1138

Analysis of concrete beams prestressed and posttensioned with externally unbonded carbon fiber
reinforced polymer tendons
Mohamad Abdel Aziz, George Abdel-Sayed, Faouzi Ghrib, Nabil F. Grace, and
Murty K.S. Madugula

Abstract: Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tendons are being increasingly used nowadays in prestressing and (or) posttensioning concrete structures. However, designers are faced with lack of practical analysis procedure that leads to
proper evaluation of their structural performance, especially when bonded prestressing is combined with unbonded
post-tensioning. This paper presents an analytical procedure for these beams. It examines the loaddefelction characteristics and proceeds to estimate the ultimate load carrying capacity by taking into consideration the change of stress that
occurs in the externally unbonded tendons during different stages of loading. The analytical procedure uses the concept
of effective moment of inertia of concrete beams. The equations used are developed by ACI Committee 440, the Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures (ISIS) Canada Research Network, and the Comit Euro-International du
Bton - Fdration International de la Prcontrainte (CEB-FIP), for calculating the deflection of beams reinforced with
carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) tendons. Finite element analyses have been conducted to verify the proposed
analytical method. Two experimental programs were used to validate the proposed analytical method. The experimental
findings of two box beams reinforced with bonded and unbonded external tendons are compared with finite element
analyses and the analytical results. A full-scale test for an internally and externally prestressed double-T beam was undertaken at Construction Technology Laboratories Inc., Skokie, Illinois. The results from this experimental work were
used to validate the analytical procedure.
Key words: bonded CFRP tendons, concrete, post-tensioning, unbonded CFRP tendons.
Rsum : Les armatures en polymre renforc de fibre (PRF) sont de plus en plus utilises ces temps-ci dans les
structures en bton pr- ou post-contraintes. Toutefois, les concepteurs font face un manque de procdures danalyse
pratiques qui mnent une valuation adquate du rendement des structures, particulirement lorsque la prcontrainte
lie est combine une post-tension non lie. Cet article prsente une procdure analytique pour ces poutres. Il examine les caractristiques de dflection des charges et estime la capacit de porter la charge de rupture en tenant
compte du changement de contrainte qui survient dans les armatures externes non lies durant diffrentes tapes du
chargement. La procdure analytique utilise le concept du moment dinertie actif des poutres de bton. Les quations
dveloppes par lAmerican Concrete Institute Committee 440, Rseau de recherche Innovations en structures avec systmes de dtection intgrs (ISIS) Canada, et le Comit Euro-International du Bton - Fdration International de la
Prcontrainte (CEB-FIP) pour calculer la dflection des poutres renforces de PRFC sont utiliss. Des analyses par lments finis k,ont t effectues pour vrifier la mthode analytique propose. Deux programmes exprimentaux ont t
utiliss pour valider la mthode analytique propose. Les constatations exprimentales de deux poutres-caissons renforces darmatures externes lies et non lies sont compares aux analyses par lments finis et aux rsultats analytiques.
Un essai pleine chelle pour une poutre en double T prcontraint linterne et lexterne a t entrepris aux Construction Technology Laboratoires Skokie, Illinois. Les rsultats de ce travail exprimental ont t utiliss pour valider
la procdure analytique.
Mots cls : armatures lies en PRFC, bton, post-tension, armatures non lies en PRFC.
[Traduit par la Rdaction]

Abd El Aziz et al.

1151

Received 7 July 2004. Revision accepted 21 June 2005. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at http://cjce.nrc.ca on
25 November 2005.
M. Abdel Aziz, G. Abdel-Sayed, F. Ghrib,1 and M.K.S. Madugula. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada.
N.F. Grace. Department of Civil Engineering, Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West Ten Mile Rd., Southfield,
MI 48075-1058, USA.
Written discussion of this article is welcomed and will be received by the Editor until 31 April 2006.
1

Corresponding author (e-mail: fghrib@uwindsor.ca).

Can. J. Civ. Eng. 31: 11381151 (2005)

doi: 10.1139/L05-071

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Abd El Aziz et al.

1139

Introduction

ond experimental program was a full-scale test for a DT

beam prestressed and post-tensioned with CFRP tendons
undertaken at Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc.,
Skokie, Illinois. The beam is a replica of the beams used in
the superstructure of the Bridge Street bridge constructed
over the Rouge River in Southfield, Michigan, USA.

The deterioration of concrete bridges has been a major

concern for structural engineers in the last decade. This deterioration may be due to the natural harsh weather and the
continuous increase in the traffic volume. However, the most
serious type of deterioration is caused by the corrosion of
steel reinforcement. One of the promising avenues to overcome this problem is to take advantage of the superior characteristics of the fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) in
reinforcing and (or) prestressing. The deteriorated structures
may be reinforced with FRPs that efficiently serve the future
traffic needs. The FRPs have an excellent corrosion resistance in addition to their high specific strength (strength to
weight ratio) when compared with conventional steel. Using
FRPs in a combined system of internal prestressing and
external post-tensioning provides a potential solution to improve the serviceability of prestressed concrete bridges.
External prestressing refers to the use of the prestressing
tendons outside the concrete section of the prestressed beam.
The force transfer mechanism from an externally prestressed
tendon to the concrete member is mainly through the end
anchorage and the deviation points. This force transfer mechanism is different from an internally bonded prestressed tendon in which the force is transferred by the bond developed
between the tendon and the surrounding concrete. This difference gives rise to an additional difficulty when analyzing
beams that are prestressed with unbonded tendons. Beams
prestressed with bonded tendons can be analyzed using the
strain compatibility approach. This approach uses the perfect
bond assumption to carry out the analysis at the section of
maximum moment where the force equilibrium and the strain
compatibility equations can be used to solve for the stresses
in the concrete and in the bonded reinforcement. The strain
compatibility hypothesis cannot be applied to beams prestressed with both bonded and unbonded tendons. The assumption of the perfect bond between the concrete and the
unbonded prestressing tendon is not valid, as the entire beam
structure can slip with respect to its unbonded tendons and
the deflection of the beam affects the stress in the unbonded
tendons. Therefore, the analysis has to include the overall
deflection of the system as an additional characteristic to
predict the load versus deflection response of the whole system. This paper proposes a simplified approach to analyze
beams prestressed with a combined system of bonded and
unbonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) tendons,
taking into consideration the deflection of the whole system
in calculating the strain in the unbonded tendons. Three
different approaches for calculating the deflection are
evaluated: the ACI committee 440 approach, the Intelligent
Sensing for Innovative Structures (ISIS) Canada Research
network approach, and the Comit Euro-International du
Bton - Fdration International de la Prcontrainte (CEBFIP) model approach. The proposed analysis is validated by
finite element analysis.
Furthermore, two experimental programs were carried out
and used to validate the proposed analysis. The first experimental program was conducted at Lawrence Technological
University, Southfield, Michigan for box beams prestressed
with internally bonded and externally unbonded CFRP
tendons to examine the behaviour of these beams. The sec-

Literature review
Rao and Mathew (1996) outlined a procedure for analysis
of post-tensioned concrete beams that takes into consideration the variation of stress in the unbonded tendons due to
the deflected shape of the beam. They also studied the effect
of multiple deviators and the possible friction of the tendon
at the deviation point on the behaviour of the system. However, the analysis is based on the assumption of a constant
concrete stress for strain levels between 0.002 and 0.0035.
Jerrett et al. (1996) tested four prestressed beams strengthened by externally post-tensioned CFRP tendons. An analysis for these beams has also been presented to study the
behaviour of the system. Their proposed technique uses a
triple iteration process that includes adjustment of the exterior tendon force based on the displacements at the harping
points, the update of the section curvature based on the equilibrium of moments, and finally the calculation of the neutral axis position based on the force equilibrium.
Naaman and Alkhairi (1991) provided a method to predict
the ultimate stress in prestressed unbonded tendons. The
approach depends mainly on using a bond reduction coefficient to estimate the strain in the unbonded tendons. Recently, Grace and Singh (2003) presented a detailed analysis
for beams, prestressed with a system of bonded and unbonded
tendons, to examine the effect of the reinforcement ratio and
the level of prestressing on the flexural response. For
unbonded tendons, they adopted the bond-reduction coefficient factors proposed by Naaman and Alkhairi (1991) to
evaluate the strain in the unbonded tendons. Ramos and
Aparicio (1996) proposed a finite element model for the
analysis of externally prestressed concrete beams. The developed model uses three types of elements: (i) beam element
with six degrees of freedom at each node, (ii) prestressing
element, and (iii) joint elements for segmental bridges. The
model takes into consideration the material and the geometric non-linearities and uses a bilinear relation for reinforcing
steel stressstrain relation. Ariyawardena and Ghali (2002)
proposed a finite element model to predict the behaviour of
concrete beams prestressed with unbonded tendons. The
concrete structure is modeled as an assemblage of short
prismatic frame members connected at the nodes, and the
external tendon is also considered as a frame member with
negligible moment of inertia connected to the concrete structure by short arms, representing the deviators. The model
includes the effects of both the geometric non-linearity and
material non-linearities including a non-linear stressstrain
relation for concrete in compression.

Research significance
The non-metallic fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tendons
have the advantage of being resistant to corrosion. They are
also easy to install because of their light weight compared
2005 NRC Canada

1140

with conventional steel reinforcement. These characteristics

make FRP tendons an attractive alternative for the rehabilitation of damaged concrete beams. Post-tensioned tendons
can be used effectively as externally unbonded reinforcement for existing and new beams. The analysis of concrete
beams with externally unbonded tendons imposes more
challenges than the traditional case of beams with bonded
tendons where sectional strain compatibility hypothesis is
usually considered. With unbonded prestressing, the strain in
the externally unbonded tendons at any load level depends
on the overall beam deformation. As mentioned earlier, the
existing analysis methodologies for prestressed concrete
beam with externally unbonded tendons extend from two
extremes:
A simplistic approach using bond reduction coefficient
factor for correcting the strain of the unbonded tendons
(Naaman and Alkhairi 1991; Grace and Singh 2003).
Elaborated finite element based analysis including major
non-linearity phenomena such as the non-linear behaviour
of concrete and tendons as well as slip at the deviators
(Ariyawardena and Ghali 2002; Ramos and Aparicio
1996).
This research work presents a new procedure that fits
between these two extremes: its main objective is to develop
a reliable yet simple procedure for analyzing beams with
external prestressing tendons.

Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2005

ACI 440.4R-04 recommendations

The ACI committee 440 adopted a modified version of
Bransons (1963) equation to calculate the deflection using
the concept of effective moment of inertia for the entire
beam including cracked and uncracked zones (ACI Committee 440.4R 2004). The value of the effective moment of inertia is interpolated between the gross section moment of
inertia and the cracked section moment of inertia, depending
on the load intensity. Bransons equation is modified to take
into account the lower modulus of elasticity of CFRP compared with steel and its different bond characteristics. For
prestressed beams, Tadros at al. (1985) stated that both the
cracking moment and the applied moment should be reduced by an amount equal to the decompression moment to
account for the initial curvature due to prestressing. However, two opinions exist on the definition of the decompression moment. The decompression moment defined by Nawy
and Huang (1977) represents the state at which the stresses
in the concrete at the level of the tendons are nullified by the
external applied load. Whereas, Naaman and Siriaksorn
(1979a, 1979b) defined the decompression moment by the
state at which zero stresses occur at the extreme tension
fiber because of the applied loads. In this work, Naaman and
Siriaksorn (1979a, 1979b) definition was adopted. The final
form of the moment of inertia based on ACI 440.4R-04
equation can be written as follows:
3

[1]

M M dc
I e = cr
I g
M a M dc

Analytical procedure
The profile of the external prestressing tendon is dictated
by the location and size of the deviators along the span of
the beam and the deflected shape of the external tendon
follow the deflected shape of the beam at these deviator
points only. Therefore, the displacements of these deviator
points affect the strain increase in the external prestressing
tendon, and it is a key issue to determine the deflection of
the beam at these locations to calculate the strain, stress, and
the force in the external tendon from which the overall response of the system can be predicted. The problem of calculating the deflection of concrete members prestressed
with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tendons is addressed by
many code models. It is well established that the direct application of the methods available for predicting the deflection of concrete members prestressed with steel bars to
members prestressed with FRP lead to underestimating the
observed deflection. This observed discrepancy is associated
to two phenomena:
(1) The FRP tendons tend to have lower modulus of
elasticity compared with conventional steel, and they
remain linearly elastic up to failure with no yielding
capacity.
(2) The bond behaviour between the concrete and FRP
tendons is fundamentally different from the bond developed with conventional steel.
In this work, three analytical methods for calculating the
deflection of beams prestressed with CFRP tendons are considered: (i) ACI 440.4R-04 recommendations, (ii) ISIS equation, and (iii) CEB-FIP model code.

M cr M dc

+ 1
I cr I g
M a M dc

where is a factor included to take into account the bond

properties and the modulus of elasticity of FRP tendons. It is
defined as follows:
[2]

= CF + 1
ES

where = 0.5 and it takes into account the differences in the

bond characteristics between FRP tendons and conventional
steel bars with concrete, and ECF and ES are the modulus of
elasticity of the CFRP tendons and steel, respectively.
Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures approach
The Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures (ISIS),
Winnipeg, Manitoba suggests that the effective moment of
inertia for deflection calculations of FRP reinforced concrete
members can be taken as (Razaqpur and Isgor 2000)
[3]

Ie =

I g I cr
I cr + [1 0.5 (M cr /M a ) 2 ] (I g I cr )

To account for the initial curvature of beams due to prestressing, the cracking moment and the applied moment have
to be reduced by the amount of the decompression moment,
and the modified effective moment of inertia is
2005 NRC Canada

Abd El Aziz et al.

[4]

1141
Fig. 1. Cross section of the box beams. All dimensions are in
millimetres.

Ie
=

I g I cr
. [(M cr M dc )/(M a M dc )]2} (I g I cr )
I cr + {1 05

Comit Euro-International du Bton - Fdration

International de la Prcontrainte approach
The Comit Euro-International du Bton - Fdration
International de la Prcontrainte model code CEB-FIP
(1990) calculates the deflection by integrating an effective
curvature over the beam span. The effective curvature is an
interpolation between the uncracked curvature (g) and cracked
curvature (cr). The following equation is proposed by the
CEB-FIP model code (European code) to calculate the effective curvature:
[5]

e = (1 ) g + cr

where g and cr are given by

[6]

g =

M
;
Ec I g

cr =

M
Ec I cr

The parameter is an interpolation factor that depends on

the bond characteristics, type of loading, and the applied
load. It is defined as follows:
2

[7]

M M dc
= 1 1 2 cr
0.4
M a M dc

where 1 is a bond factor equal to 1 for CFRP tendons and

2 takes the values of 1 or 0.5 for short-term loading and
sustained loading, respectively (Abdelrahman and Rizkalla
1999). To calculate the deflection, the effective curvature is
integrated along the beam span as outlined by Collins and
Mitchell (1990). An alternative approach was proposed by
Hall and Ghali (2000), who derived an expression for the
mean moment of inertia based on the European code approach,
which can be written as follows:
[8]

M
I e = I g I cr I g + 1 2 cr (I cr I g )

Ma

To account for the initial curvature of beams due to prestressing, the cracking moment and the applied moment has
to be reduced by the amount of the decompression moment,
and the final expression for the effective moment of inertia is
[9]

M M dc
I e = I g I cr I g + 1 2 cr
(I cr I g )

M a M dc

Analytical procedure
Besides the effect of the unbonded external prestressing,
the flexural behaviour of bonded prestressed beams can be
evaluated using the classical iterative based algorithm (Collins
and Mitchell 1990). The strain compatibility hypothesis is
used, and the iterative solution process solves for the neutral
axis depth and the top concrete strain that satisfy the force
equilibrium and the moment equilibrium within the cross

section. For beams with externally unbonded tendons, the

deflection of the system affects the strain increase in the
unbonded tendon and the total deformation of the beam has
to be taken into consideration to evaluate the strain in the
unbonded tendon from which the stresses and the induced
forces can be calculated by using the constitutive law of the
composite material. In comparison with beams reinforced
only with bonded reinforcement, the analysis procedure is
augmented by an iterative process to calculate the force in
the externally unbonded tendon, that is, in equilibrium with
the internal stress distribution within the cross section.
The analysis starts by an initial assumed value for the
force in the externally unbonded tendons and proceeds with
two embedded loops to calculate the strain in the top concrete fiber and the neutral axis position. After satisfying the
force equilibrium and the moment equilibrium, the deflection of the whole beam is calculated at the deviation points
and the strain, stress, and the induced force in the unbonded
tendon can be deduced. This calculated force is compared
with its previous value. Convergence is reached if the difference is within a predefined tolerance. In case where the difference is larger than the fixed tolerance, the iterative
process continues for the unbonded tendons with the abovementioned two embedded loops. In this study, it was found
that a force tolerance of 1.5% is optimal.
Before detailing the computational algorithm used to implement the analytical procedure, assumptions made within
the proposed methodology are described as follows:
(i) Plane sections remain plane after bending. This assumption states that the strain distribution along the beam
cross section is linear, and therefore the strain at any
point along the section is proportional to the distance to
the neutral axis.
(ii) The non-linear stressstrain relationship for concrete in
compression follows the parabolic equation:
[10]

2
fc = fc c c
o o

where fc is the compressive stress of concrete, and fc is

the specified compressive strength of concrete.
2005 NRC Canada

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Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2005

Fig. 2. Failure of the box beam LP3.

Fig. 3. Elevation of the DT beam. All dimensions are in millimetres.

(iii) The stressstrain relationship for the carbon fiber material is linearly elastic up to failure.
(iv) The beam is assumed to be reinforced with vertical stirrups necessary to resist the shear forces.
(v) Shear deformations are neglected.
(vi) The beam deflection is calculated using one of the three
eqs. [1], [4], or [9].
The loaddefelction response is obtained from the analysis of the critical moment section. The load is divided into
steps, and an incremental analysis procedure is conducted. A
step-by-step algorithm for the proposed analysis is given
below:

Fig. 4. Cross section of the DT beam. All dimensions are in

millimetres.

Step a.
Assume post-tensioning force (Tubp(i)). At the beginning of
the analysis, the post-tensioning force is taken as the initial
prestressing force value. The subscript (i) refers to the load
increment.
Step b.
Assume the top concrete strain (c(i)). At the beginning of
the analysis, this strain is obtained because of an applied
external moment corresponding to the cracking moment Mcr.

Step d.
(d1) Calculate the compression force in concrete (Lin and
Burns 1981)
c

[11]

C c ( i) = fc (y) dy
o

Step c.
Assume the neutral axis depth (c(i)).

Using eq. [10] for the compressive stress distribution,

for rectangular cross section, this integral reduces to
2005 NRC Canada

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1143

Fig. 5. Double-T beam test setup.

Table 2. Mechanical properties of CFRP tendons and CFCC tendons.

Mechanical properties

Tendon types

Nominal
diameter,
mm (in.)

Effective crosssectional area,

mm2 (in.2)

Guaranteed
tensile strength,
GPa (ksi)

Youngs modulus
of elasticity, GPa
(ksi)

Elongation
(%)

Breaking
load, kN
(kips)

Leadline (MCC)
CFCC 1 7 (Tokyo rope)
CFCC 1 37 (Tokyo rope)

10.0 (0.39)
12.5 (0.5)
40.0 (1.57)

71.6 (0.111)
76.0 (0.118)
752.6 (1.17)

2.26 (328)
1.87 (271)
1.41 (205)

147 (21 320)

137 (19 865)
127 (18 419)

1.5
1.6
1.1

162 (36.4)
142 (31.9)
1 070 (240.5)

[12]

C c ( i)

fc b( i) c( i) 2
( i) c( i)
=
1

o
3 o

where (i) is the curvature of the cross-section, c(i) is the

neutral axis depth. The concrete strain corresponding to
the ultimate compressive stress of concrete is o, and it
is given by eq. [13] (Park and Paulay 1975)
[13]

o =

2 fc
Ec

In the case of flanged sections, the integral is evaluated by dividing the cross section into layers and calculating the compression force for each layer.
(d2) Calculate the compression force in the non-prestressed
reinforcement in the top flange by assuming that the
strain is linear over the cross section as
[14]

c dnpc
ECF Anpc
C np( i) = ct ( i) ( i)

c( i)

where ct(i) is the top concrete strain, dnpc is the depth of

the CFRP tendons measured from the top concrete fiber,
ECF is the modulus of elasticity for the CFRP tendons,

Table 1. Mechanical properties of precast concrete and concrete

topping.
Properties

Precast concrete
Concrete topping

Modulus of
elasticity, GPa (ksi)

Strength, MPa
(ksi)

36.7 (5320)
31.6 (4580)

53.8 (7.81)
39.3 (5.7)

and Anpc is the area of the non-prestressed CFRP tendons in compression.

(d3) Calculate the tension force in the pretensioned tendons
as below:
[15]

d c( i)
Abp ECF
T bp( i) = ebp ECF Abp + ct ( i) bp

c( i)

where ebp is the effective pre-strain in the bonded

CFRP tendons and Abp and dbp are the area and the
depth of the bonded prestressed tendons, respectively.
(d4) Calculate the tension force in the non-prestressed reinforcement as
2005 NRC Canada

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Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2005

Fig. 6. Failure of the DT beam.

[16]

d c( i)
ECF Anpt
Tnp( i) = ct ( i) ntp

c( i)

Step e.
Check for the axial force equilibrium as given in eq. [17]:
[17]

Tubp( i) + T bp( i) + Tnp( i) = C C ( i) + C np( i)

[18]

M ( i, j ) =

If the equilibrium is not satisfied, revise the position of

the neutral axis and return to step (c).
Step f.
Calculate the induced internal moment and perform
moment equilibrium. The induced internal moment is calculated using the following equation:

c dnpc
( i) c( i) 8 o 3( i) c( i)
fcb( i) c( i) 2
ECF Anpc (c( i) dnpc )
c( i) + ct ( i) ( i)
1

c(i)
o
3 o 12 o 4( i) c( i)

d c( i)
d c( i)
ECF Anpt (dnpt c( i) ) + ebp ECF Abp + ct( i) bp
Abp ECF (d bp c( i) ) + Tubp( i) (dubp c( i) )
+ ct ( i) npt

c
c( i)
( i)

Step g.
(g1) Calculate the curvature of the cracked cross section as
[19]

cr ( i) =

c ( i)
C ( i)

(g2) Calculate the cracked section moment of inertia as

[20]

I cr ( i) =

Step h.
Calculate the deflection of the beam at the deviator points
using the effective moment of inertia calculated in the previous step.

M ( i)
Ec ( i)

(g3) Calculate the gross section moment of inertia.

(g4) Calculate the effective moment of inertia using one of
the eqs. [1], [4], or [9].

Step i.
The new deformed shape of the externally unbonded
tendons due to the beam deflection is used to calculate the
strain, stress, and the force. If the calculated new value of
the force is close to the previous one, convergence is
achieved; otherwise, iterations resume at step (a). In case of
convergence, the procedure moves to higher load level by
increasing the top concrete strain.
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1145

Step j.
After the post-tensioning force converges, checking for
failure is performed. Two possible failure criteria are considered: (i) failure by crushing of concrete when the strain
reaches the ultimate level of 0.0035 or (ii) failure by the rupture of either the bonded or the unbonded tendons.

Fig. 7. Finite element mesh for the box beams (a) with top slab
and (b) with top slab removed.

Verification using finite element analysis

To verify the proposed procedure, a finite element analysis was carried out focusing on the non-linear behaviour of
concrete in tension and compression. Both failure phenomena are included in the material model used to simulate the
concrete behaviour. The finite element program ABAQUS is
used in this study to predict the non-linear response of
concrete beams prestressed and post-tensioned with CFRP
tendons (ABAQUS 2005).
The concrete material model used is based on the model
proposed by Lubliner et al. (1989), which is modified
later by Lee and Fenves (1998). This concrete model uses
plasticity-damage coupled formulation to simulate the stiffness and strength degradation of concrete in tension and
compression. This formulation of this material model is
based on the modification of the elasticity tensor simulating
degradation as well as a plastic deformation. Using the tensorial
notation, the stressstrain relations are governed by the following expression:
[21]

= M (d) : Doel : ( pl)

where is the stress in the damaged material, M(d) is the

damage tensor, Doel is the initial undamaged elastic tensor of
the material and, pl is the plastic part of the strain.
In this study, damage is considered to be isotropic and a
scalar damage variable, d, is used and the damage tensor
reduces to this scalar. The damage variable, d, will include
both tension and compression degradation. The damage
associated with tension and compression are represented by
two separate damage variables dt and dc, respectively. The
tension and compression damage variables are associated
with the fracture energy associated to the corresponding
damage process. The value for, d, varies between zero for
nondamaged material and completely cracked concrete. In
the context of isotropic damage, eq. [21] reduces to
[22]

= (1 d) = (1 d) Doel : ( pl ) = D : ( pl )

where is called effective stress, D = (1 d)Doel is the

degraded elastic stiffness, and the term (1 d) in eq. [22]
represents the ratio of the effective area (i.e., the overall area
minus the damaged area) over the overall area. For monotonic
loading, the damage variable is expressed as
[23]

d = 1 (1 dc ) (1 dt)

F (, pl) =

1
q 3 p + max
1

[25]

f bo fco
2 f bo fco

where fbo and fco are the biaxial compression yield stress and
the uniaxial compression yield stress, respectively, is a
function that depends on and also the damage variables in
compression and tension. The stress, max, is the algebraically maximum principal stress and c is the effective compression stress.
The internal bonded prestressing is modeled as an additional smeared stiffness distributed through the thickness of
the finite elements modeling the concrete medium. The
external prestressing is modeled using three-dimensional
two-node truss element with three degrees of freedom at
each node. The stressstrain relation for CFRP tendons is
assumed to be linear up to failure.

Experimental work

The solution algorithm is based on a nonassociative plasticity formulation. A modified form of the DruckerPrager
criterion is used as a yield surface expressed in terms of the
effective stresses
[24]

where p and q are the effective pressure stress and the von
Mises equivalent deviatoric stress, respectively, and is a
constant and is defined as follows:

Two experimental programs were used to validate the analytical model presented in this study. The first experimental
program is a test of two 4.9 m span box beams. These two
box beams were pretensioned and post-tensioned with CFRP
tendons. The second experimental program was a full-scale
test for a double-T (DT) beam pretensioned and posttensioned with CFRP tendons. The DT beam is a replica of a
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Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2005

Fig. 8. Compression damage variable in the top slab for box beam LP3.

full-scale beam used in the construction of the Bridge Street

Bridge over the Rouge River in the city of Southfield, Michigan, USA.
Test program of two box beams
Two box beams 4.9 m long, 967 mm wide, and 306 mm
deep were tested (Fig. 1). Each box beam consisted of a top
slab, a bottom slab, three webs, and two end diaphragms.
The beams were pretensioned and post-tensioned with CFRP
tendons and were tested to failure to examine their flexural
behaviour. The two beams were prestressed using seven
bonded and six unbonded tendons. The first beam was prestressed using 10 mm diameter Leadline tendons and was
designated as LP3. The second beam was prestressed using
9.50 mm diameter tendons by Diversified Composites Incorporation (DCI) and was designated as DP1.
Each prestressing tendon was pulled to an average load of
92.5 kN, which is about 86% and 41% of the breaking load
of the DCI and the Leadline tendons, respectively. Fifteen
strain gauges were installed at the mid-span. Five strain
gauges were installed at the top concrete surface, and five
strain gauges were installed on each side of the beam. The
mid-span deflection was measured using string pots fixed to
a stationary strut and attached to the top surface of the
beams. The two box beams were simply supported with an
effective span of 4.57 m; each end support has a width equal
to the width of the box beam. A four-point bending test was
performed, the beams were loaded using two-point loads
over the entire width of the beam; the centre-to-centre distance between the loading points was 508 mm symmetric
about the mid-span. More details about the experimental test
can be found in Grace et al. (2004).
The failure mode of both beams, LP3 and DP1, started
with the rupture of the bonded pretensioned tendons followed by the crushing of the concrete. The ultimate failure
loads for LP3 and DP1 were 441 and 383 kN, respectively.
The corresponding deflections at the mid-span were 59 and
65 mm. Figure 2 shows the failure of the box beam LP3.

Table 3. Mechanical properties of NEFMAC.

Modulus of elasticity, GPa (ksi)

86.5 (12 540)

Ultimate strength, MPa (ksi)

1 500 (217)

Elongation (%)

1.8

Full-scale test for double-T beam

Double-T beam fabrication
A full-scale double-T beam (DT) of 20 m span was tested
under flexure. The beam is a replica of beams used in the
construction of a bridge constructed in Southfield, Michigan,
USA. The DT beam was fabricated at Prestressed Systems
Incorporation (PSI), Windsor, Ontario, Canada using a single pan form consisting of two stems, a top flange, and seven
transverse diaphragms. Figures 3 and 4 show the elevation of
the DT beam and its cross section, respectively. The flange
was reinforced with nineteen 10 mm diameter CFRP rods
and also two layers of transverse 10 mm diameter CFRP
rods. Each web was prestressed by 30 CFRP tendons 10 mm
in diameter arranged in 10 and 6 rows of 12.5 mm nonprestressed carbon fiber composite cable (CFCC) tendons, respectively. The nine top rows of the CFRP tendons
were draped before the pretensioning, the draping point was
located at a distance 7010 mm from the support, the bottommost row was kept straight. Each CFRP tendon was
pretensioned to a target load level of 82 kN for rows one to
five (row numbering increases from top to bottom) and 87
kN for rows six to ten. Concrete was then placed and allowed to cure, and the force in the pretensioned tendons was
released after concrete achieved sufficient strength of
46 MPa. Table 1 shows the properties of the precast section
and the concrete topping.
The cross section of the DT beam was also prestressed
with four externally draped 40 mm diameter post-tensioned
CFCC tendons between the webs (Fig. 4). The post-tensioning
force was applied to the four CFCC tendons in two separate
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1147

Fig. 9. Tension damage variable in the bottom slab and the webs for the box beam LP3.

Fig. 10. Stress distribution over the cross section for box beam LP3.

stages. The initial post-tensioning stage was carried out at

the precast plant, Prestressed System Incorporation (PSI), by
applying 60% of the total desired force. The final 40% posttensioning force was applied at the testing facility, Construction Technology Laboratories (CTL), after casting 75 mm
thick concrete topping. A CFRP NEFMAC sheet was used
to provide reinforcement for the concrete topping to control
temperature and shrinkage cracks. Table 2 shows the mechanical properties for the Leadline tendons and the CFCC
cables. The properties for the NEFMAC sheet used in the
topping are as follows: modulus of elasticity, 86.5 GPa
(12 540 ksi); ultimate strength,, 1 500 MPa (217 ksi); and
elongation 1.8%.

Double-T beam instrumentation and test setup

A total of 30 strain gauges were installed in the beam to
measure the strain distribution along the depth of the cross
section at the mid-span section and at the two quarter span
sections. At each section, three strain gauges were embedded in the concrete topping, three strain gauges in the top
flange of the DT beam, and two strain gauges in each web.
The DT beam is simply supported at both ends. The beam
was loaded along two lines, orthogonal to its longitudinal
centreline, creating a constant moment region of 3658 mm
symmetrical about the mid-span. For each loading line, the
load was applied at two points coinciding with the beam
webs, as shown in Fig. 5. The beam deflection was mea 2005 NRC Canada

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Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2005

Fig. 11. Relation between average tensile stresses and average tensile strains.

sured at the mid-span and the quarter span using two

displacement transducers at each location attached to the
bottom of the webs. More details about the DT beam experimental program can be found in Grace et al. (2003).
The failure load for the beam was 2443 kN and the
corresponding average mid-span deflection was 342 mm. It
is interesting to note that after failure of the concrete topping, all the sixty pretensioned tendons failed. However, the
four CFCC post-tensioned cables did not fail and the force
in them nearly doubled during the test, increasing from 443
to 810 kN. Figure 6 shows the failure pattern of the DT
beam.

Fig. 12. Relation between the tension damage variable and the
applied load.

Validation and comparison with test results

Box beam analysis
The finite element and experimental results of the two box
beams are used to verify the proposed analytical procedure.
The two box beams were analyzed using ABAQUS software
(ABAQUS 2005). The beams were modeled using four node
shell elements with six degrees of freedom for each node,
three displacements, and three rotations. The kinematic formulation of this particular element takes into consideration
the transverse shear deformation. Figure 7 shows the finite
element mesh for the box beams. To illustrate the inside
beam, Fig. 7b shows the mesh after removing the top slab.
For the box beam LP3, Figs. 8 and 9 show the compression damage variable in the top slab and the tension damage
variable in the bottom slab and the beam webs, respectively.
The compression and the tension damage distributions are
consistent with the observed localized damage observed during the experimental testing (Fig. 2). Figure 10 shows the
distribution of the stresses across the beam cross section,
and it also shows the compression stresses in the top slab at
failure, which were drawn at eleven integration points across
the thickness of the top slab at the section of maximum moment. Figure 11 shows a typical relationship between the average tensile strain and the average tensile stress calculated
at the bottom slab. Figure 12 shows the relation between
applied load and the tension damage, dt, variable throughout

the loading history of the beam. The increase of the damage

variable induces a reduction of the stress carrying capacity
of the material (softening behaviour).
The analysis using the ACI Committee 440, ISIS, and
CEB-FIP equations indicated a failure load of 422, 416, and
417 kN, respectively (Fig. 13). These loads correspond to
4.1%, 5.45%, and 5.22% lower than the failure load obtained
from the experimental work (444 kN). The calculated deflections corresponding to the ACI Committee 440, ISIS, and the
European equations are 62, 63, and 64 mm, respectively. For
the post-tensioning force of box beam LP3, the finite element
analysis indicated a force of 105 kN, which is almost the
same as that obtained from analysis based on ACI 440.4R.
The values obtained using the ISIS and CEB-FIP equations
are 1.9% and 1.3% higher, respectively (Fig. 14).
For the box beam DP1, the analysis using the ACI Committee 440, ISIS, and CEB-FIP approaches indicated a failure load of 364, 356, and 359 kN, respectively, which is
5.4%, 7%, and 6.3% lower than the measured failure load.
The deflections corresponding for the ACI Committee 440,
ISIS, and CEB-FIP approaches are 64, 63, and 68 mm,
respectively. Figure 15 shows the loaddeflection curves for
the box beam DP1.
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1149

Fig. 13. Loaddefelction curve for box beam LP3.

Fig. 15. Loaddefelction curve for box beam DP1.

Fig. 14. Post-tensioning force for box beam LP3.

Fig. 16. Loaddefelction curve for DT beam.

Double-T beam analysis

The failure of the DT beam was triggered in the laboratory by the crushing of the concrete topping at a strain of
0.0025, which is lower than the failure strain of concrete of
0.0035 as assumed by the Canadian standard A23.3-94
(CSA 1994), followed by the immediate rupture of the internal bonded tendons. This could be attributed to the small
thickness of the topping causing it to separate from the DT
beam flange and fail prematurely in compression. The analysis indicated that the failure of the DT beam was initiated by
the rupture of the internal tendons. The top concrete strain at
the ultimate level varied between 0.0024 and 0.0026, depending on the equation used to evaluate the effective moment of inertia, which is consistent with the experimental
findings. The ultimate load obtained from experimental results was 2443 kN with a corresponding deflection of
342 mm. The analysis using the ACI Committee 440, ISIS,
and CEB-FIP approaches for the effective moment of inertia
indicated a failure load of 2340, 2245, and 2267 kN, respectively. The corresponding deflections are 350, 356, and
355 mm. Figure 16 shows the loaddeflection response obtained from the analytical technique compared with the experimental results. At failure, the post-tensioning force in
the external tendons reached the value of 3240 kN. The analytical model using the ACI Committee 440, ISIS, and CEBFIP equations gives force values of 3340, 3416 kN, and
3396 kN, respectively, which are 3.1%, 5.4%, and 4.1%

Fig. 17. Post-tensioning force for DT beam.

higher than the measured loads. Figure 17 shows the

increase in the post-tensioning force for the different analytical approaches compared with the experimental work. Figure 18 illustrates the variation the moment of inertia of this
particular DT beam when using the ACI Committee 440,
ISIS, and CEB-FIP equations. It is interesting to note that
the analytical model, using the three approaches, tends to
underestimate the effective rigidity of the beam, thereby,
leading to higher deflection and consequently more stress in
the post-tensioning tendons when compared with the experimental testing.
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Fig. 18. Effective moment of inertia for the DT beam.

Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 31, 2005

the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Federal

Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Science
Foundation. The box beams were constructed and tested at
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA.

References

Conclusions
This paper presents an analytical approach for beams prestressed and post-tensioned with a combined system of internally bonded and externally unbonded CFRP tendons. The
conventional compatibility hypothesis is used to calculate
the strain and the stress for the bonded tendons, whereas the
beam deflection is used to calculate the strain and stress in
the externally unbonded tendons. Three model equations for
estimating the effective moment of inertia are used, namely,
the ACI 440.4R, the ISIS, and the CEB-FIP. The analytical
procedure is verified by using a finite element analysis with
the capability of modeling the non-linear behaviour of concrete in tension and compression. The proposed analytical
method is also compared with experimental results. Despite
the simplicity of the analytical model, an acceptable level of
agreement is obtained with the finite element analysis and
the experimental findings.
The following conclusions can be drawn from this study:
The equation recommended by the ACI Committee 440,
which is used to estimate the effective moment of inertia
of the beam, led to a more accurate prediction of the force
in the post-tensioned tendons when compared with experimental work.
The three equations used to estimate the effective moment
of inertia tend to underestimate the effective rigidity of
the beam, leading to higher deflection and more stress in
the externally prestressing tendons.
The evaluation of the post-tensioning force versus applied
load is more accurate than the loaddeflection calculated
response.

Acknowledgements
The theoretical work presented in this paper has been supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The full-scale DT
test beam was constructed by Prestressed System Inc. (PSI),
Windsor, Ontario, Canada and tested by the Construction
Technology Laboratories Inc., Skokie, Illinois, USA. The
City of Southfield and the Federal Highway Administration
jointly funded the instrumentation and testing of the DT
beam. The testing program for the box beams was funded by

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internal or external tendons: analysis and computer model. ASCE
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List of symbols
Abp
Anpc
Anpt
b
CC
Cnp
c

area of bonded prestressing reinforcement

area of non-prestressed reinforcement in compression
area of non-prestressed reinforcement in tension
top width of the concrete section
compression force in concrete
compression force in non-prestressed reinforcement
depth of the neutral axis measured from the top concrete
fiber
Del degraded elastic stiffness of concrete in finite element
Doel initial undamaged elastic stiffness of concrete in finite
element
d scalar damage variable used in the finite element
dbp depth of bonded prestressing reinforcement measured
from top concrete fiber
dnpc depth of non-prestressed reinforcement in compression
measured from top concrete fiber

1151
dnpt depth of non-prestressed reinforcement in tension measured from top concrete fiber
dubp depth of unbonded prestressing reinforcement measured
from top concrete fiber
Ec modulus of elasticity of concrete
ECF modulus of elasticity of carbon fiber reinforcement
ES modulus of elasticity of steel
fbo biaxial compression yield stress
fc compressive stress of concrete
fc specified compressive strength of concrete
fco uniaxial compression yield stress
Icr cracked section moment of inertia
Ie effective moment of inertia
Ig gross section moment of inertia
Ma applied moment on the beam
Mcr cracking moment
Mdc decompression moment
M(d) damage tensor
p effective pressure stress
q von Mises equivalent deviatoric stress
Tubp tension force in unbonded prestressing
constant that accounts for the difference in bond characteristics between CFRP and steel used in the ACI equation
factor that depends on the biaxial compression yield
stress and the uniaxial compression yield stress of concrete function
coefficient that depends on and d
1 bond factor used in the European code approach
2 factor for short term or long term loading used in the
European code approach
c top concrete strain
ebp effective pre-strain in the bonded CFRP tendons
o concrete strain corresponding to the maximum compressive strength of concrete
pl plastic part of the strain
interpolation factor used in the European code approach
cr cracked curvature of the cross section
e effective curvature of the cross section
g gross curvature of the cross section

2005 NRC Canada