Dr.-Ing.

Girma Zerayohannes 2/19/2016 1

 Prestressed concrete is RC with additional
artificially applied compressive force.
  Material properties in RC hold true for
Prestressed concrete
 In the following properties relevant for
prestressed concrete will be discussed

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 3.2.1 Compressive strength
 Higher compressive strengths are used in PC
compared to RC
 This is reasonable because the members need to
be prestressed as early as possible for faster
construction and also crack width control
resulting from creep and shrinkage.
 And for this a minimum compressive strength is
required; values in table 3.1-columns 1 and 2 for
partial and full prestressing respectively
 The minimum class of concrete for PC is C20/25
(See table 3.1)

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 In partial prestressing the prestressing force in
individual tendon is allowed to reach 30% of the
allowable prestressing force (see 5.4.1). The
compressive stress in concrete is not allowed to
exceed 0.13fck for partial prestressing << the
min values in column 1
 As long as the strengths in column 2 are
achieved, the tendons could be prestressed with
100% of the allowable prestressing force.
 If the strengths achieved (verified by test) lie
between the values in cols 1 and 2, the allowable
prestressing force can be linearly interpolated
b/n 30% and 100%.
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 In PC construction (especially in bridge
construction –segmental type) it is required to
assess the development of the compressive
strength with time t (mathematic expression;
see also EBCS-EN 1992) for a number of stages,
eg. demoulding, transfer of prestress.
 The compressive strength of concrete at an age t
depends on the type of cement, temperature and
curing conditions.
 For a mean temperature of 20oC and curing according
to EN 12390 the compressive strength of concrete and
modulus of elasticity at various ages are estimated
from expressions (3.1) and (3.2)

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 (3.1)
Compare with EN
1992 (S. 27)
(3.2)
Age of concrete in days
Mean compressive strength at 28 days (Table in EBCS EN 1992)

Coeff that depends on the type of cement

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 3.2.2 Creep, Shrinkage and Relaxation
 Creep and shrinkage are not considered in design
of RC in the ULS (with exception of slender
columns).
 In PC these properties are important and must be
determined accurately.
 Creep describes the increase in deformation as a
result of sustained loading.
 See Figure 3.1. it shows unreinforced concrete
prisms.
 It deforms elastically by an amount l0 when
subjected to F0 at t0.

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 If the load is sustained for a period of time
(constant long term loading), it will undergo
additional deformation lcc as a result of creep.
 The ratio of the deformations is called the creep
coefficient:  = lcc/l0
 When the load F0 is applied at t0 the resulting
stress is 0 and the deformation is l0
 If instead of the loading, the deformation l0 is
held constant, the stress and with it the force
reduces by an amount cc and Fcc (i.e. prism
“relaxes”)
 The relaxation coefficient is the ratio b/n the
changes and original values at t0: = cc/0; =
Fcc/F0
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Creep and relaxation in a concrete prism

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 Creep deformations increase with:
 Larger stresses
 Lower age of concrete at the time of first loading
 Larger w/c ratio
 Smaller relative humidity (RH)
 Smaller modulus of elasticity of aggregate
 Smaller sizes of the structure.
 Creep can be advantageous
 Self-equilibrating of stresses (eg. from shrinkage)
will be reduced
 Stresses from induced deformations will be
reduced

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 Creep can be disadvantageous
 Deformations increase
 Prestressing forces decrease

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 Shrinkage
 Shrinkage is a decrease in the volume of concrete
during hardening under constant temperature.
 The amount of shrinkage increases with time as
shown in Figure (a).
 The primary type of shrinkage is called drying
shrinkage and is due to the loss of a layer of
adsorbed water (electrically bound water
molecules) from the surface of the gel particles.
 The loss of free unadsorbed water has little
effect on the magnitude of the shrinkage.

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 Autogenous shrinkage occurs w/o the loss of
moisture due to hydration reactions inside the
cement matrix. In earlier studies this was
considered to be a very small portion of the total
shrinkage, but with greater use of high
performance concretes (w/c ratio below0.40),
autogenous shrinkage may constitute a more
significant percentage of the total shrinkage.
 A final form of shrinkage called carbonation
shrinkage occurs in carbondioxide rich
atmosphere, such as those found in parking
garages. At 50% RH, the amount of carbonation
shrinkage can equal the drying shrinkage,
effectively doubling the total amount of shrinkage

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  At higher and lower humidities, the carbonation
shrinkage decreases
 Forreference according to the ACI, the
general expression for the development of
shrinkage strain in concrete that is moist-
cured for 7 days and dried in 40% RH is:
 (sh)t = (t/(35+t))(sh)u
 Where (sh)t is the shrinkage strain after t days of
drying and (sh)u is the ultimate value for drying
shrinkage.

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 Shrinkage increases with:
 More water content
 Larger fraction of hydrated cement paste in the
total volume of concrete
 Lower relative humidity
 Higher ambient temperature
 More finely ground cements with larger surface
area per unit volume and thus more adsorbed
water to be lost during shrinkage

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 3.2.3 Creep coefficient
 Concrete shows visco-elastic behaviour (linear
creep) up to service load level.
 Characteristic of such material behaviour is that
the creep coefficient is not influenced by the
magnitude of the creep causing stress.
 See Figure 3.3 where 3 concrete prisms are
subjected to different magnitudes of creep
causing stresses.
 The creep coefficients (t1,t0) of all specimens
determined from the ratios of the creep strains
cc(t1) at t1 to the respective initial elastic strains
el(t0) do not differ from each other

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 Creep coefficient is the same for
all 3 specimens. N.B it is however
a function of time .
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  The creep coefficient of concrete thus represent a
material constant in service stress range.
 As stated earlier creep coefficient is a function
of time. According to DIN 1045-1, the creep
coefficient is related to the elastic strain at 28
days (i.e., t0 = 28 days in el(t0)). (compare with
EBCS EN 1992-1-1)
 See expression for (t,t0) in Figure 3.3
 Where (t,t0) is creep coefficient at time t and
 cc(t,t0) is strain caused by a constant stress acting
from time t0 up to time t
 c(t,t0) is constant creep causing stress b/n t0 and t
 Ec0 is the tangent modulus of the concrete at origin of
the - diagram at 28 days
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 Elastic strain at 28 days corresponding to the
constant creep causing stress = stress divided
by modulus of elasticity at 28 days
Creep coefficient at time t

Creep strain as a result of constant stress b/n time t and t0

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  t0 is age of concrete at beginning of load in days
 t is the reference time at which the creep
coefficient is determined
 For the simpler case of a constant stress
forever, one obtains the end creep
coefficient (,t0).
 The value can be read from Figure 3.4 (show how
and compare with EBCS EN 1992)
 For other cases it will be calculated using
equations in DIN 1045-1
 The equations for calculating the creep function
can be used provided the following conditions
are met
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t0 = age of
concrete at
the time of
1st loading

For 3 cement classes

End creep coeff..

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 Conditions for using the equations of creep
functions
 Load begins at the earliest 1 day after casting
 Normal weight concrete with a mean
compressive strength fcm  120 N/mm2. (For light
weight concrete…)
 The creep causing stress should not exceed the
allowable value given in slide No. 28
 The average RH lies b/n 40% and 100%
 The concrete is moist-cured for 14 days.
 The average temperature must lie b/n 10oC and
30oC. Short time variation b/n -20oC and 40oC is
allowed

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 The
equations are valid for creep causing
compressive stress not exceeding:
 c = 0.4fcm(t0)
 Where c is creep causing stress
 fcm(t0) is the average cylinder compressive
strength of concrete at beginning of load
 With higher stress the strain increases non-
linearly (faster than the stress). The reason is the
formation of micro cracks b/n paste and
aggregate
 For higher creep causing stresses the following
nonlinear creep function is recommended
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 For the determination of the creep
coefficient taking into account the
non-linearity, the basic value 0
has to be replaced by 0.k

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 While determining the creep coefficient taking
into account the nonlinearity, the basic value of
creep coeeficient 0 is replaced by 0,k.

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 3.2.4 Final shrinkage
 According to DIN 1045-1, the final shrinkage is
the sum of final drying and final general
(autogeneous) shrinkage, i.e.
 cs = cas + cds
 where:
 cs is the final shrinkage strain of concrete at t
approaching 
 cas is the final general (autogeneous) shrinkage
strain of concrete at t approaching  (from Fig.
20)
 cds is the final drying shrinkage strain of
concrete at t approaching  (from Fig. 21)

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Fig. 20 General (autogeneous) shrinkage strain of
normal wt concrete at t approaching infinity

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 For other cases it will be calculated using
equations in DIN 1045-1
 The equations for calculating the shrinkage strains
can be used provided the following conditions are
met
 Normal weight concrete with a mean
compressive strength fcm  120 N/mm2. (For light
weight concrete…)
 The average RH lies b/n 40% and 100%
 The concrete is not allowed to be moist-cured
for more than 14 days.
 The average temperature must lie b/n 10oC and
30oC.

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 cs(t,ts) is shrinkage strain at time t
 ts is time in days when drying bigins
 cas(t) is autogeneous shrinkage strain at time t
 cas0 is basic value of autogeneous shrinkage
 as(t) is parameter to describe the variation with
time
 ds(t,ts) is drying shrinkage strain at time t
 cds0 is basic value of drying shrinkage
 RH is parameter for the influence of ambient
humidity
 s1 is parameter for the influence of internal
drying of concrete
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 ds(t-ts) is parameter to describe the variation of
drying shrinkage with time
 as ;dsi are parameters to take into account the
influence of type of cement (from table 3.4)

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 Example 3.1: Creep of concrete
 Determine the creep coefficient and shrinkage of
a rectangular precast prestressed concrete
beam(stress bed) (b/h = 25cm/ 60cm; concrete
class C35/45) at a future point in time tn (75 days
after releasing the anchor (N.B. load begins when
the anchor is released)). The average RH during
the time period amounts to 70% Cement CEM
52.5R Cement (early strength) is used to release
the anchor in 24 hrs. the precast beam is stored
at ambient temperature of 40oC.

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 Solution-Creep coefficient (white board)

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 Solution-shrinkage (white board)

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 Reinforcing steel  from RC
 For bridge construction (RC or PC bridges) high
ductility class reinforcement are used

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 Prestressing steel elements are
manufactured and delivered to site as
prestressing strand (Litze), prestressing wire
(Draht), or prestressing bar (Stab). All are
called tendons in the English literature.
 In modern days prestressing strand are the
most widely used prestressing steel
elements. Such elements are anchored at
both ends of the concrete structure by
means of anchoring plates, wedges, etc.,
(see Figure 2.2)

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 Prestressing steel must have higher yield
strength (see Figure 3.7), so that the
prestressing losses due to creep and
shrinkage will not wipe out the prestressing
force.
 Prestressing steel is not weldable because of
the its higher carbon content
 Properties of prestressing steel
 Characteristic yield strength fp0,1k: prestressed
steel does not have a well defined yield point.
Therefore its yield strength is taken as the stress
at which a plastic strain of 0.1% is achieved (see
figure). It is designated with fp0,1k
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 Characteristic ultimate tensile strength fpk: Most
widely used prestressing steel in Germany
(strands or wires) have fpk = 1770 N/mm2
 Ductility and total strain at the ultimate stress
uk: It should be greater than 3.5%. Impending
rupture should give warning through formations
of cracking deformations.
 Modulus of Elasticity Ep: Ep = 195000 N/mm2 for
strands and 205000 N/mm2 for other types of
prestressing steel
 Surface shape: Important for prestressing with
bond
 Relaxation: Time dependent decrease in
prestress force under constant strain….
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 If unloaded at the
characteristic yield stress
equal to fp0,1k, a
permanent strain yk = 0.1
remains in the specimen

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