DESIGN FOR

SERVICEABILITY 3
CABLE ZONE LIMITS

Updated 04052021
LESSON OUTCOMES
• At the end of this lesson, students
should be able to:

ü Determine the cable zone limits

in a prestressed concrete beam
DESIGN OF TENDON PROFILES
• Once the prestress force value had been determined
- satisfying all stress conditions at the critical section
• It is necessary to determine the eccentricity (location) at which this
force must be provided
- Not only at the critical section, but also throughout the length of
the structure
• At any section along the member, e is the unknown term in the four
equations 5 to 8
DESIGN OF TENDON PROFILES
• Equations 5 to 8 yields two upper and two lower limits that
must be simultaneously satisfied.
• This requirement must be met at all sections throughout
the member
• It will reflect both variations of moment, prestress force
and section properties along the member.
TENDON PROFILE EQUATIONS
At transfer

𝑧! 𝑓 " #$% 𝑧! 𝑀#$% 21

𝑒 ≤ − +
𝐴 𝑃& 𝑃& vThese equations can be
𝑧' 𝑓 " #() 𝑧' 𝑀#$%
evaluated at any section
𝑒 ≤ − +
𝐴 𝑃&
+
𝑃&
22 Ø to determine the range of
eccentricities within which the
At service resultant force, P0 must lie
𝑧! 𝑓#() 𝑧! 𝑀#()
𝑒 ≥ − +
23
vMmax and Mmin are related to the
𝐴 𝐾𝑃& 𝐾𝑃&
section considered.
𝑧' 𝑓#$% 𝑧' 𝑀#()
𝑒 ≥ − + + 24
𝐴 𝐾𝑃& 𝐾𝑃&
DESIGN OF TENDON PROFILES
v For members of constant cross-section
- if minor changes in prestress force along the length are neglected
ÞThe terms in the bracket [ ] of Eq 21 -24 are constant
v Therefore, the zone within which the centroid must lie is governed
by the shape of the bending moment envelopes

Centroid
DESIGN OF TENDON PROFILES

• In the case of uniform loading – the bending moment

envelopes are parabolic
ü the usual practice is to provide parabolic tendon profiles
ü if the straight profile does not fit within the zone
vAt the critical section, the zone is generally narrow and
reduces to zero if the value of prestress force is taken as
the minimum value from the Magnel Diagram.
vAt sections away from the critical section – the zone
becomes increasingly greater than the minimum required.
EXAMPLE 5 (CABLE ZONE CALCULATION)
Determine the cable zone limits at mid span and the ends
of the member designed in the previous examples for a
constant initial prestress force of 700 kN.

16 N/mm2
a) End span

𝑧! 𝑓 " #$% 𝑧! 𝑀#$% 𝑧! 𝑓#() 𝑧! 𝑀#()

23
𝑒 ≤ − + 21 𝑒 ≥ − +
𝐴 𝑃& 𝑃& 𝐴 𝐾𝑃& 𝐾𝑃&
0 0
* * * *
4.08 × 10 (−1 × 4.08 × 10 ) 𝑀#$% 4.08 × 10 24 × 4.08 × 10 𝑀#()
𝑒 ≤ − + 𝑒 ≥ − +
200 × 350 700 × 10+ 𝑃& 200 𝑥 350 0.8 × 700 × 10+ 𝐾𝑃&

≤ 58.29 + 5.83 ≥ 58.29 − 174.86

≥ −116.57 𝑚𝑚
≤ 64.12 𝑚𝑚

𝒛𝒃 𝒇" 𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒛𝒃 𝑴𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒛𝒃 𝒇𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒛𝒃 𝑴𝒎𝒂𝒙

𝒆 ≤ − + + 22 𝒆 ≥ − + + 24
𝑨 𝑷𝟎 𝑷𝟎 𝑨 𝑲𝑷𝟎 𝑲𝑷𝟎
0 0 0
4.08 × 10* 16 × 4.08 × 10* 𝑀#$% 4.08 × 10 *
𝑓#$% 𝑧' 𝑀#()
𝑒 ≤ − + + 𝑒 ≥ − + +
(350 × 200) 700 × 10+ 𝑃& (350 × 200) 𝐾𝑃& 𝐾𝑃&
≤ −58.29 + 93.26 + 0 ≥ −58.29 + 0 + 0
≤ 34.97 𝑚𝑚 ≥ − 58.29 𝑚𝑚
Range of eccentricity (end span)
- 58.29

-116.57 0 34.97 64.12

21

22

23

24

e must lie within this

range
 b) Mid span

𝒛𝒕 𝒇" 𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒛𝒕 𝑴𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒛𝒕 𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒛𝒕 𝑴𝒎𝒂𝒙

23
𝒆 ≤ − + 21 𝒆 ≥ − +
𝑨 𝑷𝟎 𝑷𝟎 𝑨 𝑲𝑷𝟎 𝑲𝑷𝟎

4.08 × 10* (−1 × 4.08 × 10* ) 21.9 × 10* 4.08 × 10* 24 × 4.08 × 10* 59.4 × 10*
𝑒 ≤ − + 𝑒 ≥ − +
200 × 350 700 × 10+ 700 × 10+ 200 𝑥 350 0.8 × 700 × 10+ 0.8 × 700 × 10+

≤ 58.29 + 5.83 + 31.29 ≥ 58.29 − 174.86 + 106.07

≥ −10.5 𝑚𝑚
≤ 95.41 𝑚𝑚

𝒛𝒃 𝒇" 𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒛𝒃 𝑴𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒛𝒃 𝒇𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒛𝒃 𝑴𝒎𝒂𝒙

𝒆 ≤ − + + 22 𝒆 ≥ − + + 24
𝑨 𝑷𝟎 𝑷𝟎 𝑨 𝑲𝑷𝟎 𝑲𝑷𝟎
0
4.08 × 10* 16 × 4.08 × 10* 21.9 × 10* 4.08 × 10 *
𝑓#$% 𝑧' 59.4 × 10*
𝑒 ≤ − + + 𝑒 ≥ − + +
(350 × 200) 700 × 10+ 700 × 10+ (350 × 200) 𝐾𝑃& 0.8 × 700 × 10+
≤ −58.29 + 93.26 + 31.29 ≥ −58.29 + 0 + 106.07
≤ 66.26 𝑚𝑚 ≥ 47.78 𝑚𝑚
Range of eccentricity (mid span)
- 10.5

0 47.78 66.26 95.41

21

22

23

24

e must lie within the range

of 47.8 to 66.26 mm

Ø Provided that the tendons can be arranged so that their resultant force lies
within the calculated limits – acceptable design
SPECIAL ATTENTION !!!
Ø These range of eccentricity can also be determined using the Magnel Diagram.
17
106/P0
20
19
Highest value 18
2500 => 2450

2000 Permissible zone

P0 = 700 kN

emax = 130 mm
106/P0 = 1429

e = 124 mm
1500

1000
Lowest value
e = 16 mm

=> 850
500

e
(mm)
-80 -60 -40 -20 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
47≤ e ≤ 66
 End span Mid span End span
print-graph-paper.com

-150

-100 23

Location of
-50 24
tendon

Mmax / KP0 = 106.07 mm

22
50
Mmin / P0 = 31.29 mm
21
Cable zone limits
100

End span Mid span End span

150
e=0 e=0
e = 50 mm
e = 50 mm
WIDTH OF CABLE ZONE
v From the Magnel Diagram – for any chosen value of
prestress force, there is an eccentricity range that the
resultant tendon force must lie.
v As the force approaches a value that corresponds to the
top and bottom limits of the Magnel Diagram
- width of the available cable zone diminishes
- giving zero width of cable zone
v Practically, a prestress force will be chosen in between
the upper and lower limits of permissible prestress force
- ensuring a reasonable width of cable zone
WIDTH OF CABLE ZONE
v The prestressing cables must also satisfy:
ü cover requirements
ü minimum spacing between tendons
ü available size of tendons etc.
v A number of alternative tendon combinations and
configurations shall be tried
ü to ensure all requirements are met
v The advantage of Magnel Diagram
ü range of alternatives can be quickly considered