Shortening

Shortening Post-Tensioned Elements

of Post-Tensioned Elements
A question on safety of concrete
members

Concrete member with

no Tensile Capacity

¾ Member shown has high compression capacity;

no tension capacity
¾ Will this member collapse, if the interior
supports are removed?
Dr Bijan O Aalami
Professor Emeritus,
San Francisco State University
Principal, ADAPT Corporation; bijan@PT-structures.com

www.PT-Structures.com PTS749b
P856 PT-
PT-Structures copyright 2015

Shortening Shortening
Post-Tensioned Elements Post-Tensioned elements

¾ Concrete has zero tension capacity

¾ Post-tensioning tendon is anchored at rigid ¾ Concrete has zero tension capacity
abutments. No abutment movement. ¾ Post-tensioning tendon is anchored at rigid
¾ Tendon uplift is equal to element weight abutments. Zero abutment movement.
¾ Tendon is unbonded. ¾ Tendon is unbonded.
¾ There is no friction between tendon and its ¾ There is no friction between tendon and its
sheathing sheathing
¾ Tendon profile is simple parabola ¾ Tendon profile is simple parabola

QUESTION? ™ Element will collapse under added load

1 - Will this element deflect? ™ No compression, hence no resisting
2 – Will this element collapse, if load is added? moment can develop in the element
 Shortening Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements Post-Tensioned elements
™ Post-tensioning is generally designed to Uplift of tendon is function of
provide:
¾ Tendon geometry
¾ Precompression ¾ Tendon force
¾ Uplift

Three Span Post-Tensioned element

Free Body Diagram of Tendon (PTS391)

Shortening Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements Post-Tensioned elements

Precompression is achieved through ¾ The primary obstacle to shortening is the

¾ Shortening of element under restraint of element supports
prestressing force ¾ Excessive restraint can lead to loss of
precompression and through cracks in
element resulting from shrinkage

Element Free to Shorten

Element Restrained at Supports

 Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements
¾ Depending on the stiffness of supports and
the construction sequence, cracking can
occur in the supports or the element
Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements
Why precompression is central to the
safety of post-tensioned elements?
Review the design capacity of the
following element
Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements
¾ Examples of through cracks resulting from
restraint of walls
¾ Through cracks eliminate the
precompression across the crack
PTS675
PTS676
Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements
Contribution of tendon force to provide
resistance is reduced by the force
diverted to the supports
 Shortening Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements Post-Tensioned elements

The shortening of a post-tensioned

What do we need to know? element is due to:

™ Shrinkage;
™How much is the shortening ? ™ Creep;
™How to allow for shortening – ™ Elastic Shortening; and
crack mitigation ™ Temperature change
™How to evaluate the impact of
cracking, if any? There are different techniques to estimate
the shortening. These are:

‰Quick, generally conservative and for

preliminary estimates
‰Design engineer’s procedure for common
residential and commercial building
structures; and
‰Rigorous procedure for non-conventional
and critical structures

Shortening Shortening
Post-Tensioned elements Post-Tensioned elements

™ For a quick and preliminary estimate of What do we need to know?

common building construction consider
10 mm for every 15 m of slab; 0.75 inch
™ How to allow for shortening ?
for every 100 ft of slab
™ What are the crack mitigation
™ Design engineer’s procedure is based on
ACI 423, corroborated through
options?
observation of satisfactory application. It ™ How to evaluate the impact of
is outlined in the following with numerical cracking on serviceability and
examples
safety of the element?
Reference:
SHORTENING ESTIMATE OF POST-TENSIONED ELEMENTS
Bijan O. Aalami, 2014; www. PT-Structures.com
TN458
Reference:
Crack Mitigation and Evaluation;
™ Rigorous procedure is based on detailed
Shortening of Post-Tensioned elements
material properties and geometry of the
and Restraint of Supports
element as outlined in ACI; EC2 and
Bijan O. Aalami, 2014; www. PT-
implemented in ADAPT-ABI Structures.com TN451
Thank you for listening

any questions?

www.adaptsoft.com
bijan@PT-structures.com