SECTION 2100 – CONCRETE FOR STRUCTURES

Page No.
2101 SCOPE 21-1
2102 GENERAL 21-1
2103 CEMENT AND CONCRETE CLASSES FOR PRESTRESSED
CONCRETE STRUCTURES 21-1
2104 TENDON SHEATHS 21-1
2105 ANCHORAGES 21-2
2106 PRESTRESSING TENDONS 21-2
2107 INSTALLATION OF PRESTRESSING TENDONS 21-3
2108 JACKS FOR PRESTRESSING 21-3
2109 TENSIONING OPERATIONS 21-4
2110 BONDING AND GROUTING 21-5
2111 REJECTION OF PRESTRESSED WORK 21-7
2112 TESTING PRESSTRESSED WORK 21-7
2113 MEASUREMENT 21-7
2114 PAYMENT 21-7
SECTION 2100 – CONCRETE FOR STRUCTURES

2101. SCOPE

This section covers the materials, equipment and methods required for carrying
out prestressing operations on in-situ concrete. This Section also covers the
classes of concrete appropriate to prestressed concrete. The production of in-situ
concrete is covered by Section 2000.

2102. GENERAL

Prestressed concrete work shall be carried out in accordance with IRC 18, 1985
and BSCP 110, ‘The Structural Use of Concrete, Part 1, Materials and
Workmanship’, except that where the requirement of the Codes differ from this
Specification, this Specification shall take precedence.

The Contractor shall submit to the Engineer full details of the plant he proposes to
use for the installation of prestressing tendons, the materials he proposes to use
and the arrangements he proposes to make. He shall also submit evidence of his
competence to undertake the installation.

All prestressing components, sheathing ducts, anchorages, prestressing tendons,

jack, etc. shall be stored in clean dry conditions. They shall be clean and free
from rust at the time of fixing in position and subsequent concreting.

2103. CEMENT AND CONCRETE CLASSES FOR PRESTRESSED

CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Cement for prestressed concrete shall be exclusively Ordinary Portland Cement

(OPC) or High Strength Portland Cement (HSPC) complying with Clause 614.

Concrete classes for prestressed concrete shall be not less than M45/20 high
quality concrete and shall comply with Section 2000.

2104. TENDON SHEATHS

Tendon sheaths shall conform the recommendation of IRC Code 18. Tendon
sheaths shall be tested at the manufacture in accordance with Appendix 1 of IRC
code and 18 and the Contractor shall provide test certificates in accordance with
Clause 605.

All tendon sheaths or ducting shall be sufficiently strong to withstand without

damage the stresses to which it may be subjected during handling and after being
fixed in position. The ducting shall completely protect the wires or cables from
contact with concrete and the Contractor shall ensure that the wires or cables are
completely free in the duct before tensioning. Any ducting which has been
 damaged during transportation to the site or which in the opinion of the Engineer
is inadequate for its purpose shall not be used in the works. Ducting shall be free
from loose material, oil coatings, or other contaminants which may affect the
bond with the concrete.

The stools, saddles or supports for the ducts shall be of rigid construction and of
such from that they remain securely in position and maintain the correct profile of
the cables without strain on the sheath until the concrete placed round them has
hardened. The supports shall be not more than one metre apart.

Vents shall be incorporated into each duct at high and low points, at each end and
at intermediate points not more than five metres apart or in accordance with the
Drawing. Blocking of vents during concreting operations shall be prevented.

2105. ANCHORAGES

Anchorages shall be the correct type for the prestressing system and must have
been used in similar other works. The procured anchorages shall conform to BS
4447. They shall be rigidly fixed true to alignment in the formwork so that they
cannot move during concreting operations. The anchorages shall be provided
with means for rejecting grout into the ducts.

Anchorages shall be delivered on site in protecting packing against corrosion with

adequate information of identifying the articles and with the manufacturer’s
detailed instructions for their use.

If the anchorage is fixed after the main body of the concrete has been placed, it
shall be carefully bedded so that it is bearing evenly and is in intimate contact
with the concrete.

2106. PRESTRESSING TENDONS

Tendons and wires used in prestressed concrete shall comply with the standards
indicated on the Drawing. The Standards include the following:

IS 1785 Part 1 for Plain hard - drawn steel wire

ASTM A 416 for high tensile strength strand.

All wires, bars and/or strands shall be assigned the lot number and shall have
suitable tags for their identification. All samples shall be truly representative of
the lot to be furnished and in the case of wire or strand. The Contractor shall
furnish samples of at least 5 m length selected form each lot for testing.

Tendons shall be stored on site under cover and protected from the weather. The
storage area shall have a hard impermeable floor. Tendons shall be stored either
straight or in the coils in which they left the factory.
 Tendons shall not be allowed to become affected by excessive rusting or by
pitting of the surface by corrosion. If pitting is present the Contractor shall
replace the affected tendons by new ones. Tendons shall be supplied in coils of
sufficiently large diameter such that tendons shall retain their physical properties
and shall be straight as it unwinds from the coil.

2107. INSTALLATION OF PRESTRESSING TENDONS

(1) Fabrication Procedures

Fabrication shall be carried out clear of the ground and under cover, or
where this is impractical, and agreed by the Engineer, in the open with
suitable precautions.

The fabrication procedures shall not cause any mechanical damage to the
tendons. Any tendon material found to be bent or kinked at fabrication shall
be rejected unless tests are made to the satisfaction of the Engineer which
show that the damage is not detrimental.

Prestressing steel shall be cut by rotating disc or blade cutters or by such

method as is recommended by the manufacturer.

Where required for the particular system, the ends of the tendon shall be
prepared at fabrication for subsequent stressing and anchoring.

(2) Installation and Fixing

Before being installed, prestressing tendons shall be thoroughly cleaned of

mill scale, mortar, oil, paint, dust, grease, or any other deleterious matter
whatsoever.

The prestressing steel (or where the tendons are accommodated in ducts, the
sheaths, ducting or formers) shall be accurately placed in the position shown
on the Drawing and shall be firmly secured in position. They shall not
deviate from the positions shown on the Drawing by more than 5 mm in all
directions.

Wooden supports shall not be used nor shall the sheaths, ducting or formers
be placed on previous layers of fresh concrete or be adjusted during the
placing of concrete.

The prestressing steel, sheaths, ducting or former shall be so placed and

secured that twisting, kinking or excessive deformation during and
subsequent to concreting is eliminated and the prestressing tendons when
finally stressed shall conform accurately to the profiles shown on the
Drawing. Ducts and formers shall not be placed with small radius bends
which would induce excessive frictional restraint on the wires or strands.
 Where many individual wires or strands are placed in a duct, adequate
provision shall be made to keep the wires separated by means of suitable
spacers of approved design, construction and spacing.

2108. JACKS FOR PRESTRESSING

Jacks for tensioning tendons shall be hydraulically operated and capable of

providing a slow uniform increase of load.

Each jack shall be equipped with an appropriate pressure gauge capable of

indicating the hydraulic fluid pressure at all times during the stressing operation
with an accuracy of 1 N/mm2. A certified calibration chart showing the
relationship between gauge readings and force on the ram for both ascending and
descending ram movements shall be made available on the site by the Contractor.

The Contractor shall maintain tensioning jacks in good working order and shall
ensure true and accurate readings by regular testing, calibration and servicing.

2109. TENSIONING OPERATIONS

(1) General

Prestressing force, whether partial or full, shall not be transferred to the

concrete until cube crushing tests have indicated that the concrete has
attained the strength specified on the Drawing. The test cubes shall have
been cured in conditions similar to the concrete to be prestressed.

Stressing of the tendons shall be carried out with due care by experienced
workmen under competent supervision approved by the Engineer. Adequate
steps shall be taken to safeguard against injury. Special precautions shall be
taken when working with and near tendons which have been tensioned or
are in the process being tensioned.

The Contractor shall ensure that he has been supplied all required
instructions by the Engineer and that he has the necessary information to
carry out the works. The instructions controlling the stressing operations are
based on the design of the structure and may be modified by the Engineer as
a result of the information obtained from site tensioning records.

Full and accurate records shall be kept of all stressing operations and two
copies of the records, which shall include welding-device slip measurements
during anchoring, loads and extensions, shall be submitted to the Engineer
on the day following each stressing operation. The accuracy of the
measurement of cable extensions, shall be plus or minus two per cent (±2).
The Engineer may order the Contractor to cease any or all stressing
operations where proper records are not being kept or where the operations
are not being properly or safely carried out. The Contractor shall take
 immediate steps to ensure that the work is carried out to the satisfaction of
the Engineer.

Where the required tensions or extensions are not obtained the tendons shall
be re-tensioned as directed by the Engineer. If on re-stressing, the
extensions are not achieved, the Engineer may at his discretion reject the
tendons involved.

The tendons shall be maintained in such condition that they can be

restressed until the Engineer has given final approval after inspecting the
tensioning log.

(2) Post-tensioning

When a post-tensioning system is employed, all cable ducts, excluding

extractable formers shall be thoroughly flushed with water immediately after
concreting and before the concrete has hardened.

Ducts produced by extractable formers shall be flushed out as soon as the

concrete has hardened. Where anchorage of the prestressing tendons is by
friction grips or wedges and where no other shipping limitation in specified,
the slip of each individual prestressing steel element, both during tensioning
and after anchoring shall not exceed seven millimeters. Tendons failing to
satisfy this limitations shall be re-stressed.

The sequence of stressing shall be as shown on the Drawing and shall be

such that lateral eccentricity of stress on any member is reduced to a
minimum.

After stressing and anchoring, no tendon shall be cut, bent or in any way
deformed until the Engineer has given his final approval.

Where tendons are cut back, the exposed ends of the tendons and
anchorages shall be heavily coated with an approved bituminous compound
or epoxy resin to prevent corrosion of the prestressing steel.

2110. BONDING AND GROUTING

After stressing and anchoring post-tensioned tendons shall be intimately bonded

to the adjacent concrete by means of concrete or in the case of internal cables, by
colloidal cement grout.

The properties of grout, the equipment and the grouting procedure shall be as
follows:
(1) Grout Type

The grout shall be a colloidal mix of water and ordinary Portland Cement
with a water/Cement ratio of between 0.40 and 0.45 by weight.
 A admixtures of an approved type may be authorized by the Engineer for
incorporation in the grout if tests have shown that their use improves the
properties of the grout, for examples by increasing the workability, by
reducing bleeding, or expanding grout.

Admixtures shall not contain chlorides or nitrates. When an expanding

agent is used the total unrestrained expansion shall not exceed 10 per cent.

(2) Mixing Equipment and Procedures

The mixing equipment shall be of a type capable of producing grout of

uniform consistency with fully dispersed cement particles and shall be
incorporated with suitable sieves for retaining lumps or other solid
ingredients. After water has been added to the mixer, the cement shall be
added. Admixtures if used, shall be added during the latter half of the
mixing time. High speed mixing shall be carried out continuously for
between two and four minutes in a close clearance high speed centrifugal
mixer.

Subsequent to mixing and prior to injection the grout shall be continuously

agitated by slow machine mixing. Any grout has been left standing for
more than 30 minutes shall be discarded and the container thoroughly
washed before further mixing is carried out.

(3) Injection Equipment and Procedures

A positive displacement pump shall be used for injecting the grout, capable
of developing a pressure of at least 1 N/mm 2. The pump shall be fitted with
a pressure gauge and an effective control against build-up of excessive
pressure. The pump suction intake shall be kept below the surface level of
the grout at all times during grouting operations.

All tendons shall be grouted in their ducts as soon as practicable after the
stressing operation. Each duct shall be cleaned by blowing through
compressed air, flushing with clean water and surplus water shall be
removed by compressed air or other approved means. Openings at the
anchorages other than grout injection nozzle openings shall be plugged with
mortar or other suitable material. Subsequent to the hardening of the
plugging material the nozzle of the injection pipe shall be firmly connected
to the duct in such a way that air cannot be sucked in. Injection shall be
commenced from one end only and its progress monitored by the
appearance of grout at successive vent holes. When the consistency of the
grout emerging from a vent is equal to that of the grout being injected, that
vent shall be plugged.

Injection shall continue until grout of a consistency equal to that injected

appears at the far end of the duct. The injection nozzle shall then be
withdrawn and all holes and vents plugged to prevent loss of grout.
 As far as possible all ducts in any one member shall be grouted in
immediate succession commencing with the lowest duct.

Grouting shall not be carried out when the air temperature is 2o C or lower

The temperature of newly grouted cable ducts shall be prevented from

falling below 2o C for a minimum period of seven days.

(4) Quality Control

The grout shall be tested in accordance with the Standards and Codes and its
fluidity, bleeding, setting and compressive strength shall comply with the
following requirements:

 Fluidity measured with a 10 mm funnel output Marsh cone shall be

less than 25 seconds.

 Bleeding shall be less than 2% by volume hours after mixing, with a

final maximum value of 4%. Separated water shall be re-absorbed
within 24 hours.

 The compressive strength of the hardened grout shall not be less than
17 N/mm2 at seven days.

To demonstrate that the grout type and equipment are meeting the
requirements of this Specification, the Contractor shall carry out a site trial
in accordance with Section 500 at least 25 hours before the intended date
to commence the work.

2111. REJECTION OF PRESTRESSED WORK

Any prestressing tendons, anchorages, or any part whatsoever of prestressing

component which has been damaged during the tensioning operation shall be
rejected.

In cases where excessive loss of prestress has occurred or in which grouting has
not been satisfactorily carried out, or which is deficient in any other manner, the
Contractor shall propose corrective measures to the Engineer’s agreement. The
Contractor shall not rectify any deficiency prior to the Engineer’s agreement or
instructions. Corrective measures shall be carried out to the satisfaction of the
Engineer and at the Contractor’s expenses failing which the element shall be
replaced by the Contractor at his cost.

2112. TESTING PRESTRESSED WORK

If instructed by the Engineer, load testing of structures containing prestressed

units shall be carried out generally as set out in BSCP 110.
 Details of all testing procedures shall be agreed between the Engineer and the
Contractor before testing is commenced.

2113. MEASUREMNT

Prestressed concrete shall be measured in cubic metre.

Tendons for prestressing shall be measured in tonne computed on the basis of

their total length and weight per unit length.

Provision of ducts/sheaths shall be measured in number which shall be inclusive

of removal of extractable formers and then grouting in ducts.

Anchorage assembly shall be measured in number fixed placed with all

accessories.

Formwork, staging scaffolding shall be measured and paid as per Section 1800.

2114. PAYMENT

Prestressed concrete, tendons, duct/sheaths anchorage assembly shall be paid as

per their respective contract unit rates which be the full and the final
compensation to the Contractor as per Clause 112 and also for the cost of load
tests if specified, and other ancillary and incidental works necessary to complete
the item as per this Specification.