Losses of Prestress

Chapter 10 – Text book Warner et al.

Pj Pj

Jacking Transfer End of design life

Pj Pi Pe
Immediate Deferred
losses losses

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Types of Losses
• Immediate Losses
–Elastic compression (deformation) of the concrete, during
stressing
–Anchorage Slip, ie movement of the grips as the tendons are
anchored
–Duct Friction, ie friction along the member, between the
tendon and duct, during stressing of the tendon

• Deferred Losses
–Stress relaxation in the prestressing steel
–Shrinkage deformation in the concrete
–Creep deformation in the concrete

In AS3600- 2009 other immediate losses are listed and may be

considered in special circumstances. eg. deformation of
construction joints in segmented members, temperature effects
and deformation in forms for precast members
RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina
 Elastic Loss
In a pre-tensioned member during transfer, the tensile strain in the
prestressing steel decreases by an amount equal to the compressive
strain induced by the concrete at the level of the steel, since the
steel and concrete are bonded.
If ci is the compressive stress at the steel level just after transfer,
the loss in prestress in the steel due to elastic compression is:
p = ciEp/Ec
Where the concrete stress ci is determined from the initial
prestressing force Pi

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Elastic Deformation Loss –
Single Cable 拉Tendon時, jacking force 會水平向石矢面壓 (compression),
石矢就會水平壓扁(長度變短) 而卸走部分jacking force

ce = concrete compressive strain at the

b top steel level just after transfer, (ie. due to
prestress alone)
dsc
ce = /Ec
dp dst = 1/Ec [Pi/Ag + Pie/(Ig/e)]
Ap Reduction in Stress in the
εce prestressing tendon
p = ciEp/Ec = ce Ep
Ast Strains in
Reduction of force in the
Concrete at
prestressing tendon = ce EpAp
transfer

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 如果超過1條 Tendon,
一次過拉就無elastic loss, 分開逐條拉就有
Elastic loss- number of cables, sequential stressing

• In a post-tensioned member, the cable is prestressed directly

against the concrete, which compresses elastically as the cable
force increases. Provided there is only one cable, there is no
need to make allowance for elastic loss.
• Where prestressing steel consists of a number of cables post-
tensioned sequentially, condition more complex
• Tensioning of one cable can cause losses in all the cables
stressed earlier – this is common in post-tensioned beams
• The first cable will undergo the largest loss of prestress
• When the mth cable at an eccentricity em is stressed to Pm, the
elastic loss in a previously tensioned cable l, of area Apl at an
eccentricity el is 如果Tendons 係同一平水/Eccentric,
em = el

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Duct Friction Loss
• In post tensioned members friction between the cable and surrounding duct
produces a fall-off in prestressing force with distance from the jacking point, that is
the prestress at midspan to be less than the jacking force
• This loss is a function of
– the length of the cable from jacking end to design section Lpa,
– total angular change over the length of the cable tot
– Duct friction 
– Duct wobble (local irregularities of the cable profile) p

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

AS3600 method of calculation of duct friction loss

• Cable stress pa at a distance Lpa from the jacking end is calculated as

pa = pje-(tot+pLpa)

• AS3600-2009 Cl.3.4.2.4 gives the factors  and p for different types of ducts

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

Calculation of tot

x
h
Lpa dy/ dx = 0, x = L/2
y

tot= sum of all changes in angle in the cable over the distance Lpa.
For the example above, the equation of the cable profile is
y = 4h[x/L-(x/L)2] y = ax^2 + bx + c, where y = 0, x = L and y = h, x = L/2
*for this case only.

Slope = dy/dx= θ = 4h/L[1-2(x/L)]

x = 0, θ=4h/L

Angular change between end anchorage and mid-span = 4h/L

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

Anchorage Slip

• Depends on the type of anchorages

• Amount of draw-in usually is given by the manufacturers of the anchorage
system
• Anchorage loss is counter-acted by the duct friction and is often not
significant at the design section

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

Deferred losses

– Shrinkage deformation in the concrete Refer to P.4

– Creep deformation in the concrete Refer to P.4
– Stress relaxation in the prestressing steel

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Loss of prestress due to shrinkage of concrete

• The loss in prestress due to a design shrinkage strain cs in the concrete
is
p = Epcs
and modified to allow for the effects of reinforcement as given in AS3600
- Cl3.4.3.2

• The free shrinkage strain in the concrete at any time T after casting is
estimated from shrinkage data provided in AS3600 Cl 3.1.7.2 –Design
shrinkage strain
• Actual field shrinkage will be less than the free shrinkage if any physical
restraints acts on the concrete.
• For example, if a prestressed member has reinforcement distributed
throughout its cross-section so that its effect on shrinkage is mainly axial,
the loss of prestress in the tendon is modified using a factor  calculated
as [1+15As/Ag] hence p = Epcs /

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Calculation of design shrinkage strain cs

• Shrinkage of concrete occurs due to evaporation of water from drying

concrete

• Design Shrinkage strain cs is calculated as the sum of the chemical

(autogenous) shrinkage strain (cse) and the drying shrinkage strain (csd)
 cs = cse + csd

AS3600-2009 Cl 3.1.7.2

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Autogenous shrinkage strain, cse

• Chemical (or autogenous) shrinkage results from various chemical

reactions within the cement paste and includes hydration shrinkage,
which is related to the degree of hydration of the binder in a sealed
specimen.

cse = cse x (1.0-e-0.1t)

Where t is time in days after setting and *cse is the final autogenous
shrinkage strain given by
*cse = (0.06f’c-1.0) x 50x10-6

AS3600-2009 Cl 3.1.7.2

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Drying shrinkage strain, csd

• Drying shrinkage is the reduction in volume caused principally by the loss

of water during the drying process.
• At any time t (in days) after the commencement of drying, the drying
shrinkage strain shall be taken as
 csd = k1k4csd.b

k1 depends on the dimensions of the member calculated as th = 2A/ue

and obtained from figure 3.1.7.2
Where A is the cross sectional area of the member
ue is the length of the exposed perimeter

• The basic drying shrinkage strain csd.b is given by

 csd.b = (1.0-0.008f’c) x csd.b

 csd.b depends upon quality of the local aggregates and taken as 900x
10-6 for melbourne

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Australian Standard®, Concrete Structures, AS 3600-2009
RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina
 Loss of prestress due to creep of concrete
• The loss in stress in the prestressing steel due to creep strain cc in the
concrete is calculated as in Cl3.4.3.3
p = Epcc
• Creep strain in concrete is
cc =0.8cc( ci/Ec)
Where the concrete stress ci is the sustained stress in the concrete at
the level of the centroid of the tendons, calculated using the initial
prestress force Pi prior to any time-dependent losses and the sustained
portions of all service loads

cc = design creep coefficient at time (t) determined in accordance with

Cl 3 .1.8.3 and depends on
th and Relative humidity (RH) as in shrinkage
f’c characteristic strength of concrete
cc.b basic creep coefficient

cc = k2 x k3 x k4 x k5cc.b
RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina
 Design creep coefficient cc
• cc = design creep coefficient at time (t)
cc = k2 x k3 x k4 x k5cc.b

k2 and k3 obtained from fig3.1.8.3 (A) and fig 3.1.8.3(B)

k4 = 0.7 for arid environment, 0.65 for interior environment, 0.6 for
temperate, 0.5 for tropical
k5 modification for high strength concrete, taken as 1.0 for f’c<50MPa

cc.b basic creep coefficient given in table 3.1.8.2

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Australian Standard®, Concrete
Structures, AS 3600-2009

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Australian Standard®, Concrete Structures, AS 3600-2009

Australian Standard®, Concrete Structures, AS 3600-2009

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Loss of prestress due to tendon relaxation
• This is the creep in strands, which would cause a loss of stress
• Is determined by modifying the percentage loss of stress due to the
design relaxation R to take into account effects of shrinkage and creep.

• The percentage loss of stress in the tendon in the member is taken as

(Cl3.4.3.4)

R(1- (the loss of stress due to creep and shrinkage/pi))

Where the concrete stress ci is determined from the initial prestressing
force Pi
R = is design relaxation of tendon

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Design relaxation of tendon R

• Design relaxation of a tendon R is determined from Cl3.3.4.3

R (as a %) = k4k5k6Rb
• In the absence of test data the basic relaxation Rb can be taken as
– 1% for low relaxation wire
– 2% for low relaxation strand
– 3% for alloy-steel bars
• Basic relaxation is the assumed relaxation 1000 hours after stressing for a
prestress level of 0.8fpb.

k4, k5 k6 are coefficient that account for, respectively, duration of the prestressing
force, the level of stress in tendon and the temperature
k4 = log[5.4(j)1/6
j = time after prestressing in days
k5 depends on the stress in the tendon as a proportion of fp
k6 generally taken as 1

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Australian Standard®, Concrete Structures, AS 3600-2009

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Worked example- Losses of prestress
ex 10.1 text
Losses are to be determined for a simply supported post-tensioned beam which
spans 25 m and has the cross-section shown in the figure. The beam carries no
permanent load other than its weight.
Prestressing steel is contained in two cables each consisting of 18 super grade three
wire low relaxation strands of 12.7 mm diameter. For each cable, the area is 1802
mm2. The cables have parabolic profiles with eccentricities of zero at each end and
396 mm at mid-span. The concrete strength is f’c = 45 MPa. Stressing takes place
when the concrete is at age 14 days with a strength of 35 MPa. The beam is near
coastal area.
1500
σpi = 1100 MPa
279 250 Ap = 3604mm2
675 815
900 mm As = 8000 mm2
Ag = 570,000 mm2
Ig = 3.48 x 1010 mm4
Ec = 29600 MPa

300
RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina
  pi  1100 MPa
Ap  3604 mm 4  two cables 
As  8000 mm2
Ag  570, 000 mm2
I g  3.48  10 10 mm 4
Gc  29, 600 MPa
f c'  45 MPa

Beam exposed near – costal area

Immediate losses
The loss of prestress in the first cable when
Elastic Loss the second cable is stressed is:
The concrete compressive stress at the steel
level at mid-span, due to the stressing of
one cable is: Ep 190,000
p ci 12.4 80 MPa
Eccentricity cable @ mid span Ec 29,600
 396 mm
Stressing takes place @ 14 days f,cp =35MPa The first cable could thus be stressed to
1180 MPa to allow for concrete elastic
Pi Pe compression.
 ci   i where Pi   pi  Ap (one cable)  1100  1802
Ag  I g 
 
 e 
1100  1802 1100  1802  396 2
 
570, 000 3.48  1010
 3.478  8.93
 12.4 MPa

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

Friction loss – Tendon
It is assumed that jacking is carried
out at one end only (from Cl 3.4.2.4
AS3600 – 2009).
 p  0.016 rad / m Anchorage Slip
(for sheathing with tendons of internal diameter  50 mm) This is obtained from manufacturer’s
information. For example, for VSL multi-strand
  0.20 (zinc-coated flat metal ducts)
systems a draw-in loss of 6 mm is given.
However, at the critical mid-span section, this
At mid-span
loss will be neglected.
4h  4   675  279  
 tot    0.063 rad Length from jacking point and stress
L 25, 000 point(pa) = Total length / 2 in m
 u    L 
  pj e tot p pa   pj e 
0.2 0.063  0.01612.5 
 pa  0.95 pj

At dead end
 tot  2  0.063  0.126 rad
 pa   pj e 0.2 0.126  0.01625  0.91 pj

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

 Drying shrinkage strain  csd
Deferred losses Shrinkage in Concrete
(on vertical face which compress the structure and
 csd  k1 k4 csd
*
.b
Cl 3.1.7.2(3)
Shrinkage loss reduced the total length)

Design shrinkage strain cs k1  1.14 figure 3.1.7.2 AS3600 - 2009

 cs   cse   csd Cl 3.1.7.2(1) AS3600 - 2009  for t  10950 days 
石矢Cross Section Area
 
Autogenous shrinkage strain cse th  2  Ag  2  570000  238 mm 
2   1500  900 
  1.0  e 0.1t 
 Ue 
 cse   cse
*

Cl 3.1.7.2(2) 石矢Perimeter(長+闊 x2)

k4  0.5 near-coastal area
where t is the time (in days) after
setting.  csd
*
.b  900  10
6
(Melbourne)
Take t = 30 years expected life-   csd  1.14  0.5  900  10 6  513  10 6
span of bridge = 10,950 days
The design shrinkage strain is:
 *
Final autogenous shrinkage strain cse
cs  cse  csd   85  513  106  598106
  0.06 f c'  1.0   50  10 6
Cl 3.1.7.2(4)
 cse
*
Loss of prestress due to shrinkage:
  0.06  45  1.0   50  10 6
 85  10 6

Ep
 p   cs Cl.3.4.3.2 AS3600 – 2009
 cse  85  10 6  1.0  e  0.110950 
 85  10 6 
  modification to allow for reinforcement effect
As 15  8000
  1  15  1  1.21
Ag 570000
190000
 p  598  10 6   93.9 MPa  94 MPa
1.21

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina

Creep loss
Creep strain in concrete
  ci 
 cc  0.8cc   Cl 3.1.8.1 AS3600 – 2009
 Ec   Pi Pi e 2 
 = sustained stress in concrete at level of
 at prestress level   
  

ci
 Ag Ig 
tendons Pi  1802  1100  2  3965 kN

Assuming that only sustained load is the self-weight The resultant stress at the level of prestressing
= 13.7 kN/m the mid-span bending moment due to
sustained load:  3965  10 3 3965  103  396 2  1070  106  396
 ci    
 570000 34.8  109  34.8  109
13.7  252
Msw   1070 kN / m  24.8  12.2  12.6 MPa
8
Design creep co-efficient:
The stress in concrete at the level of prestressing steel
Cl 3.1.8.3
due to prestress and sustained service load. cc  cc .b k2 k3 k4 k5
cc .b  2.6 (+b 3.1.8.2)
t  30 years th  238 mm
k2  1.143 (Figure 3.1.8.3(A))
k3  0.9 (Figure 3.1.8.3(B))
k4  0.5
k5  1.0 f c'  50 MPa
cc  2.6  1.143  0.9  0.5  1.0  1.34
RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina
 Tendon stress relaxation
The creep strain: For low relaxation strand take

  ci   12.6  Rb  2%
 cc  0.8cc    0.8  1.34    0.00046
 Ec   29600  Design relaxation of a tendon
Hence loss of prestress due to creep of concrete: R is
Cl 3.3.4.3 AS3600 – 2009
 p   cc Ep  0.00046  190000  87.4 MPa R  k4 k5 k6 Rb
 sum of the losses due to creep and
shrinkage: 
k4  log 5.4  j 
1
6
  log  5.4  10950    1.4
1
6

 p  94  87.4  181 MPa   pi 1100 

k5  0.7  for   0.59 
181  f p 1870 
per cent loss   100  16.5%  
1100 f pb  characteristic minimum breaking strength (Cl 3.3.1)  1870 MPa
k6  1.0
Hence:
R  1.4  0.7  1.0  2  1.96%  2%

Summary of percentage losses @ mid-span

section:
Elastic: 40/1100m ≈ 4%
Friction: 5%
Creep and shrinkage: 16.5%
Relaxation: 2%

RMIT University© Lecture Notes prepared by Dr Rebecca Gravina