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PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE

GROUP-3
M A R K H O M E R M I N G O
N A N G E L Y N G A L A S I
K Y N A H M A E C A P A D A
A N G E L I C A G A M M A D
01 P R E - S T R E S S E D

CONTENTS
C O N C R E T E

02 P R E - T E N S I O N I N G

03 P O S T - T E N S I O N I N G
 PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
• Prestressed concrete is a structural material that allows for predetermined,
engineering stresses to be placed in members to counteract the stresses
that occur when they are subject to loading. It combines the high strength
compressive properties of concrete with the high tensile strength of steel.

BT5 • In ordinary reinforced concrete, stresses are carried by the steel

reinforcement, whereas prestressed concrete supports the load by induced
stresses throughout the entire structural element. This makes it more
resistant to shock and vibration than ordinary concrete, and able to form
long, thin structures with much smaller sectional areas to support equivalent
loads.

• Prestressed concrete was patented by San Franciscan engineer P.H

Jackson in 1886, although it did not emerge as an accepted building
material until 50 years later when a shortage of steel, coupled with
technological advancements, made prestressed concrete the building
material of choice during European post-war reconstruction.
 PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
• It is now commonly used for floor beams, piles and railways sleepers, as
well as structures such as bridges, water tanks, roofs and runways.
Generally, prestressed concrete is not necessary for columns and walls,

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however, it can be used economically for tall columns and high retaining
walls with high bending stresses.

• As a general rule, traditional reinforced concrete is the most economic

method for a span of up to 6 m. Prestressed concrete is more economical
when spans are over 9 m. Between 6 and 9 m, the two options must be
considered according to the particular requirements as to which is the most
suitable option.
PICTURE EXAMPLE
 BACKGROUND
The idea of prestressed concrete has been around since the latter decades of
the 19th century, but its use was limited by the quality of the materials at the
time. It took until the 1920s and ‘30s for its materials development to progress
to a level where prestressed concrete could be used with confidence.

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Freyssinet in France, Magnel in Belgium and Hoyer in Germany were the
principle developers.

The idea of prestressing has also been applied to many other forms, such as:
• Wagon wheels;
• Riveting;
• Barrels, i.e. the coopers trade;
In these cases heated metal is made to just fit an object. When the metal cools
it contracts inducing prestress into the object.
 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF PRESTRESSING
Basic Example
The classic everyday example of prestressing is this: a row of books can be
lifted by squeezing the ends together:

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The structural explanation is that the row of books has zero tensile capacity.
Therefore the ‘beam’ of books cannot even carry its self weight. To overcome
this we provide an external initial stress (the prestress) which compresses the
books together. Now they can only separate if the tensile stress induced by the
self weight of the books is greater than the compressive prestress introduced.
Concrete
Concrete is very strong in compression but weak in tension. In an ordinary concrete
beam the tensile stress at the bottom:

are taken by standard steel reinforcement:

But we still get cracking, which is due to both bending and shear:

In prestressed concrete, because the prestressing keeps the concrete in compression,

no cracking occurs. This is often preferable where durability is a concern.
 MATERIALS
Concrete
The main factors for concrete used in PSC are:
• Ordinary portland cement-based concrete is used but strength usually
greater than 50 N/mm2

• A high early strength is required to enable quicker application of prestress;

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• A larger elastic modulus is needed to reduce the shortening of the member;
• A mix that reduces creep of the concrete to minimize losses of prestress;

You can see the importance creep has in PSC from this graph:
 Steel
The steel used for prestressing has a nominal yield strength of between 1550
to 1800 N/mm2. The different forms the steel may take are:

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• Wires: individually drawn wires of 7 mm diameter;
• Strands: a collection of wires (usually 7) wound together and thus having a
diameter that is different to its area;
• Tendon: A collection of strands encased in a duct – only used in
post_x0002_tensioning;
• Bar: a specially formed bar of high strength steel of greater than 20 mm
diameter. Prestressed concrete bridge beams typically use 15.7 mm
diameter (but with an area of 150 mm2)7-wire super strand which has a
breaking load of 265 kN.
 USES OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
There are a huge number of uses:
• Railway Sleepers;
• Communications poles;
• Pre-tensioned precast “hollowcore” slabs;

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• Pre-tensioned Precast Double T units - for very long spans (e.g., 16 m span
for
car parks);
• Pre-tensioned precast inverted T beam for short-span bridges;
• Pre-tensioned precast PSC piles;
• Pre-tensioned precast portal frame units;
• Post-tensioned ribbed slab;
• In-situ balanced cantilever construction - post-tensioned PSC;
• This is “glued segmental” construction;
• Precast segments are joined by post-tensioning;
• PSC tank - precast segments post-tensioned together on site. Tendons
around
circumference of tank;
• Barges;
• And many more.
 CONCEPT OF PRESTRESSING
• As mentioned before, prestressing is the application of an initial load on the
concrete structure, so that the structure is able to counteract or withstand
the stresses coming due to the service loads. The concept can be clearly

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understood by the example of a barrel. A barrel used in olden periods to
transports liquids and grains are tightly bound by metal bands as shown in
figure-1. These metal bands are fitted so tightly that it creates a hoop
compression around the barrel. When this barrel is filled with liquid, it exerts
hoop tension. The hoop compression that is created by the metal bands
helps to counteract the hoop tension created by the fluid within. This is a
prestressing system.
 CONCEPT OF PRESTRESSING

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• Similarly, effective internal stresses are induced into the concrete by means
of tensioned steel bars before the concrete structure is subjected to any
service loads. This stress counteracts with external stresses.
 NEED FOR PRESTRESSING CONCRETE
• Concrete is weak in tension and strong in compression. This is a weak point
of concrete that results in early flexural cracks mainly in flexural members
like beams and slabs. To prevent this, the concrete is induced with
compressive stress deliberately (prestressing) and this stress counteracts
with the tensile stress the structure is subjected to during service condition.

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Hence the chances of flexural cracks are reduced.
• The pre-compression that is induced as a part of prestressing helps to
enhance the bending capacity, the shear capacity and the torsional capacity
of the flexural members.
• A compressive prestressing force can be applied concentrically or
eccentrically in the longitudinal direction of the member. This prevents
cracks at critical midspan and supports at service load.
• A prestressed concrete section behaves elastically.
• The full capacity of the concrete in compression can be used over entire
depth under full loading in the case of prestressed concrete.
 METHOD OF PRESTRESSING

BT5 The prestressing can be performed by two methods:

• Pretensionong
• Post-Tensioning
 PRETENSIONING

• In the pretensioning method, the stress is induced by initially tensioning the

steel tendons.
• These are wires or strands that are tensioned between the end anchorages.

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After this tensioning process, the concrete casting is performed. Once the
casted concrete has hardened sufficiently, the end anchorages arranged are
released.
• This releasing transfers the prestress force to the concrete. The bond
between the concrete and the steel tendons facilitates this stress transfer.
As shown in figure-2, the tendons that are protruding at the ends are cut
and a finished look is achieved.
• In order to induce prestress force in the pre-tensioning method, a large
number of tendons and wires are used.
• This arrangement hence demands a large area of surface contact to make
the bond and stress transfer possible.
 PRETENSIONING

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 POST TENSIONING

• The procedure in post-tensioning is depicted in the figure-3 below.

• Here, the steel is prestressed only after the beam is cast, cured and attain
strength to take the prestress. Within the sheathing, the concrete is cast.

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• For the passage of steel cables, ducts are formed in the concrete.
 POST TENSIONING

Once the casted concrete hardens completely, the tendons are tensioned. One
end of the tendon is anchored and the other end is tensioned. In some cases,
the tensioning can be performed from either side and anchored subsequently.

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Once the prestressing is complete, there is space between the tendons and
the duct. This leads to:

• Bonded Construction
• Unbonded Construction
 POST TENSIONING

• Bonded Construction In bonded construction, the space between the duct

and the tendon is filled with cement grout. The grouting process helps the
steel to resist corrosion to a large extent. The ultimate strength is increased

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as this method increases the resistance to live loads acting. The grout
mixture is cement and water combined with or without admixture. No sand is
used in this grout.

• Unbonded Construction If no grout is used to fill the space between the

duct and tendon, it is called as unbonded construction. Here, the steel is
galvanized to protect from corrosion. A waterproofing material is used for
galvanizing.
 ADVANTAGE OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
The major advantages of Prestressed Concrete are:

• The prestressing of concrete by using high tensile steel improve the

efficiency of the materials

• The prestressing system works for a span greater than 35m.

BT5 • Prestressing enhance shear strength and fatigue resistance of concrete

• Dense concrete is provided by prestressing systems thus improving the

durability

• Best choice for the construction of sleek and slender structures.

• Prestressing helps to reduce the dead load of the concrete structure

• Prestressed concrete remains uncracked even at service load conditions

which proves the structural efficiency

• Composite construction by using the prestressed concrete unit and cast-in-

unit derives the economical structure
 DISADVANTAGE OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

• Higher material costs

BT5 • Prestressing is an added cost

• Formwork is more complex than for RC (flanged sections, thin webs) – thus,
precast not as ductile as RC
 REFERENCES

• https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Prestressed_concrete

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• https://theconstructor.org/concrete/prestressed-concrete/353/
• https://www.colincaprani.com/files/notes/CED1/PSC%20Notes.pdf
THANKS