Pre-Stressed Concrete

Introduction
Lakshitha Fernando
First Class in BSc.Eng(Hons)
University of Moratuwa

What is Pre-Stressing?
External
Compressive
Force

>
Tensile force
due to self
weight of the
books

What is Pre-Stressing?
The act of applying forces to a structure
other than the loads the structure is designed
to carry, in order to enhance the structure's
ability to carry those loads

Principles in Pre-stressing

There is a deficiency
The opposite of the deficiency could be provided
There is a method of applying the force
There is a method of locking the force in the
position

Significant amounts of energy are stored in the

system

Concrete
A building material which is strong in
compression but relatively weak in tension
Solutions
Reinforcing- Steel carries the tension
Pre-stressing Application of pre-compression to
counteract the tensile stresses

Pre-Stressed Concrete
There is a deficiency- lack of tensile strength
The opposite of the deficiency could be
provided compressive strength
There is a method of applying the force
using a jack
There is a method of locking the force in the
position anchorages/bonds
Significant amounts of energy are stored in
the system

History

Considere- French Engineer (1880s)

Sir William Glanville USA (1886s)
Wettstein (1921)
Dill USA (1925)

The Father of Pre-Stressed concrete

Basic Concepts
Design based on stress control (French approach)
The pre- stress is selected to ensure that stresses
under working loads do not exceed permissible
stresses

Design based on strength (German approach)

Concerned with the ultimate strength of the section

Design based on deflections (American approach)

Load balancing

Advantages of Pre-Stressed Concrete

Crack free structure under service loads
Full section is utilized - higher stiffness
smaller deflection improved serviceability
Reduction of steel corrosion-increase in durability

Slender sections can be used

reduction in self weight
Economical sections
Larger spans are possible

More adaptable to pre-casting

Rapid construction
Repetitive construction

Disadvantages of Pre-stressed
Concrete
Costly
Requires high strength material
Requires larger capital

Requires highly trained personnel

Design
Production supervision and quality assurance

Concrete for Pre-stressed Concrete

OPC based concrete with strength usually
greater than 50N/mm2
A high early strength is required to enable
quicker application of pre stress

Steel for Pre-stressing

Wires- (diameter:3mm-7mm)
Strand- produced by spinning wires around a
central core wire (diameter: 8mm-18mm)

Bars (diameter: 20mm-40mm)

Forms of Pre-stressing
Pre-tensioning & Post-tensioning
Bonded & Unbonded
Partial & Full

Pre-tensioning & Post-tensioning

Pre-tensioning
Step1 : Steel tendons either pass through a single
mould or a line of moulds for multiple members
arranged end to end and are attached at one end
to a fixed anchorage

 Step 2: The tendons are then tensioned from the

fixed anchorage between an external independent
anchorage to give the required tensile force in the
tendon

Step 3: The tendons are held in place while the

concrete is poured

 Step 4 : When the concrete has hardened

sufficiently the ends of the tendons are slowly
released from the external anchorages. The
tendons are restrained from regaining their
original length by the development of bond
stresses between the concrete and the tendon,
and it is these bond stresses that transfer the
compressive stress to the concrete

 Step 5 : The tendons are then trimmed

Key Points
Straight profiles holding down for curved
profiles
Small diameter wires for better bonding
Long line method for mass production

Post Tensioning
Step 1: The tendon is placed in the correct
position in the formwork with a dead-end
anchorage and a live-end anchorage, through
which the tendon passes. The tendon may be
placed in plastic or metallic sleeve or later
inserted into a duct made out of thin steel tubes
or rubber tubes

 Step 2: Concrete is poured and left to harden

Step 3: When the concrete has gained sufficient

strength a jack is attached to the live-end
anchorage and the tendon is stressed to the
required force

 Step 4: To prevent the tendon from slipping back it

is locked into the anchorage by means of a split
wedge located in the barrel of the recessed
anchorage. The tension force in the tendon is
transferred to the concrete as a compressive force
by the reaction at the anchorages

Step 5: The jack is then removed

 Key points
If needed, the tendon can be jacked from both
ends to reduce friction losses
The ducts may or may not be grouted grouting
could provide additional security
If grouted- bonded pre-stressing
If not grouted- unbonded pre-stressing

Pre-Tensioning vs Post-Tensioning
Pre-Tensioning
Suitable for short spans
Generally straight tendon
profiles
Cheaper

Post-Tensioning
Suitable for medium and
long spans
Can use curved tendons to
get any desired profile
Costlier

Bonded and Unbonded Pre-stressing

Bonded Pre-stressing
Pre- tensioned and grouted post-tensioned
For grouted post- tensioned with tendons placed
in metallic or plastic sleeves
When concrete has gained sufficient strength the
tendon is stressed and then the sleeve is filled with
grout under pressure
The grout bonds the tendons to the sleeve thus
enabling the transfer of stress from the tendons to the
concrete

 For grouted post- tensioned with tendons placed in

ducts formed in the concrete during placement
A rubber tube is placed in the required position
before the concrete is poured
When the concrete has hardened sufficiently the
tube is removed and the tendon is passed through
the duct
Once the tendon is in the correct position, it is
stressed and finally grouted to provide the
required bond between the concrete and tendon

Unbonded Pre-stressing
Post tensioned members in which sleeves or
ducts are not grouted

Bonded Pre-stressed

Unbonded Pre-stressed

Pre- tensioned

Yes

No

Post-tensioned with
tendons placed in metallic
or plastic sleeves

If grouted

If not grouted

Post- tensioned with

tendons placed in ducts
formed in the concrete
during placement

If grouted

If not grouted

Full and Partial Pre-stressing

Full pre-stressing
When a member is designed so that no tensile
stresses develop under service loads

Partial pre-stressing
When some tensile stresses are allowed and
concrete is allowed to crack under maximum
service load

Applications
Railway sleepers

Communication poles

 Pre-tensioned pre-cast Hollowcore Slabs

Pre-tensioned pre-cast piles