08-11-2022

STRUCTURE
An organized combination
of connected parts designed
to carry loads and provide
adequate rigidity.

By
Er. Prof. Sujay Deshpande,
Faculty of Civil Engg.,
KLS G.I.T, Belagavi 2

 Buildings  Tunnels

 Bridges  Power stations

 Dams  Retaining structures

 Foundations  Waterways

 Highways  Wastewater infrastructure

 Railways  Offshore structures

 Pipelines

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PRESTRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURES
 Pre-Stressed Concrete (P.S.C.) is a particular
form of Reinforced concrete.
 “Prestressing involves the application of an initial
compressive load on the member to reduce or eliminate
the internal tensile forces and thereby control or eliminate
deflection & cracking”.
 This initial load is called ‘pre-stress’ which is applied to
enable the structure to counteract the stresses arising due
to the imposed loads during its service life.
 The initial compressive load is imposed and sustained by
highly tensioned steel reinforcement present in the body of
concrete.
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TYPES OF STRUCTURES
1. R.C STRUCTURES 2. STEEL STRUCTURES
3. COMPOSITE STRUCTURES 4. PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
Pre-Stressed Concrete is a method invented for overcoming concrete's
natural weakness in tension.
Traditional reinforced concrete is based on the use of steel reinforcement
bars called Rebars, present inside the poured concrete.
The initial compressive load is imposed and sustained by highly
tensioned steel reinforcement present in the body of concrete. With
cracking reduced or eliminated, a pre-stressed section is considerably
stiffer than an equivalent (usually cracked) reinforced concrete
section. Prestressing may also impose internal forces which are of opposite
sign to the external loads and may therefore significantly reduce or even
eliminate the deflections.
It can be used to produce beams, floors/slabs & bridges with a
longer span which are complex and difficult with ordinary reinforced
concrete.
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FORCE-FITTING OF METAL BANDS

ON WOODEN BARRELS
The metal bands induce a state of initial hoop compression, to
counteract the hoop tension caused by filling of liquid in the barrels.

EVOLUTION OF THE
CONCEPT OF PRE-STRESSING

PRE-TENSIONING THE SPOKES IN A ADVANTAGES OF PRE-STRESSING

BICYCLE WHEEL
The pre-tension of a spoke in a bicycle wheel is applied to such an
extent that there will always be a residual tension in the spoke.
1) Section remains uncracked under service loads
 Reduction of steel corrosion
 Full section is utilized
 Higher moment of inertia (higher stiffness)
 Less deformations (improved serviceability)
 Increase in shear capacity
 Suitable for use in pressure vessels, liquid retaining
structures
 Improved performance (resilience) under dynamic and fatigue
loading
2) Higher Span-to-Depth (L/D) ratios
 Larger spans possible with pre-stressing (bridges, buildings
with large column-free spaces)

3) Suitable for Precast Construction

 Rapid construction
 Better quality control
 Reduced maintenance
 Suitable for repetitive construction
 Availability of standard shapes

LIMITATIONS OF PRE-STRESSING
 Pre-stressing requires modern & advanced
technology and skilled labour. Hence, it is not as
common as reinforced concrete.
 The use of high strength materials (HSC & HSS)
is costly as compared to conventional materials.
 There is an additional cost involved in handling
the auxiliary equipment.
 There is a need for better quality control and
inspection.

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COLUMNS

TYPICAL C/S OF P.S.C MEMBERS

BEAMS / GIRDERS

P.S.C. BRIDGES/FLYOVERS P.S.C. ROAD EXCHANGES

INTERNAL PRESTRESSING OF A BOX GIRDER EXTERNAL PRESTRESSING OF

(Pre-Tensioning) A BOX GIRDER
(Post-Tensioning)

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POST-TENSIONING OF A BOX GIRDER FOR BRIDGE PRE-TENSIONED ELECTRIC POLES

BIAXIAL PRE-STRESSING
OF A SLAB
PRE-STRESSED RAILWAY
SLEEPERS

CIRCULARLY PRE-STRESSED CONTAINMENT STRUCTURE,

KAIGA ATOMIC POWER STATION, KARNATAKA
Materials used in PSC
(REFERENCE: LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD, E.C.C. DIVISION)

High Strength High Strength

Concrete Steel

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High Strength Concrete High Strength Steel

Concrete used in PSC should be of high-strength, and needs to be Steel used in PSC should strictly be High Strength Steel (Yield
of good quality and well-compacted. Stress greater than 800N/mm2).

High Strength Concrete is used in PSC for following reasons:

1) Use of high strength concrete results in smaller cross-sections.
2) High strength concrete offers high resistance to tension, shear,
bond and bearing.
3) Less loss of prestress occurs in concrete which is minimized by
the use of high strength concrete.
IS:1343-2012 recommends a minimum grade of M-40 for
pretensioned systems and M-30 for post tensioned systems.
These mixes have a higher value of modulus of elasticity of
concrete which results in less deflection.
High Strength Steel is used in PSC for following reason:
MS and HYSD bars used in RCC are not used in PSC because
their yield strength is not very high. In PSC, loss of prestress (about
25%) occurs due to many factors. If MS or HYSD bars are used
then very little prestress will be left after the losses and will be of no
use. Therefore, high tensile strength steel is used for prestressing.
In addition to the high strength, the steel used in prestressing must
have a higher ultimate elongation.
Various forms of steel used for prestressing are as follows:

FORMS OF PRE-STRESSING STEEL

WIRE
Wires
STRAND
Prestressing wire is a single small unit made of steel
Strands
TENDON
Two, three or seven wires are wound together to form a
prestressing strand
Tendons
CABLE
A group of strands are wound together to form a prestressing
tendon
Cables
BARS/ RODS
A group of tendons form a prestressing cable
Bars/Rods
A single bar/rod made up of steel

DEVICES NEEDED FOR PRE-STRESSING

The essential devices for pre-stressing are:
• Prestressing bed
• End abutments / Bulk heads
• Shuttering / Moulding equipment
• Anchoring device
• Jacking device
• Holding device (optional)
• Harping device (optional)

HYDRAULIC JACK

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PRE–TENSIONING The various stages of the pre-tensioning

operation are summarized as follows:

Anchoring of Placing of
tendons against Jacks
the end abutments
In pre–tensioning system, the high-strength steel tendons are
pulled between two end abutments (called bulk-heads) prior to the
casting of concrete. The abutments are fixed at the end of the pre-
stressing bed. Applying
tension to the
Once the concrete attains the desires strength for pre-stressing, the
Transfer of tendons by
tendon are cut loose from the abutments. The prestress is transferred
Pre-Stress Jacks
from the tendons to the concrete, due to the bond between them.
During the transfer of pre-stress, the member undergoes elastic
shortening and there will be some loss of pre-stress. If the tendons are
located eccentrically, the member is likely to bend and deflect Cutting of the Casting of
upwards (camber) which helps to resist the gravity loads in future tendons concrete
more effectively.

Hoyer’s System of Pre-Tensioning

 Hoyer’s system or long-line method is often adopted
in pre-tensioning.
 Two bulk-heads or abutments independently anchored
to the ground and provided 100m apart, and the steel
wires are stretched between the bulkheads.
 Moulds are placed enclosing the wires. Concrete is
poured surrounding the wires.
 For pre-tensioning, a hydraulic jack is used. Wires
are gripped at the bulk-heads, using split-cone
wedges. These wedges are made from tapered
conical pins. Flat surface of the pin carries serrations
to grip the wire.

 With this Hoyer’s system, several members can be

produced along one line. This method is economical
and is used in almost all pre-tensioning factories.

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Typical Pre-Tensioning Bed

Typical Wire
Gripping
System

Advantages of Pre–Tensioning Limitations of Pre–Tensioning

Pre-tensioning is suitable for pre-cast members
 There should be good bond between concrete
produced in bulk.
and steel over the transmission length.
Improves the performance of the building
under service condition.
 A prestressing bed is required for the pre-
Allows to carry greater loads and can span
tensioning operation.
for greater distances than ordinary reinforced
concrete.
 There is a waiting period in the prestressing
It permits steel to be used even at stresses operation, before the concrete attains sufficient
several times larger than those permitted for strength.
reinforcing bars.

POST–TENSIONING
Post-Tensioning is a method of prestressing
(strengthening/reinforcing) concrete with high-
strength steel (typically referred to as tendons)
after the concrete is cast and cured.

Post-tensioning applications include office and

apartment building components, parking
structures, bridges, sports’ stadiums, rock & soil
anchors, water-tanks, retaining structures, etc.

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Stages of Post-Tensioning

 In post-tensioning systems, the ducts for the

tendons (or strands) are placed along with the

tendons before the casting of concrete.

 The duct prevents contact between concrete and

the tendons during the tensioning operation.

The various stages of the post-tensioning

operation are summarized as follows:

Placement of the Casting of

tendons in ducts concrete

Placement of
the anchorage
Transfer of
block and jack
pre-stress

Applying
Cutting of the
tendons
tension to
the tendons

PROCESS OF POST-TENSIONING
 A metal tube or a flexible hose following intended
profile is placed inside the mould and concrete is
laid.

 Flexible hose is then removed leaving a duct inside

the member. Steel cable is inserted in the duct.

The cable is anchored at one end of the member


Freyssinet
and stretched using a hydraulic jack at the other
system
end. After stretching, the cable is anchored at the
Anchorage
other end also. Therefore post tensioning system
consists of end anchorages and jacks.
Cones

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Anchoring
Devices

Anchoring
Devices

TYPES OF POST-TENSIONING SYSTEMS

Popular post-tensioning systems are:

 Freyssinet system
 Magnel-Blaton system
 Lee-McCall system
 Gifford-Udall system

Anchoring with Button Heads

Freyssinet system  Anchorage device consists of a concrete

cylinder with a concentric conical hole and
 Freyssinet system was introduced by corrugations on its surface, and a conical plug
the French Engineer Eugene carrying grooves on its surface.
Freyssinet and it was the first  Steel wires are carried along these grooves at
the ends. Concrete cylinder is heavily
method to be introduced for post- reinforced. Members are fabricated with the
tensioning. High strength steel wires cylinder placed in position.
of 5mm or 7mm diameter,  Wires are pulled by Freyssinet double acting
numbering 8 or 12 or 16 or 24 are jacks which can pull through suitable grooves
grouped into a cable with a helical all the wires in the cable at a time. One end of
the wires is anchored and the other end is
spring inside. Spring keeps for the pulled till the wires are stretched to the
proper spacing of the wire. Cable is required length. An inner piston in the jack
inserted in the duct. then pushes the plug into the cylinder to grip
the wires.

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Magnel-Blaton system
 This method was introduced by a famous
engineer Prof. Magnel of Belgium.
 In Freyssinet system several wires are
stretched at a time. In Magnel Blaton
system, only two wires are stretched at a
time.
 In this system, the anchorage device
consists of sandwich plate having grooves
to hold the wires and wedges which are
also grooved. Each plate carries eight
wires. Between the two ends the spacing
of the wires is maintained by spacers.
Anchorage for Freyssinet system

Wires of 5mm or 7mm are adopted. Cables consists of wires in


multiples of 8 wires. Cables with as much as 64 wires are also Lee-McCall system
used under special conditions. A specially deviced jack pulls
two wires at a time and anchors them. The wires with the  This method is used to pre-stress
sandwich plate using tapered wedge.
steel bars. The diameter of the bar
is between 12mm and 28mm.

 Bars provided with threads at the

ends are inserted in the performed
ducts. After stretching the bars to
the required length, they are
tightened using nuts against
Anchorage for bearing plates provided at the end
Magnel-Blaton
System sections of the member.

Gifford-Udall system
 This system originated in Great
Britain, is widely used in India. This
is a single wire system. Each wire is
stressed independently using a
double acting jack. Any number of
wires can be grouped together to
form a cable in this system. There
are two types of anchorage device in
this system.
a) Tube anchorages
Anchorage for Lee McCall b) Plate anchorages
System

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 Tube anchorage consists of a bearing plate,

anchor wedges and anchor grips. Anchor
plate may be square or circular and have 8 or
12 tapered holes to accommodate the
individual pre-stressing wires. Tube & Plate
Anchorages
 These wires are locked into the tapered holes
for Gifford-
by means of anchor wedges. In addition, Udall system
grout entry hole is also provided in the
bearing plate for grouting.
 Anchor wedges are split cone wedges carrying
serrations on its flat surface. There is a tube
unit which is a fabricated steel component
incorporating a thrust plate, a steel tube with
a surrounding helix. This unit is attached to
the end shutters and form an efficient cast-in
component of the anchorage.

Advantages of Post–Tensioning
Limitations of Post–Tensioning
Post-tensioning is suitable for heavy cast-in-
 The limitation of post-tensioning as
situ members which are difficult to transport
The waiting period in the casting bed is less and
compared to pre-tensioning is that their

thus losses are minimized is an additional requirement of

The transfer of pre-stress is independent of the anchorage device, grouting equipment
transmission length and other auxiliary equipments.
Large reduction in traditional reinforcement
requirements as tendons cannot distress in
accidents

PROBABLE QUESTIONS
1) What is Prestressed Concrete? Explain its advantages and limitations.
2) With a neat sketch, explain the materials to be used in PSC.
3) With a neat sketch, explain the various stages and the process of Pre-
tensioning.
4) With a neat sketch, explain the Hoyer’s Long line method of Pre-
tensioning.
5) Explain the advantages and limitations of Pre-Tensioning method.
6) With a neat sketch, explain the various stages and the process of Post-
tensioning.
7) With a neat sketch, explain the various types of anchorages that can be
used in Post-tensioning systems.
8) Explain the advantages and limitations of Post-Tensioning method.
9) NUMERICAL PROBLEMS ON PRE- AND POST-TENSIONING METHODS

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