4.

Prestressed concrete:
Post-cracking performance
of beams
Importance: Partial prestressing, and
Ultimate strength
Pre-cracking performance
Post-cracking performance with
bonded tendons
University of Western Australia
School of Civil and Resource Engineering 2004
IMPORTANCE
Preamble: So far, we have examined an uncracked section:
C =compression in concrete
T
c
=tension in concrete
T
p
=tension in tendon,
assumed =P
e

b
>=- f
t
(acceptable tensile strength)
C
f
=compression in flange
C
w
=compression in web
T
c
=tension in concrete
T
p
=tension in tendon,
assumed =P
e

b
>=- f
t
(acceptable tensile strength)
But what happens if the tensile strength of the
concrete is exceeded ? . . .
strain stress
Answer: The concrete cracks quite deeply into the
section :
strain stress
. . tension in concrete is
eliminated . .
. . and T
c
disappears . .
. . so these diagrams
must be replaced . .
. . by these.
much larger
curvature of
the section
upward
movement of
neutral axis
and surely T
p
must now
exceed P
e
This looks hard. Why
bother? . . .
There are two reasons:
REASON 1. Possible advantage of partial prestressing.
Flexural cracking under occasional high working load is often
acceptable. Since rebar is cheaper than prestress, there will often
be economic advantage.
REASON 2. Ultimate Strength Check (Safety Limit State)
To provide safety in event of inadvertent overload, and/or
unintentional understrength. Often the addition of non-
tensioned reinforcement will be required to achieve adequate
safety.
Well start by considering the decompression and cracking of a
prism loaded in tension, then move on to beams . . .
Consider a prism of concrete, prestressed to P
e
with a centrally placed
tendon. What force F
dec
is required to decompress the prism?
(a) Assume P
e
remains constant, and (b) Assume P
e
increases due to
tendon extension.
F
dec F
dec
F
dec
0
T
p
(a) P
e
remains
constant, so
T
p
=P
e
and
F
dec
= P
e
(b) Suppose strain in concrete required to eliminate tension =
ce
. Then
additional strain in tendon =
ce
= P
e
/ (A
c
E
c
)
So T
p
= E
p
A
p
(total strain in tendon
p
)
= E
p
A
p
(
pe
+
ce
)
= P
e
+ E
p
A
p

ce
and F
dec
= P
e
+ E
p
A
p

ce
What force F
cr
is required to crack the same prism? Again, assume
(a) P
e
remains constant, and (b) P
e
increases due to tendon
extension.
F
cr
F
cr
F
cr
A
c
f
t
T
p
(a) P
e
remains
constant, so
T
p
= P
e
and
F
cr
= P
e
+ A
c
f
t
(b) Strain in concrete required to crack the section =
ce
+
t
.
As before,
ce
= P
e
/ (A
c
E
c
). Also
t
= f
t
/ E
c
So T
p
= E
p
A
p
(total strain in tendon
p
)
= E
p
A
p
(
pe
+
ce
+
t
)
= P
e
+ E
p
A
p
(
ce
+
t
)
and F
cr
= P
e
+ E
p
A
p
(
ce
+
t
) + A
c
f
t
How might we show this on strain diagrams ? . . .
It is common to represent these conditions by strain diagrams like this:

t

p

p

ce

ce
Decompression

pe

pe
+
+

p
=
pe
+
ce
Cracking

p
=
pe
+
ce
+
t
The same types of representation are used for post-
cracking strains. Well use them shortly . . .
-
Howd we go with that?
Meep!?
Condition
(a) P
e
constant (b) P
e
increases
Decompression 100 kN 105.6 kN
Cracking 125.3 kN
132.4 kN
An Example:
Suppose the prism is 100 x 100, of Grade 40 concrete, and
stressed with 1 / 12.7 mm dia. super strand to 100 kN, i.e. to
1000 MPa. Estimate F
dec
and F
cr
(a) assuming P
e
remains
constant, and (b) tendon force increases due to prism
extension.
Answers:
So it does make a difference, but not much.
The P
e
constant assumption is conservative.
Now back to beams, starting with pre-crack performance . . .
PRE-CRACKING PERFORMANCE
Prestress only -
No applied
moment
M =0
=(
a
-
b
) / D
NB: Negative
e
d
p
D

Note: This is the centroidal axis of the section. The

neutral axis (where bending stress is zero) varies
with the applied moment.
In this case, the position of the neutral axis is
virtual, that is, is outside the section.
Prestress only -
No applied
moment
M =0
=(
a
-
b
) / D
NB: Negative
De-compression
moment
M =M
o
(or M
dec
)
=
a
/ D
e
d
p
D

D
d
p
e

b
=0
b
=0

In this case, the neutral axis is at the bottom fiber of the

concrete.
PRE-CRACKING PERFORMANCE
Prestress only -
No applied
moment
M =0
=(
a
-
b
) / D
NB: Negative
De-compression
moment
M =M
o
(or M
dec
)
=
a
/ D
Cracking
moment
M =M
cr
=(
a
-
b
) / D
NB:
b
is negative
e
d
p
D

D
d
p
e

b
=0
b
=0

b
=- f
cf

b
e
d
p
D

Lets plot M vs
. . .
PRE-CRACKING PERFORMANCE
Section Curvature
Applied
Moment M
prestress
only
prestress and
self-weight
Moment / Curvature Diagram at a Section - Pre-Cracking :
balanced
(equiv.load)
de-compression
moment M
o
cracking moment M
cr
This is a straight line:
M = E
c
I + P e
provided that P does
not change with the
applied moment M.
But what happens if M > M
cr
? . . . .
PRE-CRACKING PERFORMANCE
With prestress only
i.e. no applied
moment :
RECTANGULAR
SECTION
d
p
b
e
Strain due to prestress
acting alone

ce

pe
T
p
= P
e
C
Strains are calculated thus:

pe
=P
e
/ A
p
so
pe
= P
e
/ (A
p
E
p
)

ce
= P
e
/ A + P
e
e.e / I = P
e
{ 1/A +e
2
/ I } so

ce
= P
e
/ E
c
{ 1/A + e
2
/ I }
Now apply a moment in excess of M
cr
so that the section cracks . . .
POST-CRACKING PERFORMANCE
WITH BONDED TENDONS
e
b
d
p

pe

ce
cp
d
n

0
Strain due to moment
corresponding to neutral axis
depth d
n
C
T
p
z
d
n
corresponds to a unique value of M .
So after load is applied:
cp
= (d
p
-d
n
) / d
n
.
0
and
p
=
pe
+
ce
+
cp
Forces : T
p
=A
p
E
p

p
and C =1/2
0
b d
n
= 1/2 E
c

0
b d
n
A
p
E
p
d
n
(
pe
+
ce
)

0
=
1/2 E
c
b d
n
2
- A
p
E
p
(d
p
-d
n
)
From which
0
=E
c

0
and
p
=E
p

p
Hence M = C.z = 1/2
0
b d
n
(d
p
- d
n
/ 3)
and =
0
/ d
n
POST-CRACKING PERFORMANCE
Section Curvature
Applied
Moment M
tot
prestress
only
prestress and
self-weight
Moment / Curvature
Diagram at a Section - Pre-
and Post-Cracking :
balanced
(equiv.load)
de-compression
moment M
o
cracking
moment M
cr
post-cracking
curvature
ultimate
moment M
uo
(must be >= ( M
uo
)
min
)
ultimate
curvature
u
FULLY
PARTIALLY
Pre- and Post-Cracking Performance :
Worked example
from handout
Note rapid rise of
tendon force after
cracking.
Also note that a
cracked section
recovers to near-
linear when M
falls below M
dec
Compare post-
cracking of
reinforced and
prestressed
beams . . .
Comparison of cracked reinforced beam with
cracked prestressed beam:
Reinforced: Neutral axis is virtually constant as
moment increases, so lever arm z remains
constant with increasing moment. Rebar
force T increases linearly with M, until
either yield of rebar, or non-linearity of
concrete .
Prestressed:
Neutral axis moves upwards as moment
increases, so lever arm z increases with
increasing moment. Tendon force T
p
increases slowly, then more rapidly until
either yield of tendon, or non-linearity of
concrete.
z
z
T
T
p
With all that in our minds, why would we consider
partially prestressing a beam?
TENTATIVELY we could conclude:
A higher working moment is achieved for the same
prestress force, and
If cracks are held tightly closed for most of the beams
life (i.e. sustained working moment is less than M
dec
) then
durability and aesthetic problems with crack widths are
minimised.
BUT we must address the beams
ultimate bending strength before we
can commit to partial prestressing.
And thats our next topic.
SUMMARY
Post-cracking performance is important for
understanding:
potential advantages of partial prestressing , and
ultimate bending strength
Savings in cost can be achieved by using partially
prestressed design, i.e. allowing the section to crack under
maximum live load.
Assuming that the prestress force is constant is
approximately correct (and conservative) for an uncracked
section, but not appropriate for a cracked section.
The moment-curvature diagram is a good method of
examining a cracked section, and is usefully augmented
when the tendon force T
p
is also displayed.