Art.

1–8] PRESTRESSING METHODS AND MATERIALS 11

Small diameter wires may be twisted together in the factory during the
manufacture of the tendons, in which case the tendon is referred to as a
strand. The strands which are commonly used vary in nominal diameter
from 3/16 to 1 11/16 in. and have ultimate breaking strengths of from 5500 to
353,000 lb. The high-tensile steel bars which are commonly employed in
prestressing vary in diameter from to 13 inches and have breaking strengths
up to 178,000 lb. The ultimate tensile strength of the bars does not vary
with the diameter of the bars since the high strength of the bars is due to
alloying rather than cold working as in the case of wires.
The same basic steel can be used in pre-tensioning and post-tensioning,
but in the former, it is necessary that the individual tendons are not so large
that they cannot be adequately bonded to the concrete, since this bond is
relied upon to transfer the prestressing force from the steel to the concrete.
In post-tensioning, as has been explained, end anchorages are used to transfer
the prestressing force to the concrete and the grouting is relied upon to pro
tect the steel against corrosion and to develop flexural bond stress, i.e., bond
stresses resulting from changes in the externally applied loads. Bond stresses
are discussed in detail in Arts. 3–4, and 3–5, but it should be mentioned here
that, while in Europe it is customary to use wires up to 0.276 in. in diameter
as pre-tensioning tendons, the usual practice in this country has been to use
strands composed of seven wires of which one is straight and slightly larger
in diameter than the remaining six, which are twisted around the straight
wire. The nominal diameter of strands used in pre-tensioning is from # to
in. although experimental work indicates that larger strands may be used
successfully under special conditions. Little or no use of high-tensile alloy
bars has been made in pre-tensioning in this country, although favorable
results have been obtained experimentally with bars up to $ in. in diameter,
in Europe (Ref. 14).
It is desirable, although not essential, that the steel be elastic at the
stress levels normally used in prestressing, since the computation of the
elongations of the tendons, which are used as a control during the stressing, is
facilitated if the steel is elastic. When the steel used is not elastic at low
to base the computations of elongations on values
stress levels, it is necessary
of strain which are taken from a stress-strain diagram for the particular
steel. In addition, steels which are elastic at low and medium stress levels
evidence little or no creep or relaxation of stress in their elastic range.
Typical stress-strain curves forwires, strands, and bars, which reveal the
elastic properties but which are not complete since they do not show the limits
of plasticity, are given in Figs. 1–5, 1–6, and 1–7, respectively. It will be seen
from these curves that there is a wide variation in the elastic properties and
the yield points (normally taken as the 0.20% offset) of the various types of
steels, and hence it is difficult to generalize on these properties.
Another very important characteristic of the steel which is to be used in
prestressing is the plasticity of the steel at stresses near the ultimate. A