Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Introduction
Prestressed concrete is different from ordinary (non-prestressed) reinforced concrete because the tendons apply loads to the concrete as a result of their prestress force, whilst in reinforced concrete the stresses in the reinforcement result from the loads applied to the structure. A proportion of the external loads is therefore resisted by applying a load in the opposite sense through the prestressing whilst the balance has to be resisted by ordinary reinforcement. Prestressing tendons may be internal, i.e. within the concrete either bonded to the concrete or unbonded, or external, i.e. outside the concrete but (generally) inside the envelope of the member, see Fig. 1. It is possible for external tendons to be outside the concrete envelope; as their eccentricity to the centroid of the concrete section increases, the section behaves more as an extradosed cable-stayed structure than a prestressed concrete member and different design rules are appropriate.
Prestressed members can be either pretensioned, i.e. the tendons are stressed before the concrete is cast around them and the force transferred to the concrete when it has obtained sufficient strength, or post-tensioned, i.e. sheathing is cast into the concrete to form ducts through which the tendons are threaded and then stressed after the concrete has gained sufficient strength. Table 1 compares the advantages and disadvantages of pre- and post-tensioning.
Page 1
When the tendon profile is concordant, the only forces induced at any point in the member by the action of prestressing are an axial compression equal to the prestressing force and a moment equal to the product of the prestressing force and its eccentricity relative to the neutral axis of the member. These are the primary prestressing forces. Table 2 Comparison of bonded and unbonded construction
Type of construction Bonded Advantages tendons are more effective at the ultimate limit state does not depend on the anchorage after grouting localises the effect of damage Unbonded tendons can be removed for inspection and are replaceable if corroded reduced friction losses generally faster construction tendons can be re-stressed thinner webs less efficient at ultimate limit state relies on the integrity of the anchorages and deviators effects of any damage are more widespread less efficient in controlling cracking Disadvantages tendons cannot be inspected or replaced tendons cannot be re-stressed once grouted
When the tendon profile is non-concordant, additional forces and moments will be induced in the member during prestressing by the restraints acting on it. These are known as the secondary or parasitic effects. Other common nomenclature associated with prestressed concrete is defined in Fig. 2.
Page 2
Concrete is stronger in compression than in tension. Prestress is introduced to pre-compress the areas of concrete, which would otherwise be in tension under service loads. The concrete section is therefore stronger and behaves more as a homogeneous section, allowing elastic methods of analysis to be used, although the concrete compressive stresses can be high. When the tendons are bonded to the concrete, their high ultimate strength can be mobilised, which generally means that the ultimate flexural capacity of a prestressed concrete member is much greater than the applied ultimate design moment. Therefore, limiting the maximum compressive stresses and crack widths under service loads is generally critical in the design of prestressed concrete members, although this may not be the case for members with unbonded tendons or members with bonded tendons and large allowable crack widths. Therefore, flexural design is normally carried out at the serviceability limit state and then checked at the ultimate limit state. Shear design is carried out at the ultimate limit state. The prestressing force applied to the concrete immediately after tensioning and anchoring (post-tensioning) or after transfer (pretensioning) will be less than the jacking load due to one or more of the following: elastic deformation of the concrete; losses due to friction, and wedge slip in the anchorages.
The value of the prestressing force will continue to reduce with time due to: relaxation of prestressing steel; creep of the concrete shrinkage of the concrete.
It is normal to check the flexural stresses in a prestressed concrete member both when the prestress force is initially transferred to the concrete (at transfer), taking account of the initial losses, and in service, after all losses have occurred. Prestress can be considered as a load or as a resistance. At the serviceability limit state, it is normally considered as a load whilst, at the limit state, it is considered as a combination of a load and a resistance. When considered as a load, the effects of prestress can be determined by analysing the structure under a system of equivalent loads representing the forces from the prestressing tendons acting on the concrete. Such an analysis automatically takes account of both primary and secondary effects. When prestress has been considered as a load, the contribution of prestressing tendons to the resistance of a section is limited to their additional strength beyond prestressing. This can be calculated by assuming that the origin of the stress-strain relationship of the tendons is displaced by the effects of prestressing. For bonded tendons, this is illustrated in Fig. 3. The origin of the stress-strain relationship is taken as being at point A, corresponding to a prestress force, Pt, and the contribution of the tendons to the resistance of the section is fpAp. When the whole of the prestress is considered as a resistance, the origin is taken as point B.
Page 3
Pt Ep Ap
= prestressing force at time t = Young's Modulus of tendons = area of tendons = the mean strain in the tendons at the time they are bonded to the concrete, (i.e. the initial strain in the tendon, allowing only for losses due to friction and draw, + p0) = the strain in the concrete due to stressing the tendon (or to stressing the first tendon when a number of tendons are stressed successively), for post-tensioned members
p0
p f p
fp
= the additional strain in the tendons (i.e. the tensile strain in the concrete at the centroid of the tendons). = the additional stress in the tendons = the total stress in the tendons
[Insert a paragraph describing partial prestressing with a table listing the advantages and disadvantages] The design of prestressed concrete bridges is described in a number of standard texts, some of which are listed at the end of this chapter of the Design Guide. The following sections give advice and information on particular aspects of the design of prestressed concrete bridges.
Segmental Construction
[Section to be written describing the issues to be considered in prestressed concrete segmental bridge design, e.g. design methods for glued and dry joints, continuity of sheathing across joints between segments, commonly used methods of erection, staged transfer of dead load from falsework to prestressed section (see also ref 3 below)]. [Include photograph of segmental bridge and diagrams as appropriate]
Precast Beams
[Section dealing with stability issues during transport, erection & casting of deck concrete what loads should be allowed for, etc.]
Page 5
CIRIA, London
General text on prestressed concrete bridge design. Section 4.6.4 discusses detailing to resist local forces from curved tendons (in curved or straight bridges). Chapter 7 is devoted to the design and construction of special bridges and section 7.6 is particularly helpful in covering the design of curved prestressed concrete girders.
Standard Method of Detailing Structural Concrete, The Institution of Structural Engineers & The Concrete Society, 1989
Chapter 7 deals with prestressed concrete and discusses succinctly a number of issues which should be considered when designing and detailing prestressed concrete bridges.
Concrete Box Girder Bridges, Jorg Schlaich & Harmut Scheef.
This book contains good practical examples which are linked with theory.
FIP Handbook on Practical Design.
This book gives practical examples of the design procedures for a variety of prestressed concrete bridges
Design of Bridges with External Prestressing, A.F.Daly & P.Jackson
This book is very helpful in discussing important construction details which the designer should take into account when developing his designs.
Page 6