PRESTRESSING SCHEMES FOR INCREMENTALLY LAUNCHED BRIDGES

By Marco Rosignoli1

ABSTRACT: Incremental launching is a competitive construction method for medium-span prestressed concrete
bridges. Compared with other techniques for in situ casting, in short bridges it is an alternative to the use of
falseworks and reduces the cost of labor with the same investment. In longer bridges it is an alternative to
movable shuttering systems and reduces both investment and labor cost. Compared with segmental precasting,
it may reduce both investment and the cost of prestressing, which may be partial instead of total, with the same
advantages in terms of industrial production. Due to its competitiveness and overall quality, this construction
method is widely used in Europe. During launch, the superstructure is moved over fixed bearings. The super-
structure dead load produces temporary flexural and shear stresses within the cross section that are quite different
from those produced by the service loads and, consequently, require special prestressing schemes, thoroughly
illustrated in this paper.

INTRODUCTION As an adequate quantity of prestressing is available from

During incremental launching (Fig. 1) of a short-span pre- the beginning of launch, the first approach is to shift tendons
stressed concrete bridge, the edge tensile stresses due to dead at the end of launch from the centroidal position to an eccen-
load bending moments can be resisted by reinforcement. In tric one, so as to use the same strands both for the launch
most cases, however, it is better to reduce or cancel these prestressing and for the final one. The first launched bridge
stresses by means of an appropriate launch prestressing was actually prestressed in this way (Rosignoli 1998), but sav-
scheme. ings in material were canceled by the cost of labor necessary
The cyclic changes in sign of both bending moment and to shift the tensioned tendons, and this prestressing scheme
shear force do not allow use of the parabolic final tendons for was never adopted again.
this purpose, since their action would be inappropriate in the More specialized schemes were studied, composed of per-
temporary support configurations that differ from the final one. manent launch tendons integrated at the end of launch with
Therefore, launch prestressing cannot but be centroidal, and parabolic cables. Thus, launch prestressing became a perma-
its contribution is limited to a uniform compression that re- nent component of the superstructure prestressing, and not
duces tensile stresses in the edges decompressed by bending only because of the cost of its removal. In fact, it increases
moment (partial prestressing), or that guarantees adequate mar- the safety factor from decompression in case of unforeseen
gins from their decompression (total prestressing). events, such as support settlement and seismic phenomena. It
The first thought goes to pretensioning, simple to obtain also improves superstructure behavior near the inversion
with straight layouts. It avoids the cost of anchorages, cou- points of the bending moment diagram, covering the wide
plers, sheaths, and grouting, and guarantees better compaction movements of the null points produced by the presence or the
of the concrete and better strand corrosion protection, com- absence of live loads and thermal gradients.
pared with strands confinement in grouted ducts. As this scheme tends to cause higher consumption of pre-
In reality, however, even allowing edge tensile stresses (par- stressing (Rosignoli 1997), it has been constantly improved to
tial prestressing), the average compression to apply to the cross
section is rather high, about 5 to 7 MPa, and this requires
prestressing forces of tens of meganewtons. The application
of such pretensioning would result in very expensive tension-
ing devices and locking systems for the superstructure, which
is supported on low friction bearings and movable with much
lower forces. Therefore, launch prestressing is always obtained
with posttensioned tendons, arranged either internally or ex-
ternally to the concrete cross section.
This uniform compression is particularly ineffective at the
end of launch, since it overloads the superstructure edges al-
ready compressed by the bending moment diagram. Moreover,
the straight layout of tendons cannot reduce the shear force
near the supports.
As the cost of launch prestressing increases with the span,
for the longest spans incremental launching can compete with
free cantilevering only by reducing the influence of temporary
stresses — that is, introducing temporary piers that halve the
average span of the launch static scheme. In all the other cases,
it is better to regularize launching stresses by means of a
launching nose (Rosignoli 1998) (Fig. 1) or a stayed front
scheme and to optimize the use of axial prestressing.
1
Consulting Engr., Via Ravà 15, 43100 Parma, Italy.
Note. Discussion open until October 1, 1999. To extend the closing
date one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager
of Journals. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and
possible publication on May 18, 1998. This paper is part of the Journal
of Bridge Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, May, 1999. 䉷ASCE, ISSN 1084-
0702/99/0002-0107 – 0115/$8.00 ⫹ $.50 per page. Paper No. 18367. FIG. 1. Incremental Launching

JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999 / 107

make the centroidal component of the final prestressing even
more effective and less expensive, and several different
schemes have been tested.

LAUNCH PRESTRESSING
Bending stresses in the superstructure segment supported on
the formwork are very low. Prestressing introduced before
launch is mainly aimed at avoiding shrinkage cracks, absorb-
ing the low tensile stresses due to segment extraction from the
formwork, and preparing the segment to be launched over the
temporary curing supports placed between the formwork and
the launch abutment (Fig. 1), and then over the first span.
The advances in incremental launching saw the creation and
the optimization of many different schemes for launch pre- FIG. 2. Tendons Coupled at Each Joint but Tensioned Alter-
nately Every Two Joints
stressing:

• Permanent internal straight tendons joined to each other

by couplers in the construction joints between the sub-
sequent superstructure segments
• Temporary or permanent internal straight tendons an-
chored in accessible blisters and joined to each other by
longitudinal overlapping
• Temporary or permanent external straight tendons to-
gether with one of the previous types or alone
• Temporary or permanent parabolic tendons, either internal
or external, along with temporary opposing tendons that
make the eccentricity of the resulting force constant, and
straight external tendons that raise the prestressing force
toward the centroidal level, reducing the overall eccen-
tricity
Coupled Straight Tendons
After the initial experiences with shifting tendons, launch
prestressing was obtained by straight tendons as long as the
superstructure segments, joined by couplers in each construc-
tion joint of the superstructure. In effect, coupled joints offer
some advantages: low secondary stresses, low prestress losses
due to friction, simple formwork, and reinforcement. But they
present many limitations as well:
• A high prestressing cost because of the short average ten-
don length, the additional cost of couplers, and the high
consumption of skilled labor
• The impossibility of removing a portion of prestressing at
the end of launch
• The frequent need to increase the slab thickness near the
joint in order to contain the couplers, and the tendency to
extend this thickening to the whole superstructure, result-
ing in a greater dead load
• The need to check the joint section accurately, since cou-
plers reduce the moment of inertia considerably
• The sharp introduction of the whole launch prestressing
in fresh concrete, even though it is centroidal and there-
fore not able to produce irreversible rotations
This last aspect has often been the cause of distributed cracks
in the joint section because of the elastic strains of concrete
near the anchorages. The force transferred by each anchorage
deforms the concrete locally, and with it the construction joint
against which the concrete of the next segment is match-cast
and then compressed by its own launch prestressing. Tension-
ing the newly added tendons relieves the pressure transferred
by the anchorages in the previous segment, and the recovery
of the elastic deformation of the concrete compresses the joint
locally and, for equilibrium, decompresses the zones further
from the anchorages, resulting in tensile cracks.
Therefore, unless launch prestressing is higher than about 4
108 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999
FIG. 3. Staggered Couplers Permit One to Prestress Two Seg-
ments with Each Tendon
MPa, the zones of the joint section distant from the axes of
couplers should have a specific reinforcement. Besides, it is
convenient to use many tendons to guarantee a good distri-
bution of the prestressing force in the cross section, and this
complicates the joint geometry even more.
Because of these problems, the evolution of this scheme of
prestressing was fast, and followed two different directions:
• Tendons coupled in each joint but tensioned alternately
every two joints, resulting in a more progressive intro-
duction of prestressing (Fig. 2).
• Staggered couplers so as to prestress two subsequent seg-
ments with each tendon and halve the number of couplers
(Fig. 3). With this scheme, if the strands are inserted in
empty ducts after casting, recesses for the couplers are
necessary to anchor the strands. On the other hand, pre-
fabricated tendons emerging from the back joint compli-
cate the cage assembly in the formwork and make its
preassembly impossible.
In spite of these limits, the schemes with couplers are very
competitive in slender superstructures where access to the box
cell is difficult. Tendon overlapping may be more advanta-
geous in the deeper sections.
Overlapped Straight Tendons
The recent advances in placing strands in empty ducts have
made joining by overlapping an often-adopted and competitive
solution. The advantages are as follows:
• The handling of short duct segments instead of long and
heavy prefabricated tendons speeds up the cage assembly,
saves labor, and guarantees a better final result.
• Concrete curing time can be used for fabricating the ten-
dons. This reduces the criticality of the steel cage assem-
bly when it occurs directly in the formwork, and permits
a better rotation of labor.

FIG. 4. Anchorages in Blisters at Both Ends Permit One to Re-
lieve and Recover Some Centroidal Prestress Tendons upon
Completion of Launch
• Because of the absence of tendons emerging from the
back joint, integral cage preassembly is possible.
• The average tendon length increases, and this reduces the
cost of anchorages and the prestress losses due to their
reentry.
• Friction losses in the longer tendons can be reduced by
symmetrical tensioning from both ends.
• The cost and the implications of couplers are avoided.
Launch tendons are arranged in the slabs, similarly to the
mechanically coupled ones. While their front (launchward) an-
chorages always emerge inside the box cell, the back anchor-
ages can emerge as well, to be always accessible, or can be
placed within the joint cross section. In this latter case, the
match-casting of the next superstructure segment covers them,
and the tendons cannot be relieved.
By placing the back anchorages in the construction joint,
the cost of blisters halves, but special reinforcing schemes are
necessary because of creep strains due to local compression at
the anchorages. Unlike coupled tendons, the anchorage forces
do not reduce with time, and the creep deformation modifies
the stress distribution along the joint, decompressing the zones
in front of the anchorages so much that even an average initial
compression of 3 MPa may be unable to prevent tensile
stresses. Joint cracking may be avoided by additional rein-
forcement.
On the contrary, back anchorages in blisters are always ac-
cessible and permit one to relieve and recover some of the
prestress tendons upon completion of the launch (Fig. 4). This
operation, although it reduces the permanent prestressing in
the structure, is generally not very competitive and is adopted
only to correct the undesired effects of launch prestressing
(Rosignoli 1998). In fact, recovered strands are hard to reuse,
anchorages are lost as well as ducts, which must be grouted
to fill holes in the superstructure, and the impossibility of
grouting temporary tendons exposes to the risk of strand cor-
rosion under load. Since this risk is acceptable only for short
periods of time, the possibility of recovering nongalvanized or
PVC-coated strands is limited to short bridges.
By inserting strands in empty ducts, tendons can be very
long and can join several deck segments in order to introduce
launch prestressing progressively. The tendon length and the
connection scheme characterize the progress of launch pre-
stress in the superstructure. In turn, the allowable bending mo-
ment in the superstructure cross section according to the pre-
stress and curing reached defines the spacing between the
curing supports placed between the formwork and the launch
abutment.
External Straight Tendons
The first launched bridge over the Rio Caroni did not use
any permanent launch prestressing, since service prestress was
obtained by varying the position of launch tendons. For this
purpose, they had to be external. Later, the scheme composed
of centroidal internal launch tendons corrected at the end of
launch by parabolic and short, straight tendons characterized
most launched bridges. In some bridges, an intermediate so-
lution has been adopted, composed of
• Internal straight final tendons distributed in the slabs so
as to produce a centroidal prestress force (Fig. 5).
• External straight temporary tendons, also centroidal, to be
relieved at the end of launch to reduce superstructure
compression without introducing secondary moments. In
the case of total prestressing, these additional launch ten-
dons can be sized to cover bending moments produced
by thermal gradients and bearing settlement, and rarely
exceed 25% of the total final prestressing.
• Parabolic, span, and cap tendons introduced and tensioned
at the end of launch (Fig. 6).
The use of external tendons for launch prestressing (Breen
and Naaman 1990) complicates the formwork and the steel
cage, but offers many advantages, such as savings in ducts and
grouting, the simplicity of tendon removal, and the improve-
ment of the mechanical properties of the cross section due to
the lower number of holes.
In order to improve the competitiveness of this scheme, ex-
ternal tendons can be anchored directly to the support dia-
phragms, permitting reuse of their anchorages if additional ex-
ternal prestressing is necessary in the future. In this case,
diaphragms must be built before launch, and the undulation of
the bending moment envelope due to their dead load increases
the cost of launch prestressing. Moreover, diaphragms should
be adequately cured before stressing the tendons, and this in-
creases the length of the curing zone.
The adoption of a large number of temporary tendons is
rarely competitive, except when the number of superstructures
to build subsequently is such as to amortize the recovered
material, or when this can be reused as parabolic or polygonal
final prestressing. On the contrary, external tendons can be
useful for absorbing the tensile stress peaks in the front zone
of the superstructure, since they permit sizing of internal pre-
stressing for more uniform stresses.
FIG. 5. Launch Prestressing Obtained by Integrating Internal
Permanent Tendons with External Temporary Tendons
FIG. 6. Upon Completion of Launch, Centroidal Prestressing
Is Integrated with Parabolic, Span, and Cap Tendons, Prepared
by Placing Strands within Empty Ducts
JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999 / 109
Antagonist Tendons
Antagonist prestressing has met a certain success in recent
years. The principle is to separate the final prestressing from
the temporary one. The final prestressing is the typical one for
bridges cast in situ, with parabolic internal tendons or polyg-
onal external ones, sometimes complemented by cap and span
tendons. The temporary prestressing consists of tendons that
compensate the eccentricity of the final tendons during launch,
until a centroidal prestress force is obtained. Temporary ten-
dons can be, in very variable proportions:
• Short and rectilinear, placed inside or close to the bottom
slab in the support sections and to the top slab in midspan,
and coupled by overlapping in transverse beams that, in
the case of external final prestressing, can be its deviation
diaphragms. In this case, the optimum length of the su-
perstructure segments is one-third of the current span.
• Long and parabolic, with polygonal layout symmetrical
to the final tendon layout with respect to the gravity axis
of the superstructure. In this case, deviation saddles are
necessary along the span, as in Fig. 7.
The high axial compression produced during launch by final
and antagonist tendons permits one to obtain extremely effi-
cient cross sections, since the reduction of principal tensile
stresses limits the web thickness. The need not to compromise
this result with anomalies of the shear force diagram near the
deviation points (especially in the case of internal final ten-
dons, which are parabolic and not polygonal as are the external
antagonist tendons) makes the positioning of deviation points
difficult, and complicates internal formworks.
In spite of these difficulties, these schemes permit one to
optimize prestress both in the construction stages and in the
service ones. Even construction times are shorter, since the
end-of-launch prestressing operations involve fewer tendons,
although the recovery of the antagonist ones is rather difficult.
FIG. 7. Prestressing Scheme for Sathorn Bridge: Since Inter-
nal Final Tendons Are Parabolic, External Antagonist Tendons
Are Deviated Uniformly in Order to Reduce Shear Force Anom-
alies
110 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999
Tendons are generally chosen for strength, in order to limit
their number and avoid excessive congestion of the box cell. For
a safe reuse of their strands, especially for the final prestressing,
some precautions should be taken during their temporary use:
• Temporary launch prestress should be less than 85 to 90%
of the allowable tensile stress, to reduce risks of local
strand plasticization.
• Strand portions notched by the anchor keys must be elim-
inated. Since, in this case, temporary tendons must be
longer than the final ones, the bottom transverse anchor
beams can be widened (Fig. 8), or the anchorages can be
arranged in steel pipes filled with concrete, which can be
reused more times.
• As an alternative, by tensioning tendons from only one
side instead of from both, it is possible to use permanent
pressed strand couplers instead of anchor keys in the dead
anchorage, or the notched zones can be placed immedi-
ately outside the dead anchorage, since, in both cases, the
higher elongation at final tensioning permits the opposite
notched zones to emerge outside the pulling anchorage.
• The strands should be galvanized and placed in perforated
polyethylene pipes that permit corrosion control in case
of damage to galvanization during the strand insertion. To
guarantee the safety of workers in the case of breakage
of a strand or of the whole tendon, these pipes are an-
chored to the superstructure by means of collars.
• Only one temporary tendon should be dismantled at a
time by backward pulling inside plastic sheaths, which
facilitate extraction and protect the tendon from dirt, and
immediately reused as a final tendon in the same span.
Antagonist launch tendons were used in the Sathorn Via-
ducts (Rosignoli 1998) along with internal final tendons (Fig.
7). Since the cross-sectional centroid was so high as to penal-
ize the midspan efficiency of antagonist tendons contained into
the box cell, they emerged above the top slab and were de-
viated by steel saddles rested on the superstructure. In the sup-
port zones, they were contained inside the webs. Both final
parabolic tendons and antagonist tendons were anchored in the
permanent support zones of the superstructure, and therefore
each launch was as long as the whole span.
An even more radical application of antagonist prestressing
was tested in the Amiens Viaduct (Rosignoli 1998). The launch
tendons, entirely external, were located as follows: two with
a final trapezoidal layout deviated at span quarters, two with
a final triangular layout deviated in midspan, four in antagonist
position with a rigorously symmetrical layout, and six straight
FIG. 8. Widened Bottom Anchor Beams Increase Length of
Antagonist Tendons, so that Their Strands Can Be Reused in Fi-
nal Tendons once Portions Notched by Anchor Keys Have Been
Eliminated
and close to the top slab to raise the prestress force to the Mmin
centroid of the current section. Upon completion of the launch, ed = (3)
Fmin
span by span, the four antagonist tendons were relieved and
repositioned parallel to the four permanent polygonal tendons maintain the resulting force inside the central core of the cross
stressed before launch. section, whose depth is hc :

Dimensioning of Axial Prestressing eu ⫹ ed = hc (4)

In a superstructure of constant dead load, composed of from which
many equal spans, with a launching nose adequately stiff and
as long as 0.6 times the span, the envelope of the launch bend- ⌬M
ing moment diagrams is approximately the one of Fig. 9. Fmin = (5)
hc
The superstructure can be divided in two zones: a back cur-
rent zone, characterized by a repetitive course of launch In the case of partial launch prestressing, similar considera-
stresses and therefore by constant envelopes, and a front zone tions will apply, so that defined edge tensile stresses are not
characterized by peaks of both bending moments and shear exceeded.
force. Usually, launch prestressing is sized for the current In reality, no cross section can have a central core perfectly
zone, and then adapted to the particular requirements of the dimensioned for the maximum fluctuation of launch bending
front zone. Applicable standards and design preferences guide moment, and launch prestressing will be higher than this min-
in the choice between three different design criteria for launch imum value [(5)].
prestressing: By imposing limitation on the allowable edge stresses:
• Total prestressing for all load conditions F M
• Total prestressing only for dead load, so that thermal ⫺␴t ⱕ ⫹ zu ⱕ ␴c (6a)
A I
stresses and accidental events can decompress the edges
and produce cracks, whose width is controlled by rein- F M
forcement ⫺␴t ⱕ ⫺ zl ⱕ ␴c (6b)
A I
• Partial prestressing, allowing edge tensile stresses inde-
pendent from the load combinations where ␴c = allowable compressive stress; and ⫺␴t = allowable
tensile one, the worst conditions are
Generally, the most competitive solution consists in allow-
ing low edge tensile stresses during launch (1 to 2 MPa) to be Mmin F Mmax
absorbed by longitudinal reinforcement. Upon completion of ⫺␴t ⫹ zu ⱕ ⱕ ␴c ⫺ zu (7a)
I A I
the launch, the dead load and 10 to 30% of the live load are
carried without edge decompression, while the remaining por- Mmax F Mmin
tion of the live load is carried by partialized sections. Edge ⫺␴t ⫹ zl ⱕ ⱕ ␴c ⫺ zl (7b)
tensile stress is not limited, and crack width is controlled ac- I A I
cording to environmental aggressiveness.
which define the minimum moment of inertia of the cross sec-
tion
Back Current Zone of Superstructure
In the back zone of the superstructure, each cross section is I Mmin
ⱖ (8a)
subject to bending moments that vary from ⫹Mmax to ⫺Mmin: H ␴c ⫹ ␴t

⌬M = Mmax ⫹ Mmin (1) I Mmax

ⱖ (8b)
To annul edge tensile stresses, the minimum axial prestressing, H ␴c ⫹ ␴t
Fmin , should be such that the maximum upward eccentricity of
the resulting force For the allowable tensile stress to be reached both in the upper
edge of the support section and in the lower edge of the mid-
Mmax span section, it must be
eu = (2)
Fmin
F Mmin F Mmax
and the maximum downward eccentricity ⫺␴t = ⫺ zu = ⫺ zl (9)
A I A I

from which

zl Mmin
= (10)
zu Mmax

For the bending moment produced by constant dead load, the

optimum section has the centroid at a distance from its upper
edge equal to one third of its depth, Mmin being double Mmax
(Fig. 9).
In reality, the other launch stresses (thermal gradients, bear-
ing settlement, and time-dependent effects) affect Mmax more
than Mmin , and the centroid should be lower:

zu
0.33 ⱕ ⱕ 0.42 (11)
FIG. 9. Launch Moment Envelope H
JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999 / 111
This condition is rarely satisfied, since the wide top slab draws correct distribution of the mechanical characteristics of the
the centroid upward, and the minimum launch prestressing will cross sections reduces the edge stresses even more.
be such as to not exceed the allowable edge tensile stress in In this context, the structure has to be modified to resist
the worst condition: service loads. For this purpose, additional centroidal tendons

冉 冊
would not be very advantageous, and it is preferable to shape
Mmin the additional tendons so as to obtain the highest eccentricity
F1 = zu ⫺ ␴t A (12a)
I of the resulting force. The importance and the effectiveness of

冉 冊
Mmax
F2 = zl ⫺ ␴t A (12b)
I launching technique. Using temporary piers, launch prestress-
Fmin = max(F1, F2) (12c)
Front Zone of Superstructure
In the front superstructure zone, the maximum negative mo-
ment and, in a lesser degree, the maximum positive moment,
depend on the behavior of the nose-superstructure elastic sys-
tem. Even using an optimized launching nose, the maximum
negative moment at the front support is much higher than at
the back supports, and the back launch prestress must be in-
creased. Even midspan positive moment may require addi-
tional prestressing.
The additional prestress, Fa , with eccentricity, ea , positive
if upward from the gravity axis, is designed to respect the
allowable edge stresses in the worse launch conditions. Ne-
glecting its secondary flexural effects, at both edges of the
front support section it should be
F ⫹ Fa Fa ea ⫺ Mmin
⫹ zu ⱖ ⫺ ␴t (13a)
A I
F ⫹ Fa Fa ea ⫺ Mmin
⫺ zl ⱕ ␴c (13b)
A I
and in the most loaded span section it should be
F ⫹ Fa Fa ea ⫹ Mmax
⫹ zu ⱕ ␴c (14a)
A I
F ⫹ Fa Fa ea ⫹ Mmax
⫺ zl ⱖ ⫺␴t (14b)
A I
Once the eccentricity, ea , is defined according to the position
of the additional tendons, the calculation of Fa and the veri-
fication of the edge stresses are immediate.
The same problems can affect the back end of the super-
structure, especially when using friction launchers. In fact,
these devices need a certain distance between the last curing
support and the launcher itself in order to produce a high sup-
port reaction at the launcher, and this distance can become
critical in the cantilever configuration at the end of launch.
Since the last superstructure segment is never very cured,
instead of locally increasing launch prestress it is preferable
to introduce a temporary support between the last curing sup-
port and the launcher. This support is kept disengaged during
the previous launch stages by not inserting the launching sad-
dles.
Finally, the maximum positive moment in the back end span
is lower than the moment reached in the front zone of the
superstructure, since the end span is generally shorter than the
interior ones. However, the principles for calculating the ad-
ditional prestressing of the back end span are the same.
this correction depends on the quantity of centroidal prestress-
ing that remains in the superstructure, and therefore on the
ing can be relatively low, and the correction to introduce after
launch is important and effective. In the case of full span
launch, on the contrary, launch prestressing is generally so
high that only a few tendons can be added, which cannot im-
prove substantially the efficiency of the final prestress unless
some launch tendons are relieved.
To evaluate the efficiency of parabolic prestressing in re-
sisting permanent loads, the flexural effect it produces can be
assimilated to a distributed upward load equal to
8Fpar ⌬e
ppar = (15)
l2
where Fpar = parabolic prestressing force; ⌬e = amplitude of
undulation; and l = span length (Fig. 10).
The lifting action of parabolic tendons balances a part of
permanent loads (dead load, q, and superimposed dead loads,
pperm), and the ratio of the prestressing equivalent load to the
permanent loads is a good indicator of the distribution of lon-
gitudinal stresses in the superstructure. It is convenient (Breen
and Naaman 1990) to reach at least
ppar
> 0.60 (16)
q ⫹ pperm
but values of about 0.70 to 0.80 are preferable, limiting the
creep deformations and forcing the stress state in the unloaded
structure to approach a centroidal compression, ensuring the
longest durability.
The additional tendons can be arranged in the cross section
in several ways, according to the total force needed: in the
conventional parabolic layout inside the webs, in a polygonal
external layout deviated by diaphragms or saddles, or in an
external parabolic layout in contact with the internal surface
of the webs.
Internal Tendons
The additional internal tendons (Fig. 6) can be divided into
parabolic tendons arranged in the webs, cap support tendons
placed in the top slab, and span tendons placed in the bottom
slab.
Parabolic tendons can extend over several spans, but in this

SERVICE PRESTRESSING
Upon completion of the launch, the location of lightened
and stiffened cross sections finally matches the stress diagrams
due to dead load. Launch prestressing tends to be excessive,
since the better distribution of dead load reduces moment and FIG. 10. Negative Bending Moment Produced by Parabolic
shear diagrams with respect to their launch envelopes, and the Prestressing in Simply Supported Beam

112 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999

 • Since the dead load of deviators suggests reduction in
their number, the tendon layout is often trapezoidal, with
only two intermediate deviation points placed at about
one-third of the span for flexural reasons. In this case it
is not possible to obtain the optimum layout for shear,
which requires deviation points at the quarters of the span,
and the webs are thicker.

Very powerful tendons have been used in long-span bridges.

They were obtained by deviating the strands within steel sad-
dles anchored to the internal surface of the webs. After ten-
FIG. 11. Use of Special Blisters Allows Overlapping of Para- sioning, sheet metal forms were hung on the strands, filled
bolic Tendons at Any Point of Structure with fine crushed aggregate and then injected with cement

case they suffer high friction losses. When limited to only one
span, they can be anchored at the zero-moment zones of ad-
jacent spans, so that they overlap in the support sections. This
layout doubles their effect in terms of both negative moment
and, if anchored near the bottom slab, shear force. As an al-
ternative, they can be overlapped at any point of the structure
by means of special blisters (Fig. 11).
In both cases, overlapping requires crossing of tendons and
anchoring beams or blisters, and this makes parabolic tendons
rather cumbersome. Once the shear stresses are reduced by the
inclined portion of the tendons, additional prestressing require-
ments can be fulfilled with local straight tendons.
Cap tendons are difficult to tension. However, they are
rarely indispensible, since the parabolic tendons are added to
the centroidal launch prestressing, and this is usually enough
to cover the negative moment. In contrast, span tendons are
convenient, and they are frequently used in the end spans of
the superstructure, especially when it is not possible to reduce
the length of these spans with respect to the internal ones.
Their secondary effects can help in reducing the need for cap
tendons.

External Tendons
External prestressing is adopted more and more frequently
in several countries, because of both the immediate savings
deriving from the shorter duration of construction, and the
long-term savings deriving from higher quality. External ten-
dons pose the problem of resisting local forces and moments
near anchorages, which is more delicate than with internal
prestressing due to both the absence of the force distribution
due to friction, and the convenience of using powerful tendons
to avoid excessive congestion of the box cell. The simplest
solution is to anchor tendons to massive elements, and there-
fore to the support diaphragms. To obtain a tendon layout suit-
able for both moment and shear, it is then necessary to intro- FIG. 12. Shear Force Reduction in Superstructure Support
duce some deviations, with saddles, ribs, or diaphragms. The Zones Depends on Longitudinal Distribution of Deviators
web thickness depends on the shear force reduction near the
support sections of the superstructure, and therefore on the
longitudinal distribution of the deviators (Fig. 12):

• By fan-shaping the tendons from the support section, it is

possible to obtain a shear force reduction diagram close
to the triangle, and at the same time a resulting tendon
layout close to the funicular diagram of permanent loads.
The use of four or six deviators in each span permits one
to attain extremely thin webs, and since in this case the
launch stresses require a high launch prestressing, the
presence of many diaphragms can be used to deviate or
to anchor antagonist tendons.
• As an alternative, all the tendons can have the same par-
abolic layout instead of being fan-shaped, to reduce the FIG. 13. Mixed Prestressing Composed of Permanent Straight
angular deviation in the saddles closer to the supports Internal Tendons, Temporary Straight Internal Antagonist Ten-
without penalizing the average angular deviation, and to dons, and Polygonal External Tendons Tensioned at End of
avoid interference and geometric errors. Launch

JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999 / 113

FIG. 14. Mixed Prestressing Composed of Permanent Internal Centroidal Tendons Integrated with Temporary Straight External Ten-
dons and Corrected at End of Launch with Straight Internal Tendons and Polygonal External Tendons

FIG. 15. Mixed Prestressing Composed of Permanent Internal

Tendons Compensated during Launch by Antagonist Polygonal
Tendons and Additional Straight Tendons, Both External

grout. The shear connection to the web surface was obtained

with distributed stirrups bent during casting and then straight- FIG. 16. Few Internal Straight Tendons Placed in Cross
ened, or with high-strength bolts that guarantee a light pre- Section Nodes Reduce Congestion of Tendons Inside Box Cell
stressing of these curbs against the webs, limiting the shrink- and Improve Superstructure Behavior at Ultimate Limit
age cracks of the grout. State

114 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999

RECENT TRENDS
Although the use of external tendons is rather recent in
launched bridges, the particular requirements of this construc-
tion method have already resulted in solutions so innovating
as to represent the most recent developments in bridge pre-
stressing.
The first applications developed the idea of mixed prestress-
ing: final straight internal tendons in the correct position for
the final static scheme, temporary straight internal antagonist
tendons removed at the end of launch, and polygonal external
tendons assembled and tensioned at the end of launch (Fig.
13). Compared with the conventional tendon layout (launch
prestressing in the slabs and parabolic tendons in the webs)
this scheme permits lightening both the slabs and the webs.
Subsequent advances saw a final internal centroidal pre-
stressing integrated with straight external tendons during
launch (Fig. 14), and corrected at the end of launch with
straight cap and span internal tendons and polygonal external
tendons.
In both cases, launch prestressing is obtained by superim-
posing several groups of tendons according to the superstruc-
ture segmentation. This makes possible relieving and removing
some tendons at the end of launch. In the second case, these
operations are avoided by using temporary external launch ten-
dons, but their removal may require addition of some final
straight tendons, both in the span and at the supports.
Other innovating prestressing schemes derive from the evo-
lution of polygonal antagonist prestressing. In a first scheme
(Fig. 15), permanent parabolic internal tendons sized to resist
most of the dead load are tensioned before launch. Their ec-
centricity is compensated by antagonist polygonal tendons and
reduced by additional straight tendons, all external and tem-
porary. At the end of launch, and after relieving the temporary
launch tendons, prestressing is completed with some polygonal
and some span tendons, all external and sized for service
loads. The parabolic internal tendons may avoid excessive ob-
struction of the box cell.
This concept was improved in bridges built with totally ex-
ternal prestressing. A share of the polygonal tendons is ten-
sioned in its permanent position before launch, compensated
by antagonist tendons and integrated by additional straight ten-
dons, all temporary and external, which are relieved and re-
positioned in the correct final polygonal layout at the end of
launch. This scheme may be further improved with some final
external straight tendons.
Some authors prefer to maintain few straight tendons inside
the concrete (placed in the nodes of the cross section) to re-
duce the congestion of tendons inside the box cell and to im-
prove the superstructure behavior at ultimate limit state. In this
case, prestressing can be schematized as in Fig. 16: straight
internal tendons in the cross-sectional nodes, tensioned during
construction and joined by couplers; one-half of the polygonal
external tendons tensioned during construction in the final lay-
out; the second half used temporarily in an antagonist layout
to be relieved at the end of launch and repositioned, span by
span, in the final layout; temporary straight external tendons
that lift the prestressing force to the centroidal level; and fi-
nally, some internal span tendons in the case of long spans.
The low residual centroidal prestressing deriving from the
removal of most of the launch tendons permits sizing the po-
lygonal tendons to resist most of the permanent loads (with
the purpose of resisting fully their flexural effect), and this
leads to an extremely efficient final prestressing.
CONCLUSIONS
Incremental launching is a competitive construction method
for prestressed concrete bridges in a wide range of spans and
bridge dimensions. Temporary stresses arise during launch due
to the superstructure movement over fixed supports. These
stresses require special prestressing schemes, whose optimi-
zation is carried out by taking both launch and service stresses
into account.
APPENDIX. REFERENCES
Breen, J., and Naaman, A. (1990). ‘‘External prestressing in bridges.’’
ACI SP 120, American Concrete Institute, Detroit.
Rosignoli, M. (1997). ‘‘Influences of the incremental launching construc-
tion method on the sizing of prestressed concrete bridge decks.’’ Proc.
Instn. Civ. Engrs. Struct. and Build., London, 122(3), 316 – 325.
Rosignoli, M. (1998). Launched bridges. ASCE, Reston, Va.
JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / MAY 1999 / 115