Chapter 1

Basic concepts

Prestressed Concrete
First patent for prestressed concrete was in 1986 by P.H. Jackson of
San Francisco.
In 1928 E. Freyssinet of France started Modern Development of
prestressed concrete.

Definition
Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete in which internal stresses are
introduced by means of high strength pre-strained reinforcement. Prestressed
relies on bond and/or bearing mechanisms to achieve stress transfer to
concrete.

Prestressing forces induce internal actions of such magnitude and

distribution to counteract the external loading.

In prestressed concrete members, steel is in tension and concrete is in

compression, even before the application of any external loading.

1
Reasons for Prestressing
Prestressed concrete has been developed to overcome some of the
limitations of reinforced concrete, namely:

1) In flexure of reinforced concrete member, concrete is cracked and

functions only to hold the reinforcing bars in place and protect them
from corrosion, thereby giving excess weight without structural
action.

2) Deflection of a member is inversely proportional to the moment of

inertia of its section cracking lowers the moment of inertia of the
section, thereby increasing deflection.

3) Use of the high tensile strength of the prestressing steel strands which
is 270 ksi (four to five times that commonly used in reinforced
concrete structure), which is unsuitable for reinforced concrete.

4) Eliminate cracking at service loading conditions

5) Improve shear and torsion strengths

6) Add protection to the steel

2
Full Prestressing and Partial Prestressing

Full Prestressing: sufficient precompression to ensure crack-free at full

design load. Freyssinet 1930.

Partial Prestressing: Precompression is not sufficient to prevent cracks under

full design load. Therefore, the member will normally contain some
conventional reinforcement bars.

In many cases, partial prestressing improves the structural performance and

is commonly used.

Reinforced Concrete:

C C
h d jd
As
T
b
jd is almost constant under increasing load
T & C increase proportionally to the applied load

Prestressed Concrete:

C
a1
T C T

No Load Dead Load

M D = T .a1
= C.a1

3
 C
a2
T
Dead + Live

Internal lever arm a increases under increasing the applied load.

T & C remain virtually constant under working loading conditions.

Advantages of Prestressing:

Plain Concrete:

bh 2
M r = ft
h 6
= (0.1 f c' )(0.167bh 2 )
= 0.0167bh 2 f c' _______(1)
t
b
Reinforced Concrete: (service limit)
(0.45f c)
0.36h
C
(0.9-0.12)h
h 0.9 h 0.78h
T

b
1
C = (0.45 f c' )(b)(0.36h)
2
= 0.081bhf c'

4
 M r = C (0.78h)
= 0.0632bh 2 f c' _________(2)

M r (2) is 3.78 times larger

0.0167bh 2 f c' for D.L. Moment
M r = 0.0632bh 2 f c'
0.0465bh 2 f c' for L.L. Moment
Prestressed Concrete: (working limit)
0.45c

0.9h
C 0.56h 0.66h
T 0.23h
0.45c
P.S. + D.L. + S.I. P.S.+D.L.+ S.I. + L.L
1
C = (0.45 f c' )(bh)
2
= 0.225bhf c'
0.0167bh 2 f c'
aD = = 0.0743h < 0.23h
0.225bhf c'

With superimposed D.L., a = 0.23h

With P.S. + D.L. + Superimposed D.L. + L.L.
Total Shift a = 0.56h
M r = C (0.56h)
= (0.225bhf c' )(0.56h)
= 0.126bh 2 f c'
= 2 M r (R.C.)
= 7.5M r (Plain Concrete)

5
 Basic Concepts

(i) Combined Loading Concept

Prestressed beam is assumed to be homogenous and elastic.

P P.ey M ext y
f = m
Ac I I

Consider a rectangular section simply supported beam having a self weight

(s.w.) of w per unit length:

(a) No Prestress

d
_
Stress at C.L. due to S.W.
Compression ve
Tension +ve wl 2
M C.L. =
8
wl 2 h 12 3wl 2
+ fd = =
8 2 bh 3 4bh 2
d

6
(b) Eccentric Prestress + Self Weight
e = eccentricity measured from centroidal axis
P P h 12 6 Pe
fa = = fb =Pe =
A bh 2 bh 3 bh 2

c.g.c
e c.g.s
P P

axis of symmetry
f a f b f d
+ _

_
+ +
_ +

f a f b f d
AXIAL FLEXURAL SELF WEIGHT

PRESTRESS
Depending on the relative magnitudes of f a, f b and f d, the following five
resultant stress diagrams may be obtained:
f T = (- f a + f b - f d) = + f b - ( f a + f d)
- +
f a f a f a f a

- -
+ - - f a

f f B = (- f a - f b+ f d) = - f b + ( f d - f a)

1 2 3 4 5
( f b < f d - f a) ( f b > f d - f a) ( f b = f d) ( f b< f a + f d) ( f b > f a + f d)

7
 P
fa = is dependent only on P for a given cross section
bh
6 Pe
fb = is dependent on P and e for a given cross section
bh 2
Any of the above stress conditions can be achieved by a suitable choice of P
and e.

Condition or will be required at a section in a beam where, at the

bottom extreme fibre, compression is induced by prestress and tension by
gravity loading.

(c) Eccentric Prestress + Self Weight + Live Load

W

= or
e
P P

l/2 l/2

(- f a+ f b- f d) f l
(- f a+ f b- f d -fl)
- -
fa
fa + = fa or
- -
+
+
(- f a- f b+ f d) f l (- f a- f b + f d + f l)

prestress + sw live load (depends on magnitude of f l )

Wl
M C .L. =
4
Wl h 12 3Wl
fl = =
4 2 bh 3 2bh 2

8
Different stress conditions may exist at different loading stages in the life of
a prestressed beam.

In the design of a prestressed concrete member, proportion of the member

and the degree of prestressing should be designed to be with in the
permissible compressive and tensile stresses in the concrete at any stage of
loading.

Loading Stages In A Prestressed Concrete Beam

(1) Casting No Concrete Stress

Formwork

(2) Stressing
+
+
c.g.c + = or
-
P e c.g.s P - - -

Formwork axial flexural prestress

P Pey
fa =
A fb =
I

9
(3) Transfer (temporary load)
+ +
-
+ = or
P P - - -
+

Formwork prestress s.w. prestress+s.w.

M y
(acts as a simply supported beam) fd = d (temporary loading)
I

(4) Loading (specified load)

Note P* < P due to loss of prestress
W
+
- - -
+ = or
P* P* - +
+
Prestress+s.w load pres. +s.w+load.

Ml y
l
f = (specified loading)
I

10
 (ii) Internal Couple Concept
Consider a simply-supported beam prestressed with a draped tendon.

A C.L. C-line (location of

concrete force for a
given load level)
e
cgc
e cgs

Consider a section A-A

1. Zero Load: (self weight neglected) - hypothetical

lever arm = 0
M=0
C Cey
cgc -
f =
e A I
cgs C=P
P
C
R=0 A concrete stress P Pey
=
A I
where, P = steel force, C = concrete force

2. Loaded Condition: (including self weight)

lever arm = e + e' =M/P
A
w M0 C=P
C C Ce' y
cgc e - e f = +
e P A I

R concrete stress
A

11
For an uncracked prestressed concrete section, increasing the applied moment
increases the level arm (e + e') rather than increasing the compression forces
acting on the section. (calculation of the change of steel force will be discussed
later.)

The location of the C force at any section along the beam under any load
condition can be described by the C-line as shown.

Further, concept of Internal Couple is useful in design, since it gives us some

idea as to the eccentricity which can be given to the prestressing force once the
cross section has been selected.

Consider a simply- supported beam with rectangular section.

a) At Transfer
when we apply PS force to beam - C force is below centroidal axis

T = 0
M=MD (assume no
tension allowed)
h/2
cgc e=h/6
P
h/2 a C e f cg =
P
A
2P
MD = moment due to self weight fB = permissible comp.
A
MD M
a = e e = => e = D + e (1)
P P
Since B = 2P/A Knowing A, compute P to ensure
B permissible compression

Further, for zero stress in top fibre e' = h/6 (for rectangular section, other
sections e' h/6), hence, find e from equation (1).

12
b) Under Applied Load
load bends beam downwards - assume no tension in bottom fibre

2P
M=MD+ML fT= permissible comp.
C
A
P
cgc e=h/6 f cg =
e A
P (assume no tension
B=0 allowed)

+ +
again, a = e +e = MD ML => e = MD ML e (2)
P P

A further value of e can be computed from equation (2) in a similar manner to

above (case a).

Usually not fully stressed under both conditions and hence two values of e will
be different. Limiting zone for eccentricity of prestress can be established along
length of the beam by calculating e at various sections for the beam under self
weight and specified loads.

(iii) Equivalent Load Concepts (Load-balancing)

Consider a simply supported beam prestressed with a draped tendon, the
profile of which will be assumed parabolic.
cgs (parabolic profile)

cgc x
emax
note tendon located
L/2 on cgc at both ends
L/2

13
 Equation of tendon profile (e + ve below cgc)

e = ax 2 + bx + c
e = 0 at x = 0 c=0
e = 0 at x = L b = -aL
2
aL 4e max
e = emax
L e
at x = , max = , a =
2 4 L2
e max
e = a x (L x ) , e = 4 x (L x )
L2
Now, at any section moment on concrete due to prestressing alone is given
by

4emax
M = C e = P x( L x)
L2 cgc
-ve moment
e
C

dM P 4emax
shear = + = ( L 2 x)
dx L2
d 2M 8emax
load = = P = constant = we
dx 2 L2
= equivalent load

Hence, the parabolic profile gives an effective uniformly distributed load on

the concrete over the length of the tendon. Negative sign indicates that the
load is acting upwards on concrete as shown. This is referred to as
equivalent loading (we).
de Pe
P sin = P tan = P = shear = 4 max 4 Pe max w L
(= e )
dx L L 2

8Pe max P
we =
L2
P cos P P cos P

14
 Concrete Free Body Diagram

Note, that the sum of both the vertical forces and the horizontal forces is
zero since the beam must be in equilibrium under action of prestress.

The effective load, wnet acting on the concrete is the applied load, w
(including self weight) less the upward equivalent load (we).

i.e. wnet = w we

The effect of prestress and applied load on concrete may be simulated as

follows:
w
we L we L
P 2 2 P

wL wL
we
2 2

w
we L
2 Me moment due to effective loading

P P

wL
we
2

At any section we have P and Mnet (shear effect ignored) and thus stress is
given by:
P M y
f = + net
A I

The equivalent load concept shows that the effect of prestressing with a
parabolic draped tendon (concave upwards) is to apply an upward uniformly
distributed loading on the concrete which of course counteracts to some
degree any downward externally applied loading. This is the basis of the so-
called load balancing method of design, where the prestressing is

15
proportioned to balance a desired portion of the applied loading. The portion
of loading to be balanced is decided from past experience. Note that in above
example the equivalent loading is equal to 68% of the combined self weight
and superimposed load. This represents a reasonable percentage to balance
and can be used to estimate P for a selected e in a prelimunary design.

Load balancing method of design was first proposed by T.Y. LIN and is
described in detail on page 16 of the textbook by Nawy. See also, p. 488 in
Collins and Mitchell in relation to slab design.

Equivalent loads may be used to input the effect of prestress in the form of
loads into computer programs for analysis of statically indeterminant
prestressed concrete structures.

Equivalent Loads (see also PCI Handbook)

2 Pe 2 Pe
(a) Linear Profile:
L L

cgc P cgc P
e
P

L/2 L/2 L/2 4 Pe

Uplift force = 2Psin L
4 Pe
2Ptan = 2Pe/L/2 = Equivalent Loading
L

Use linear profile to support concentrated loads.

(b) Constant Profile:

cgc P cgc P
P e P
Pe
Pe

Note eccentricity at end Equivalent Loading

gives end moment

16
 Use constant profile to resist uniform moment.

(c) Mixed Profile:

P(e1 + e2 ) / l 1 P ( e2 + e 3 ) / l 2

Pe1 Pe3
P
e1 cgc e3 P cgc P
e2

l1 l2 e +e e + e3
P 1 2 + 2
l1 l2
Note end moments due to Equivalent Loading
end eccentricity

17
To avoid tension it is necessary to reduce the eccentricity so that the centroid
of the prestressing steel at the end of the beam is within the middle third for
a rectangular section. This is achieved by using harped or blanketed
strands in pretensioned beams, and draped tendons in post-tensioned beams
to maintain emax at mid-span, while having a smaller eccentricity at the ends.

Pretensioned Post-tensioned
(Harped Strands) (Draped Tendons)

Hold-down points provided in Parabolic tendon profile is common

stressing bed-location and hold-down since B.M.D. for UDL is parabolic
force found at design stage other profiles for other types of
loading.

Pretensioned
(Blanketed Strands)

Note staggered debonding

y Stands debonded by
coveringwith plastic tubing.

18
Sample of Hold-down Systems used to Harp Stands:

19
EXAMPLE

(1) Combined Load Concept

P P.ey M e y
f = m
A I I
P = 400 kips A = 32 * 12 = 384 in2 e = 16-6 = 10 in
12(32) 3
I= = 32768in 4 y = 16 in
12
6(28) 2
Me= = 588k ft = 7056k in
8

400 (400 *10)(16) 7056(16)

f = m
384 32768 32768
= 1.04 1.953 m 3.445
top = 1.04 + 1.953 3.445 = 2.532ksi
bottom = 1.04 1.953 + 3.445 = +0.452ksi

20
(2) Internal Couple Concept

Shift of C from T = M / C
a = 7056 / 400 = 17.64 in

eccentricity of the Resultant Compression force C acting on the section

ec= 17.64 10 = 7.64 in

P (Cec ) y
f =
A I

400 (400 * 7.64)16

f =
384 32768
= 1.04 m 1.492
top = 1.04 1.492 = 2.532
bottom = 1.04 + 1.492 = +0.452

21
(3) Balanced Load Concept

8 P .e
Equivalent load =
l2
8(400)(10)
=
(28) 2 *12
=3.4 k / ft
Unbalanced load = 6 3.4
= 2.6 k / ft
2.6(28) 2
M = = 254.66 k ft = 3056 k in
8

P My 400 3056(16)
f = m = m 32768 = 1.04 m 1.492
A I 384

top = -1.04 - 1.492 = -2.532 ksi

bottom = -1.04 + 1.492 = 0.452 ksi

22
 Maximum Permissible Stresses in Concrete and Reinforcement
(pg. 59 in text book)

a.Concrete
Immediately after transfer

At Service Load

b.Steel

Jacking 0.94 fpy 0.8 fpu

After Transfer 0.82 fpy 0.74 fpu
Low Relaxation fpy = 0.9 fpu
After Tendon 0.7 fpu

For 270 k tendons fpi = 0.7(270) = 189 ksi

23
Design the prestress force and lay out of the tendon, required for the shown
beams. No tension is allowed.

M-ve = 4(15)2/2 = 450 kft

= 5400 kin
M+ve at 112.5 - 4x = 0
x = 28.125 ft
M+ve = 112.5 (28.125) - 4(28.125)2/2
= 1582 kft
= 18984 kin

24
Consider section 1-1

Ac = 3212 = 384 in2

Ic = 12(32)3/12 = 32768 in2
My
f bt =
I
= 18984(16)/32768 = 9.26 ksi

Use maximum eccentricity

Assume c.g.s at 4 from the bottom
e = 16 - 4 = 12
(P12)(16) P
9.26 - - = 0
32768 384
P(0.005859 + 0.002604) = 9.26
P = 1094 kips

Check

1094 1094(12)(16)
- - + 9.26
384 32768
- 2.848 - 6.410 + 9.26 = 0 O.K.

Use P = 1094 kips

e = 12 At x = 28.125

25
For negative moment

Using the same tendons

P = 1094 kips
Due to external load
5400(16)
f bt = = 2.636 ksi
32768

Top fiber

1094(e)(16)
- 2.848 - + 2.636 = 0
32768
e = 0.396 in

26