FLEXURAL ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 3
 Introduction
 Beams may require analysis or design.
 In the case of flexural analysis, the concrete and steel
dimensions, as well as the magnitude and line of action
of the effective prestress force, are usually known.
 If the loads are given, one may wish to find the resulting
stresses and compare these against a set of permissible
values.
 If permissible stresses are known, then one may
calculate maximum loads that could be carried without
exceeding those stresses.
 For known material strengths, the member capacity can
be calculated and safety against collapse determined for
any loading.
 Introduction
 In Flexural Design, permissible
stresses and material strengths are
known, the loads to be resisted are
specified, and the engineer must
determine concrete and steel
dimensions as well as the magnitude
and line of action of the prestressing
force.
 Introduction
 Both analysis and design of prestressed concrete
may require the consideration of several load
stages as follows:

1. Initial prestress, immediately after transfer, when Pi

alone may act on the concrete.
2. Initial prestress plus self-weight of the member.
3. Initial prestress plus full dead load.
4. Effective prestress, Pe, after losses, plus service
loads consisting of full dead and expected live
loads.
5. Ultimate load, when the expected service loads are
increased by load factor and the member is at
incipient failure.
 Introduction
 At and below the service load level,
both concrete and steel stresses are
usually within the elastic range.

 Should the member be overloaded,

however, one or both materials are
likely to be stressed into the
inelastic range, in which case
predictions of ultimate strength
must be based on actual, nonlinear
stress-strain relations.
 NOTATION

 Consistent with the general practice in structural

engineering, tensile strains and stresses are
taken to be positive (since they are associated
with length increase) and compressive strains
and stresses as negative.

 Strains referring to the top surface of a flexural

member are given the subscript 1 and those
referring to the bottom the subscript 2.
 PARTIAL LOSS OF PRESTRESS FORCE

 The jacking tension Pj, initially applied to the tendon,

is reduced at once to what is termed the initial
prestress force Pi.

 A part of this loss in jacking tension, which is due to

friction between a post-tensioned tendon and its
encasing duct, actually occurs before the transfer of
prestress force to the concrete.

 The remainder due to elastic shortening of the

concrete and due to slip at post-tensioning
anchorages as the wedges take hold, occurs
immediately upon transfer.
 PARTIAL LOSS OF PRESTRESS FORCE

 Additional losses occur over an extended period, because of

concrete shrinkage and creep, and because of relaxation of
stress in the steel tendon. As a result, the prestress force is
reduced from Pi to its final or effective value, Pe after all
significant time-dependent losses have taken place.

 The values of greatest interest to the designer are the initial

prestress Pi and the effective prestress Pe. It is convenient to
express the relation between these values in terms of an
effectiveness ratio R, defined such that
Pe = RPi (3.1)
 Put another way, the ratio of time-dependent losses to initial
prestress force is
Pi- Pe / Pi = 1 – R (3.2)
 ELASTIC FLEXURAL STRESSES IN
UNCRACKED BEAMS

It will be covered in following headings:

A. Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the Elastic

Range
B. Elastic Stresses
C. Calculation of Section Properties
D. Cross Section Kern or Core
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range

 A simple-span prestressed beam with a curved

tendon is shown in Fig. 3.1a.
 The concrete centroid is that of the entire,
uncracked cross section, and the steel will be
represented by its centroidal axis, whether there is
one tendon or many.
 The eccentricity of the steel centroid, positive if
measured downward from the concrete centroid, is
e.
 The distances from the concrete centroid to the top
and bottom surfaces of the member are c1 and c2
respectively.
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range

 Figure 3.1b shows the force resultants acting on the

concrete after the steel is tensioned. The force F acts on
the concrete at the tendon anchorages near the ends of
the member.
 The force P at midspan is the resultant of all the
compressive stresses in the concrete at that section.
 These normal stress vary from a value f1 at the top
surface to f2 at the bottom surface.
 The force N are exerted on the concrete by the tendon
because of its curvature, and the exact distribution of
these forces depends on the particular tendon profile
used.
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range

 The three forces F, N, and P form a self-equilibrating

system, as illustrated by the closing force polygon of
Fig. 3.1c.

 When prestress forces act alone on a statically

determinate beam, the external reactions on the
beam are zero.
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range

 Figure 3.1d shows an alternative

representation of the forces of Fig. 3.1b, in
which the forces F and N are replaced by their
vector sum T.
 The compressive resultant P acts as before.
 P and T are equal and opposite forces, acting
at the same point on the cross section.
 It is concluded that, for a statically determinate
beam, the consequence of prestressing is a
compressive resultant force that acts at the
location of the steel centroid at any section.
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range

 The direction of the compressive resultant is

always tangent to the tendon profile at any section.
 For the midspan section of the symmetrical beam
just considered, the compressive resultant was
horizontal.
 If the section had been taken at another location,
say, at the quarter point of the span, the
compressive resultant would have both a
horizontal and vertical component.
 In such case, the horizontal component would
represent the summation of all the normal forces
acting on the concrete, and the vertical component
the summation of all the shearing forces.
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range
 Next, a uniformly distributed load of intensity w is
applied as shown in Fig. 3.1e.
 There is an associated reaction force R = wl/2 at
each support.
 As the load w is gradually applied, the magnitude
of the prestressing force stays essentially
constant and T maintains both its magnitude and
position.
 As flexural stresses due to the applied load are
superimposed on axial and flexural stresses due
to prestressing, the compressive resultant P
moves upward.
 An internal resisting couple is generated,
with equal forces P and T and lever arm z. This
couple exactly equilibrates the external moment.
 A - Behavior of Prestressed Beams in the
Elastic Range

 The difference between the behavior of a

prestressed concrete beam and a reinforced
concrete beam should be noted carefully.
 In the case of the reinforced concrete beam, the
internal lever arm remains essentially constant as
the load is increased, and the increasing moment
is accompanied by an almost proportionate
increase in the internal forces.
 For the prestressed beam, the forces stay
essentially constant as the load is increased, and
the increasing moment is accompanied by an
increase in the internal lever arm.
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

 If the member is subjected only to the initial prestressing

force Pi, it has been shown that the compressive
resultant acts at the steel centroid.

 The concrete stress f1 at the top face of the member and

f2, at the bottom face can be found by superimposing
axial and bending effects:

f1 = - Pi / Ac + Pi e c1 / Ic (3.3a)
f2 = - Pi / Ac - Pi e c2 / Ic (3.3b)

where e is the tendon eccentricity measured downward

from the concrete centroid, Ac is the area of the concrete
cross section, and Ic is the moment of inertia of the
concrete cross section.
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

 Substituting the radius of gyration r2 = Ic/Ac these

equations can be written as:
f1 = - Pi / Ac (1 - e c1 / r2) (3.4a)
f2 = - Pi / Ac (1 + e c2 / r2) (3.4b)
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

 Almost never would the initial prestress Pi act

alone.
 In most practical with the tendon below the
concrete centroid, the beam will deflect upward
because of the bending moment caused by
prestressing.
 It will then be supported by the formwork or
casting bed essentially at its ends, and the
dead load of the beam itself will cause
moments Mo to be superimposed immediately.
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

Consequently, at the initial stage, immediately

after transfer of prestress force, the stresses in
the concrete at the top and bottom surfaces are:
f1 = - Pi / Ac (1 - e c1 / r2) – Mo / S1 (3. 5a)
f2 = - Pi / Ac (1 + e c2 / r2) + Mo / S2 (3.5b)
where Mo is the bending moment resulting from
the self-weight of the member and S1 = Ic/c1 and
S2 = Ic/c2 are the section moduli with respect to
the top and bottom surfaces of the beam.
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

 The stress distribution at this load stage is shown

in Fig. 3.2b.
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

 Superimposed dead loads (in addition to the

self-weight) may be placed when the prestress
force is still close to its initial value, that is,
before time- dependent losses have occurred.
 However, this load stage would seldom, if ever,
control the design, as can be confirmed by
study of Fig. 3.2.
 Superimposed live loads are generally applied
sufficiently late for the greatest part of the loss
of prestress to have occurred.
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

load stage of interest is the

 Consequently, the next
full service load stage, when the effective
prestress; acts with the moments resulting from
self-weight (Mo), superimposed dead load (Md),
and superimposed live load (Ml). The resulting
stresses are
f1 = - Pe / Ac (1 - e c1 / r2) – Mt / S1 (3.6a)
f2 = - Pe / Ac (1 + e c2 / r2) + Mt / S2 (3.6b)
where the total moment M, is
Mt = Mo + Md + Ml (3.7)
 B. ELASTIC STRESSES

 These service-load stresses are shown in Fig. 3.2c.

 C. CALCULATION OF SECTION PROPERTIES

 In calculating the properties of the concrete cross

section to be used in the previous equations, it should
be noted that in post-tensioned construction tendons
may pass through ducts of considerable size.
 Before the tendons are grouted, stresses in the
concrete should be calculated using the net section,
with holes deducted.
 After grouting, the transformed section should be used.
 Holes may be considered filled with concrete and the
steel replaced with its transformed area of equivalent
concrete equal to (np - 1)Ap where np is the modular
ratio Ep / Ec and Ap is the area of the prestressing steel.
C. CALCULATION OF SECTION PROPERTIES

 In practical cases although the hole deduction

may be significant, use of the gross concrete
section after grouting rather than the
transformed section will normally be
satisfactory.
 In many cases, the hole deduction is small
and the gross concrete section can provide
the basis for all calculations.
 This will almost always be the case when
unbonded wrapped tendons without ducts are
used.
 D. CROSS SECTION KERN OR CORE

 When the prestressing force, acting alone,

causes no tension in the cross section, it is said
to be acting within the kern or the core of the
cross section.
 In the limiting cases, triangular stress
distributions will result from application of the
prestress force, with zero concrete stress at the
top or the bottom of the member.
 The kern limit dimensions can be found from Eqs.
(3.4a) and (3.4b).
 D. CROSS SECTION KERN OR CORE

 To find the lower kern dimension, the

concrete stress at the top surface is set equal
to zero. Thus
f1 = – ( Pi / Ac ) ( 1 – e c1/ r2 ) = 0
indicating that the quantity in parentheses
must equal zero.
 D. CROSS SECTION KERN OR CORE
 Solving for that particular eccentricity, defined as e = k2, the lower
kern limit is
1 – k2c1 /r2 = 0
k 2 = r2 / c 1 (3.8a)

 Similarly, the upper kern limit is found by setting the expression for
the concrete stress at the bottom surface equal to zero, from which
k1 = – r2 / c 2 (3.8b)
the minus sign confirming that the limit dimension is measured
upward from the concrete centroid.

 It would be unwise to place great emphasis on these limit

dimensions. It should not be implied that the steel centroid must
remain within the kern. However, the kern limits often serve as
convenient reference points in the design of beams.
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 The simply supported I-beam shown in cross section

and elevation in Fig. 3.4 is to carry a uniformly
distributed service dead and live load totaling 0.55
kips/ft over the 40-ft span, in addition to its own
weight. Normal concrete having density of 150 lb/ft3
will be used. The beam will be pretensioned using
multiple seven-wire strands; eccentricity is constant
and equal to 5.19 in. The prestress force Pi
immediately after transfer (after elastic shortening
loss) is 169 kips. Time-dependent losses due to
shrinkage, creep, and relaxation total 15 percent of
the initial prestress force.
 Find the concrete flexural stresses at midspan and
support sections under initial and final conditions.
EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

wd + wl = 0.55 k/ft

e = constant
P P
40 ft
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

Known Data
 Beam Section = I-Section
 Span = 40 ft
 Service dead and live load = 0.55 kips/ft
 Concrete Density = 150 lb/ft3
 Eccentricity = 5.19 in,
 Initial Prestress force = 169 kips
 Time dependent losses = 15 percent of the initial
prestress force.
 Concrete flexural stresses at midspan and support
sections under initial and final conditions = ?
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 All calculations will be based on properties of

the gross cone section.
 Average flange thickness will be used, as shown
in Fig. 3.4b.

 For that section

 Moment of inertia Ic = 12,000 in.4
 Concrete area Ac = 176 in.2
 Section modulus S1 = S2 =1,000 in.3
 Radius of gyration r2 = Ic/Ac = 68.2 in.2
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 Stresses in the concrete resulting from the

initial prestress force of 169 kips may be found
by Eq. (3.4). At the top and bottom surfaces,
respectively, these stresses are
P1  ec1  169,000  5.19  12 
f1   1  2    1    83 psi
Ac  r  176  68.2 

f2 = - Pi / Ac (1 + e c2 / r2) = - 169000/176 (1 + 5.19x12/68.2) = -1837 psi

 As shown by distribution (1) in Fig. 3.4c. These

stresses exist throughout the length of the
member.
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 As the prestress force is applied, the beam will

camber off the casting bed, and stresses due to
the beam-load bending moment will act.

 The member dead load is

wo = 176 / 144 x 0.150 = 0.183 kips/ft

 At midspan the corresponding dead load

moment is
Mo = 1/8 x 0.183 x 402 = 36.6 ft-kips
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 This self weight moment produces top and

bottom concrete stresses at midspan of

Mo 36.6  12,000
f1     439 psi
S1 1,000
Mo 36.6  12,000
f2     439 psi
S2 1,000
 The combined effect of initial prestress and
self-weight is found by superposition.
f1 = – 83 – 439 = – 522 psi
f2 = – 1,837 + 439 = – 1,398 psi
as shown by distribution (2) in Fig 3.4 (c).
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 Time-dependent losses are 15 percent of Pi. Accordingly, the

effectiveness ratio
R = Po / Pi = 0.85
and the effective prestress force after all losses is
Pe = 0.85x 169= 144 kips

 Top and bottom concrete stresses due to Pe are

f1 = 0.85 x ( - 83) = - 71 psi
f2 = 0.85 x ( - 1,837) = - 1,561 psi

 Flexural stresses due to self-weight must be superimposed as

before. The resulting midspan stresses due to Pe and self-
weight are
f1=-71 -439= - 510 psi (-3.5 MPa)
f2 = -1,561 + 439 = - 1,122 psi ( - 7.7 MPa)
as given by distribution (3) in Fig. 3.4c.
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 The midspan moment due to superimposed dead and

live load is
Md + Ml = 1/8 x 0.55 x 402 = 110 ft-kips
 The corresponding concrete stresses are
f1 = -110 x 12,000 / 1,000 = - 1,320 psi
f2 = +110 x 12,000 / 1,000 = + 1,320 psi
 Then, combining effective prestress force with moments
due to self-weight and superimposed load, the stresses
produced are
f1 = -510 - 1,320 = - 1,830 psi
f2 = -1,122 + 1,320 = +198 psi
as shown by distribution (4).
 EXAMPLE: Flexural Stresses for Given Beam and
Loads

 In Fig. 3.4c, the stress change resulting from the

member self-weight is shown by horizontal
shading, and that resulting from superimposed
dead and live loads is shown by vertical shading.
 At the support sections, the transverse loads
cause no flexural stresses and concrete
stresses are those resulting from prestress
alone.
 The initial values of -83 and -1,837 psi at the top
and bottom surfaces gradually reduce to-71 and
-1,561 psi, respectively, as time-dependent
losses occur.