UNIT-I

INTRODUCTION: Historic development – General principles of Prestressing, Pretensioning And

Post Tensioning – Advantages and limitations of prestressed concrete – Materials – High strength
concrete and high tensile steel their characteristics.
METHODS OF PRESTRESSING:-Methods and Systems of Prestressing; Pre-tensioning and
post tensioning methods – Analysis of post tensioning - Different systems of prestressing like
Hoyer System, Magnel System, Freyssinet system and Gifford – Udall System.

BASIC CONCEPT OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE:

“Prestressed concrete is basically concrete in which internal stresses of a suitable magnitude and
distribution are introduced so that the stresses resulting from external loads are counteracted to a
desired degree.”
 In Reinforced concrete members, the prestress is commonly by tensioning the steel
reinforcement.
 The tensile strength of plain concrete is only a fraction of its compressive strength and the
problem it is deficient in tensile strength leads to the development of the composite material
known as “Reinforced Concrete.”
 Due to the incompatibility of strains in both steel and concrete in reinforced concrete leads
to the development of a new material called “Prestressed Concrete.”

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE:

The recent development in the field of prestressed concrete is due to the continuous research done
by engineers and scientists during the last 90 years,
1. In 1886, JACKSON of San Francisco applied for a patient for “construction of artificial stone
and concrete pavements,” in which prestress was introduced by tensioning the reinforcing rods
set in sleeves.
2. In 1888, DOHRING of Germany manufactured slabs and small beams by using embedded
tensioned wires in concrete to avoid cracks.
3. In 1896, MANDL of Austrian introduced idea of prestressing to counteract the stresses due to
loads.
4. In 1906, M KOENEN of Germany further developed importance of losses in prestressing due
to elastic shortening of concrete.
5. In 1908, STEINER of United States first recognized the importance of losses in prestressing
due to shrinkage of concrete.
6. In 1923, EMPERGER of Vienna developed a method for making wire-bound reinforced
concrete pipes by binding High-Tensile steel wires on pipes at stresses ranging from 160-800
N/mm2.
7. In 1928, DISCHINGER demonstrated the use of unbounded tendons in construction of major
bridges.
8. In 1928, FREYSSINET recognized the advantage of using High-strength steel and concrete for
various losses of prestress due to creep and shrinkage of concrete.

Mr. C SASIDHAR, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SVCE, Tirupati. Page 1
9. In between 1928 and 1933 FREYSSINET, developed vibration techniques for production of
High-strength concrete and invented double-acting jack for stressing of High-tensile steel
wires.
10. In between 1945 and 1950 in Europe and United states usage of prestressed concrete spread
rapidly in long span bridges.
11. During the last 60 years, prestressed concrete has been widely used for the construction of:
 Long-span bridges,
 Industrial Shell roofs,
 Marine structures,
 Nuclear pressure vessels,
 Water retaining structures,
 Transmission poles,
 Railway sleepers etc

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PRESTRESSING:

Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming weaknesses of concrete i.e., concrete is weak in
tension and strong in compression. The effect of prestressing is to reduce the cracking stresses
(tensile stresses) of concrete so that concrete can be possible to treat as an elastic material. Concrete
generally has two compressive forces:
 Internal prestressing force
 External forces (Dead load and Live Load)
1. These two forces counterbalance each other to make concrete as a elastic material.
2. Stresses in concrete when prestressing force is applied at centre of gravity or along the
longitudinal axis of section.

Where, P= Prestressing force,

e= Eccentricity,
M= P*e = Moment
A= Cross-sectional area of concrete member
Zt and Zb = Section modulus at top and bottom fibres of concrete member
Mg and Mq = Dead load and Live load bending moments

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3. Stresses in concrete when prestressing force is applied at an eccentricity (e) from centre of
gravity.

ADVANTAGES OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE:

1. The use of high strength concrete and steel in prestressed in member results in lighter and
slender members are possible than RCC members.
2. In fully prestressed members the members is free from tensile stresses under working loads
thus the whole section is effective.
3. Prestressed member posses better resistance to shear forces due to effect of compressive
stresses presence.
4. Use of high strength concrete and freedom from cracks contribute to improve durability under
aggressive environmental conditions.
5. Long span structures are possible so that saving in weight and it will be economical.
6. Generally span to depth ratio for non PSC members is 28:1 for PSC members is 45:1.
7. Factory products are possible and can be tested before use.
8. PSC structures are possible and can be tested before use.
9. PSC structure deflects appreciably before ultimate failure thus giving ample warning before
collapsing.

DIS-ADVANTAGES OR LIMITATIONS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE:

1. Initial equipment cost is very high.
2. PSC need skilled technology hence it is not common as reinforced concrete.
3. Use of high strength materials is costly.
4. There is need for quality control & inspection.
5.

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DIFFERENCE OF PSC OVER REINFORCED CONCRETE:
1. In PSC members’ steel plays active role. The stress in steel prevails whether external load is
there or not but in RCC steel plays passive role, the stress in steel in RCC members depends
upon external load, i.e., no external load no stress in steel.
2. In PSC members stress in steel is constant, but in RCC members the stress is variable with
lever arm.
3. PSC has more shear resistance where as shear resistance of RCC is less.
4. In PSC members deflections are less because eccentric prestress force will induce couple which
cause upward deflection where as in RCC deflections are more.
5. PSC is more durable as high grade is used which is denser in nature than RCC members.
6. In PSC fatigue resistance is more compared to RCC members because the stress in steel is
independent of external load.
7. In PSC dimensions are less because external stresses are counterbalance by internal stresses
induced by prestress where as a whole quantity of concrete is reduced by 30% and steel
reduced by 60-70%.
8. RCC is uneconomical for long span because in RCC members of section are large requiring
more concrete and steel more over self-weight will be increased more reactions acted on
columns & footings.

MATERIALS (HIGH-TENSILE STEEL AND HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE):

OR
NEED FOR HIGH-TENSILE STEEL AND HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE:
Many researches on prestressed concrete has resulted the following observations,
 Necessity of using High-tensile steel and concrete
 Recognition of losses of prestress due to various causes.
1. The use of mild steel in prestressed concrete were not successful, as working stress of 120
N/mm2 is more or less completely lost due to elastic deformation, creep and shrinkage of
concrete.
2. The normal loss of stress in steel generally about 100 to 240 N/mm2 but stress in steel in initial
stages must be very high, about 1200 to 2000 N/mm2 and it is possible only with the use of
High-tensile steel.
3. High strength concrete is necessary in prestressed concrete, as the material offers high
resistance in tension, shear, bond and bearing.
4. In the zone of anchorages, the bearing stresses being higher, High-strength concrete is
preferred to minimize costs.
5. High-strength concrete is less liable to shrinkage cracks and has higher modulus of elasticity
and smaller ultimate creep strain, results in less loss of prestress in steel.
6. The use of High-strength concrete reduces the cross-sectional dimensions of prestressed
concrete, with reduced deadweight of material, longer spans becomes technically and
economically possible.

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CLASSIFICATION OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE:
Prestressed concrete can be classified in various ways as illustrated,

METHODS AND SYSTEMS OF PRESTRESSING:

PRETENSIONING SYSTEMS:
In Pretensioning system, the tendons are first tensioned between the rigid anchor-blocks cast on the
ground or in a column or unit-mould-type Pretensioning bed, prior to casting of concrete in the
moulds. A typical column-type Pretensioning bed is as shown in the figure,

Mr. C SASIDHAR, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SVCE, Tirupati. Page 5
  The tendon consists of individual wires or strands are stretched with constant eccentricity or
variable eccentricity with tendon anchorage at one end and jacks at the other end.
 Then the concrete is casted around the stressed tendon. High strength concrete is used to
early stripping and reuse of moulds.
 When the concrete attains sufficient strength, jacking pressure is released, where high
tensile wires tends to shorten but are checked by bond between concrete and steel.
 In this, prestress is transferred to concrete by bond, mostly near the ends of the beams and
no special anchorages are required in pretensioned members.

Long-Line Process (Hoyer system):

1. In this method, the tendons are stretched between two bulk heads several hundred meters apart
so that a number of similar units may be cast along the same group of tensioned wires as
shown.

2. The tension is applied by hydraulic jacks or movable stressing machine. The wires or strands
when tensioned singly or in groups are anchored to the abutments by steel wedges and once
concrete attains the requisite compressive strength the jacks are released.
3. Generally, strands of up to 18mm diameter and High-tensile wires of up to 7mm diameter
anchor are used.
4. Supplementary anchoring devices are required when single wires of larger diameter are used in
pretensioned units.
5. The most commonly used devices are Weinberg Clip and Dorland Clip as shown are clamped
onto the tensioned wires close to diaphragms of units before concreting operations,

6. The operations which constitute one complete cycle in the production of precast prestressed
concrete by long line system of Pretensioning are as follows:
 Preparation, oiling and placement of moulds on prestressing bed.

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  Threading of high tensile wires through the end plates of moulds and anchorage blocks in
the abutments or bulkheads.
 Positioning and securing the stirrups and other non-prestressed reinforcement of concrete
member.
 Stretching of prestressing tendons by hydraulic jacks.
 Placing the concrete in moulds, compaction by powerful vibrators and finishing the top
surface.
 Water or steam curing until sufficient strength for stress transfer has been attained.
 Release the wires from abutments for stress transfer to concrete and cutting the prestressing
tendons at each end of the mould to separate units.
 Striking the moulds and transport the prestressed concrete members to curing yard.

POST-TENSIONING SYSTEMS:
In Post-tensioning, the concrete units are first cast by incorporating ducts or grooves to place
tendons. When the concrete attains sufficient strength, the high-tensile wires are tensioned by
means of jack bearing on end face of the member and anchored by wedges or nuts.
The forces are transmitted to the concrete by end anchorages and when cable is cured, force
is transmitted by radial pressure. The space between tendons and duct is generally grouted after
tensioning the operation. The basic operations in post-tensioning systems are described as follows:
 Erection of formwork
 Placement of extractable cores
 Placement of stirrups and other non-prestressed reinforcement.
 Placement of concrete, compaction by powerful vibrators and finishing the top surface.
 Curing for a specific period of about four weeks until the concrete attains the specified
strength.
 Withdrawal of extractable cores, threading the cable through the ducts and tensioning the
cables in accordance with the particular post-tensioning adopted.
 Grouting ducts by means of grout pump and striking the formwork in appropriate sequence.

Freyssinet System:
The Freyssinet system is the most popular system of post tensioning developed by Freyssinet of
France in 1939. The main advantage of the Freyssinet system is that a large number of wires or
strands can be simultaneously tensioned using double-acting hydraulic jack.
The Freyssinet uses cables having 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 24 wires of 5, 7 or 8mm diameter. In
addition to these multi strand designated as 6T13 and 12T13 comprises of six and twelve 7-ply
strands of 13mm nominal diameter.
 The anchorage unit at each end of cable comprises a hollow cylinder (female cone) and a
conical plug.
 The outer surface of female cone is corrugated for the sake of better bond, the dimensions of
longitudinal conical hole match those of the conical plug called male cone.

Mr. C SASIDHAR, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SVCE, Tirupati. Page 7
  Both female and male cones are made of High strength concrete. The plug has a central steel
tube which provides access to the cable duct for grouting.

Fig: Freyssinet Prestressing System

 The properties of Freyssinet Prestressing cables are tabulated as follows:

Mr. C SASIDHAR, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SVCE, Tirupati. Page 8
Magnel - Blaton System:
This system of post-tensioning was developed by Magnel and Blaton of Belgium which is widely
used for a variety of prestressed concrete structures all over the world. The prestressing cables of
16, 24, 32, 40, 40, 48, 56 or 64 high tensile steel wires of 5 or 7mm diameter are used.

 The anchorage unit which anchors 8wires comprises a steel sandwich plate with four
tapering grooves and four steel flat wedges as shown in fig.(a)
 The tapered flat wedge fits into one of the grooves in the sandwich plate and anchors two
wires as shown in fig.(b)
 The assembly of one anchorage unit together with high tensile steel is as shown in fig.(c)
 The ducts are formed by means of extractable cores which are stiffened by central steel
rod.
 After stretching operations, the entire assembly of sandwich plate and flat wedges are
encased in concrete for protection and prevented from corrosion.
 The hydraulic jack used in this system stresses only two wires at a time and is therefore,
lighter and less expensive than Freyssinet system.

Gifford - Udall CCL System:

The system developed in Britain (United Kingdom) and has been widely used in many countries
including India. The prestressing tendons are in form of cables having 8 to 12 wires of 5 or 7mm
diameter.

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  The system consists of steel split-cone and cylindrical female-cone anchorages to house the
high-tensile wires bearing against steel plates as shown.
 Each wire is tensioned separately and anchored by forcing a sleeve wedge into a cylindrical
grip resting against a bearing plate.
 The ducts are generally formed by metal sheaths cast into the concrete member.
 There are two types of anchorages used in this system,
 Plate Anchorage
 Tube Anchorage

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