUSIONS Carol Hayek is the Chief Technical Officer for CCL Group and is a
Lecturer on prestressed concrete design at Johns Hopkins University, Balti-
In this paper, a statistical analysis was conducted using more, MD. She received her MSE and PhD in civil engineering from Johns
a large database of actual elongations collected from built Hopkins University and her MBA from ESA Business School. She is past
projects, in an effort to define a reasonable tolerance that Chair of Joint ACI-ASCE Subcommittee 423-F, Sustainable Prestressed
Concrete, and is a member of Joint ACI-ASCE 423, Prestressed Concrete.
is consistent with site observations. Based on the analysis Her research interests include design in the post-tensioning field.
of the database and the technical discussion in this paper,
the authors suggest the following proposed change to the Thomas H.-K. Kang, FACI, is an Associate Professor at Seoul National
University, Seoul, Korea, and an Adjunct Associate Professor teaching the
ACI 318-14, Section 26.10.2(f). course of post-tensioned concrete structures at the University of Illinois at
“The cause of any difference in force determination Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL. He is a member of ACI Committee 369,
between (1) and (2) of 26.10.2(e) that exceeds 5 percent for Seismic Repair and Rehabilitation; and Joint ACI-ASCE Committees 335,
Composite and Hybrid Structures; 352, Joints and Connections in Mono-
pretensioned construction or 7 percent for post-tensioned lithic Concrete Structures; and 423, Prestressed Concrete, as well as Joint
construction shall be ascertained and corrected, unless other- ACI-ASME Committee 359, Concrete Containments for Nuclear Reactors.
wise approved by the licensed design professional.” His research interests include the design and behavior of reinforced and
prestressed concrete structures.
Proposed change: “The cause of any difference in force
determination between (1) and (2) of 26.10.2(e) that exceeds
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
5 percent for pretensioned construction and, for post- The work presented in this paper was funded by the CCL International
tensioned construction, the larger of (a) and (b): Inc. and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant (No.
(a) 7 percent 2015-001535). The views expressed are those of authors, and do not neces-
sarily represent those of the sponsors.
(b) the percentage that corresponds to a 3/8 in. difference
between the measured and calculated elongations