LECTURE 4 (PART 2)

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

▪ the figure shows a typical stress-strain

curve obtained from tests using cylindrical
concrete specimens loaded in uniaxial
compression over several minutes

▪ the first portion of the curve to about 40%

of the ultimate strength f’c can be
considered
 PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

▪ at 70% of the ultimate strength, the material

losses a large portion of its stiffness thereby
increasing the curvilinearity of the diagram

▪ at ultimate load, cracks parallel to the

direction of loading become distinctively
visible, and most concrete cylinders suddenly
fail shortly thereafter
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

▪ the strength of concrete varies with

age, the gain in strength being rapid at
first, then much slower

▪ the variation in strength is especially

important in the design and fabrication
of prestressed concrete members
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ Stress-strain Curve
of Concrete of
Various Strengths
Reported by the
Portland Cement
Association
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

▪ the lower the

strength of
concrete, the
higher the failure
strain
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

▪ the length of the

initial relatively
linear portion
increases with the
increase in the
compressive
strength of
concrete
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

▪ there is an
apparent
reduction in
ductility with
increased
strength
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ MODULUS OF ELASTICITY (Ec)
▪ Ec is the slope of the initial straight part of the stress-strain
curve
▪ the ACI (American Concrete Institute) Building Code gives
the ff. expression for calculating Ec:

for 90 < wc <

for 1440 < wc < 2480 kg/m3

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ MODULUS OF ELASTICITY (Ec)

▪ the ACI Building Code gives the ff. expression for

calculating Ec:

for normal weight concrete (wc = 145 lb/ft3 ≈ 2300 kg/m3)

(psi)

(Mpa)
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ MODULUS OF ELASTICITY (Ec)

▪ the ACI Building Code gives the ff. expression for

calculating Ec:

for concrete having f’c of 6000 – 12000 psi (42 – 84 MPa)

(psi)

(MPa)
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ TENSILE STRENGTH

▪ cracks in prestressed concrete members may be caused by

direct tension, flexure, combined shear and flexure in beam
webs and torsion

▪ the behavior of members often changes abruptly when

tensile cracks form, thus, it is important to know the tensile
strength of the material
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ TENSILE STRENGTH

▪ Measurement of
Tensile Strength of
Concrete:

Modulus of Rupture Test

modulus of rupture is the computed flexural
tensile stress at which a test beam of plain
concrete fails
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ TENSILE STRENGTH

▪ Measurement of For normal weight concrete:

Tensile Strength of
Concrete:

Modulus of Rupture Test For lightweight concrete:

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ TENSILE STRENGTH

▪ Measurement of
Tensile Strength of
Concrete:

Split Cylinder Test

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

➢ TENSILE STRENGTH
Split Cylinder Strength (fct)

▪ Measurement of For normal weight concrete:

Tensile Strength of
Concrete:

Split Cylinder Test For lightweight concrete:

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES

✓ Proportional Limit

• the point where the material

leaves the elastic region and
moves into the inelastic
(plastic) region of the curve
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES

✓ Elastic Limit

• the stress beyond which the

material will not return to its
original shape when
unloaded but will retain a
permanent deformation
called permanent set
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES

✓ Yield Point

• the point at which there is an

appreciable elongation or
yielding of the material
without any corresponding
increase of load
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES

✓ Rupture Strength

• stress at failure

✓ Ultimate Strength

• maximum stress the material

can sustain
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES

✓ Ductility

• the ability of a material to withstand plastic deformation

without rupture

• may also be thought of in terms of bendability and crushability

• ductile materials show large deformation before fracture; lack

of ductility is often termed brittleness
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES

✓ Ductility

• commonly evaluated by tensile testing in which the amount of

elongation and the reduction of area of the broken specimen
are measured and calculated and compared to the original
test specimen
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF
PRESTRESSING STEEL

▪ the figure shows the tensile

stress-strain curves for typical
prestressing steel
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF
PRESTRESSING STEEL

▪ Elastic Modulus (Es):

✓ Es ≈ 29000 ksi (round wires)
✓ Es ≈ 27000 ksi (stranded cables)
✓ Es ≈ 27000 ksi (alloy bars)

▪ yield stress is taken as the stress

producing 1% extension (round wires,
stranded cable) and 0.7% extension
(alloy bars)
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF PRESTRESSING STEEL

✓ Steel Relaxation

• the loss in prestress when the wires or strands are subjected to

essentially constant strain

• identical to creep, except that creep is a change in strain

whereas steel relaxation is a loss in steel stress
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF
NON-TENSIONED
REINFORCING STEEL

▪ the figure shows the tensile

stress-strain curves for typical
non-tensioned reinforcing
steel
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ STRESS-STRAIN PROPERTIES OF NON-
TENSIONED REINFORCING STEEL

▪ the Elastic Modulus for all steel is the

same, Es = 29000 ksi

▪ although Grades 40 and 60 have a

well-defined yield point, the same is
not true for higher strength steel
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ COMPARISON OF PRESTRESSING
& NON-TENSIONED REINFORCING
STEEL

▪ the figure shows the tensile stress-

strain curves for ordinary bar
reinforcement and typical
prestressing steel
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

❑ PROPERTIES OF STEEL
➢ COMPARISON OF PRESTRESSING &
NON-TENSIONED REINFORCING STEEL