CIV 518

RRR

Pre-stressed Concrete Design

Instructor

Dr Zubair Syed
Email: zubair.syed@adu.ac.ae
 Classification of Prestressed Concrete structures

 Externally or Internally Pre-stressed

Most common is the Internally prestressing but sometimes it is possible to
prestress a member by adjusting its support reaction
 Linear or Circular Pre-stressing
Circular prestressing is used for circular structures like tank, silos, pipes. Linear
prestressing is the other types where the prestressing tendons do not go round in
circle, but can be straight, bent or curve.

 Pretensioning or posttensioning
 End-achored or Non-end-achored tendons
 Bonded or Unbonded Tendons
 Pre-cast, Cast-in-place or Composite construction
 Partial or Full pretensioning
Depends on the degree of prestressing a member is subjected to.
 Stages of Loading for PC
Analysis of prestressed members can be different at different stages
of loading.
Initial Stage
In this stage the member is under prestress but not yet experiencing the
superimposed external loads. This stage can have some sub-stages depending on
the pre- and post-tension nature of the concrete.
The sub-steps are:
• Before prestressing
• During prestressing
• At transfer of prestress
• Decentering and retensioning

Intermediate Stage
This includes the loads during handling, transportation and erection of the pre-
cast prestressed members. This stage is highly important as the members needs to
be supported and handled properly. For example, if a simply supported beam is
lifted at midspan, it will fail.
 Stages of Loading for PC

Final Stage
Sustained load: Under dead load and prestressing force. Camber or
deflection is controlling parameter. Flexural creep will magnify this value.

Working load: Under service load. Different combination of dead load

and live load to be considered

Cracking load: Causes significant change in bonding and shear stress.

Critical for tank and pipe types of structure where cracking present a critical
situation.

Ultimate load: Represent the condition under the ultimate condition

Normally the most critical loading conditions are:

– Initial Loading (Transfer)
– Final Loading (Service)
 Concrete for Pre-stressed members
Selection of appropriate type of concrete is important to achieve efficient pre-
stressed concrete structures.

 Higher strength is desired to minimize cost.

 Commercial anchorages for pre-stressing steel are always designed based on
high strength concrete. Weaker concrete will require special anchorage, but
may fail in bearing, bond or near anchorage.
 High strength concrete provide better shear and tension resistance
 High strength concrete is less liable to shrinkage cracks
 Has higher modulus of elasticity and smaller creep strain, so loss due to creep
would be lesser.
For concrete, compressive strength, shear strength and flexural strength are
important parameters like RCC. But modulus of elasticity and compressive
strength with time is also important.
Creep and shrinkage of concrete also affect the prestress loss in prestressed
concrete.
 Properties of Prestressing Steel

The steel in prestressed applications has to be of good

quality. It requires the following attributes.
 High strength
 Adequate ductility
 Bendability, which is required at the harping points and
near the anchorage
 High bond, required for pre-tensioned members
 Low relaxation to reduce losses
 Minimum corrosion.
 Types of Prestressing Steel
The steel is treated to achieve the desired properties. The following are the
treatment processes.
Cold working (cold drawing)
The cold working is done by rolling the bars through a series of dyes. It re-
aligns the crystals and increases the strength.
Stress relieving
The stress relieving is done by heating the strand to about 350º C and cooling
slowly. This reduces the plastic deformation of the steel after the onset of
yielding.
Strain tempering for low relaxation
This process is done by heating the strand to about 350º C while it is under
tension. This also improves the stress-strain behaviour of the steel by reducing
the plastic deformation after the onset of yielding. In addition, the relaxation is
reduced. The relaxation is described later
 Properties of Materials
• Prestressed concrete requires the use of high strength materials, both concrete

and prestressing steel

• Ordinary reinforcing steel is commonly used in prestressed concrete structures as
– transverse reinforcement
– shear reinforcement (stirrup/links)
– supplementary longitudinal reinforcement for anchorage of links and in regions
of high local stresses and deformation.
• Production of high strength concrete requires proper selection and
proportioning of the ingredients, careful mixing, placement and curing
• Higher cement content, low water-cement ratio and good quality aggregates are
necessary
• A variety of mineral and chemical admixtures are often added to the mix to
modify the properties of fresh and/or hardened concrete for achieving
some desired effects (expedite strength development, higher strength & longer life
 Methods of prestressing
Mechanical Prestressing
• Most common method is stressing tendons by jacking.
• In case of post-tension, jack are used to pull the tendon where reaction acting
against the hardened concrete.
• In case of pretension, jack pulls the tendon with reaction against bulkhead or
molds.
• Hydraulic jack capacity varies widely and can be used for tensioning 1 or 2
wires to hundred wires at a time.
• Selection of jack and number of wire to pull at a time is often governed by
the end anchorage system.
Electrical Prestressing
Steel is lengthened by heating using electricity. A low voltage and high amperage
current is passed through the bar to heat and elongate the bar. Ends of the bars
are anchored, when cooled down the prestress is transferred to concrete. Difficult
to use for very high strength strands due to requirement of high heat to elongate
to the desired level.
Chemical Prestressing
Expansive cement is used. When the volume of concrete is increased it induced prestress.

Miscellaneous
 Loss of Prestress
The force applied to the tendon is measured by the pressure gauge mounted on the
hydraulic jack and is known as the jacking force.

Jacking force cannot entirely be transmitted to the concrete because some losses of
prestress occur during the process of stretching and anchoring the tendons.

Even after transfer the force to concrete with time the force gets reduced. So, there
are Short term losses and Long term losses.
 Loss of Prestress

• Short term or immediate losses

Elastic shortening
Anchorage draw-in
Friction

• Long term or Time-dependent losses

Concrete Shrinkage
Concrete Creep
Steel Relaxation
 Loss due to Elastic shortening of Concrete

In case of pre-tensioning, when the tendons are cut to transfer the force to the
concrete due to the axial compression the concrete will get shortened and thus
the prestressing steel will be shortened, thus will loose some prestress force.

In case of post-tensioning, if there is only a single tendon, the concrete shortens as the
tendon is jacked against the concrete. Since the force is measured after the elastic
shortening of the concrete, no loss in prestress due to elastic shortening.
If there are more than one tendon and they are stressed in succession, then the first one
will loss some stress due to the elastic shortening during the prestressing of the second
tendon and so on.
 Loss due to Anchorage Slip
For most posttensioning system, after tensioning a tendon to the full stress value
the jack is released and the force is transferred to the anchorage. During the
process of anchoring, the stressed tendon tends to slip before the full grip is
established, thus losing some of its imposed strain or in other words, induced
stress. This is known as loss due to anchorage draw-in.

The total anchorage slip depends on the type of anchorage system. The slip range
could be 4 to 10 mm depending on the type and other variables. The stress loss can
be calculated from the magnitude of slip using the following equation:
 Loss due to Friction

• The friction generated at the interface of concrete and steel

during the stretching of a curved tendon in a post-tensioned
member, leads to a drop in the prestress along the member from
the stretching end.

• The loss due to friction does not occur in pre-tensioned members

because there is no concrete during the stretching of the tendons.

• The friction is generated due to the curvature of the tendon and

the vertical component of the prestressing force.
 Loss due to Friction

In addition to friction, the stretching has to overcome the

wobble of the tendon. The wobble refers to the change in
position of the tendon along the duct. The losses due to friction
and wobble are grouped together under friction.

Friction depends :
• Coefficient of friction (μ)
• Curvature of the tendon (dα)
• The amount of prestressing force (P)
 Loss due to Shrinkage of Concrete

• The free water in concrete evaporates with time depending on

humidity, temperature and size and shape of members. Thus get
reduced in volume.
• The rate of shrinkage is high at the beginning and get slowed
down with time.
• Generally 70-80% of shrinkage occur in the first year.
• Often, simplified estimation is used using the ultimate shrinkage
strain to estimate the loss in prestress.
• Curing the concrete adequately and delaying the application of
load can reduce the loss in prestress due to shrinkage
 Loss due to Creep of Concrete

• Creep of concrete is the time dependent deformation under

sustained load.
• Creep depends on amount of sustained load, mix proportion,
curing condition, environmental conditions and the age of
concrete.
• Creep coefficient at a time is estimated from the ultimate creep
coefficient.
• Empirical equations are used to estimate the loss in prestress due
to crepe.
 Transfer of Force for PC Element

Jacking force

Anchor slip Friction Elastic shortening

Force at Transfer

Shrinkage Creep Relaxation

Effective Force
Losses for Pre- and Post-tensioned PC Element

Pre-tensioned member Post-tensioned member

Elastic shortening Friction

Anchor slip
Shrinkage
Elastic shortening
Creep
Shrinkage
Relaxation
Creep

Relaxation
Losses for Pre-tensioned PC Element
Losses for Post-tensioned PC Element
 Loss of Prestress
• Short term or immediate losses
Elastic shortening (ES)
Anchorage draw-in (A)
Friction (FR)
• Long term or Time-dependent losses
Concrete Shrinkage (SH)
Concrete Creep (CR)
Steel Relaxation (R)

For Pretensioned members:

Total Loss, ∆𝑓𝑝𝑇 = ∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 +∆𝑓𝑝𝑅 +∆𝑓𝑝𝐶𝑅 +∆𝑓𝑝𝑆𝐻

For Posttensioned members:

Total Loss, ∆𝑓𝑝𝑇 = ∆𝑓𝑝𝐴 + ∆𝑓𝑝𝐹 + ∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 +∆𝑓𝑝𝑅 +∆𝑓𝑝𝐶𝑅 +∆𝑓𝑝𝑆𝐻

 Loss due to Elastic shortening of Concrete

In case of pre-tensioning, when the tendons are cut to transfer the force to the
concrete due to the axial compression the concrete will get shortened and thus
the prestressing steel will be shortened, thus will loose some prestress force.

In case of post-tensioning, if there is only a single tendon, the concrete shortens as the
tendon is jacked against the concrete. Since the force is measured after the elastic
shortening of the concrete, no loss in prestress due to elastic shortening.
If there are more than one tendon and they are stressed in succession, then the first one
will loss some stress due to the elastic shortening during the prestressing of the second
tendon and so on.
If the total elastic shortening in a beam over a length L is ΔES, then
the elastic strain ϵES = ΔES / L

𝑃𝑖
Now, fc = ϵES Ec so, ∈𝐸𝑆 =
𝐴𝑐 𝐸𝑐

For Pretensioning tendons suffers the same shortening. Hence

𝐸𝑆 𝑃𝑖 𝑛𝑃𝑖
∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 = 𝐸𝑆 ∈𝐸𝑆 = = = 𝑛𝑓𝑐𝑠
𝐴𝑐 𝐸𝑐 𝐴𝑐

If the tendon has an eccentricity of e at the midspan and the self-

weight moment MD , the stress of concrete at the level of tendon be
comes:
𝑃𝑖 𝑃𝑖 𝑒 2 𝑀𝐷 𝑒
𝑓𝑐𝑠 = − − 2
+
𝐴𝑐 𝐴𝑐 𝑟 𝐼𝑐
 Example
(Nawy, 5th Edition, Page 76)
Solution
 Elastic Shortening Loss: Post-tensioning tendons
For post-tensioning tendons, if the tendons are jacked
simultaneously , then there would be no elastic shortening loss.

When several jacking steps then the tendon (pair of tendons)

jacked at the last will not undergo any loss and the tendon jacked at
first will under go losses for every subsequent jacking operation. are
used then the loss:
𝑗
∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 𝑖
∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 =
𝑛 𝑗
𝑖=1

Where n is the number of tendons or pair of tendons sequentially

tensioned and j is the number of jacking operation.
 Example 2

Solve the previous example assuming that the beam is post-tensioned

with two tendons are jacked at a time.

Solution:
No of tendons sequentially jacked (n) = 5
No of jacking operation (j) = 4
Average loss for post-tensioned tendons:
𝑗
∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 𝑖
∆𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 =
𝑛 𝑗
𝑖=1

= (8659.2/5) *(4/4+3/4+2/4+1/4)
=4330 psi
 Loss due to Anchorage Slip
For most posttensioning system, after tensioning a tendon to the
full stress value the jack is released and the force is transferred to
the anchorage. During the process of anchoring, the stressed
tendon tends to slip before the full grip is established, thus losing
some of its imposed strain or in other words, induced stress. This is
known as loss due to anchorage draw-in.

The total anchorage slip depends on the type of anchorage system.

The slip range could be 4 to 10 mm depending on the type and
other variables.
 Loss due to Anchorage Slip

The stress loss can be calculated from the magnitude of

slip using the following equation:
∆𝐴
∆𝑓𝑝𝐴 = 𝐸𝑝𝑠
𝐿

where ∆𝐴 is the magnitude of slip

L is the length of tendon
Eps is the modulus of pre-stressing tendon
 Steel Stress Relaxation (R)
Steel stress relaxation depends on the magnitude of the sustained load.
Also depends on the ratio of initial prestress to the yield strength of
𝑓𝑝𝑖
the reinforcement ( ).
𝑓𝑝𝑦

The ACI 318 limits the tensile stress in the prestressing tendons to the
following:
a. For stresses due to the tendon jacking force, fpJ = 0.94 fpy , but not
greater than the lesser of 0.80 fpu and the maximum value recommended
by the manufacturer of the tendons and anchorages
b. Immediately after prestress transfer, fpi = 0.82 fpy , but not greater than
0.74 fpu
c. In post-tensioned tendons, at the anchorages and couplers immediately
after force transfer = 0.70fpu
 The values for fpy suggested as:
Pre-stressing bars: fpy = 0.80 fpu
Stress-relieved tendons : fpy = 0.85 fpu
Low-relaxation tendons: fpy = 0.90 fpu

If fpR is the remaining pre-stressing stress in the steel relaxation, for

stress-relived steel:
𝑓𝑝𝑅 log 𝑡2 −log 𝑡1 𝑓𝑝𝑖
=1− − 0.55
𝑓𝑝𝑖 𝟏𝟎 𝑓𝑝𝑦
Where, t is time in hours

For low-relaxation steel:

𝑓𝑝𝑅 log 𝑡2 − log 𝑡1 𝑓𝑝𝑖
=1− − 0.55
𝑓𝑝𝑖 𝟒𝟓 𝑓𝑝𝑦
Some times, to simplify the equation it is assumed that log t = log 𝑡2 − log 𝑡1

Relaxation loss:
log 𝑡 𝑓𝑝𝑖
∆𝑓𝑝𝑅 = 𝑓𝑝𝑖 − 0.55
𝟏𝟎 𝑓𝑝𝑦
 Loss due to Friction

The friction generated at the interface of concrete and steel during

the stretching of a curved tendon in a post-tensioned member,
leads to a drop in the prestress along the member from the
stretching end. The loss due to friction does not occur in pre-
tensioned members because there is no concrete during the
stretching of the tendons.

Friction depends :
• Coefficient of friction (μ)
• Curvature of the tendon (dα)
• The amount of pre-stressing force (P)
 Loss due to Friction
In Post-tensioning when a tendon is pulled with a force F1 at the jacking
end, it will encounter friction with the surrounding duct or sheath.
The stress in the tendon will vary from the jacking force F1 to a distance L
along the span.
From the free-body below:
d𝐹1 = −𝜇𝐹1 𝑑𝛼

d𝐹1
= −𝜇𝑑𝛼
𝐹1

Integrating both sides gives:

𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑒 𝐹1 = −𝜇𝛼
F2 = F1 e-μα
 Wobble Effect
Take K as the coefficient of friction between the tendon and the
surrounding concrete due to wobble effect or length effect.
Friction loss is caused by imperfection in alignment along the length
of the tendon, regardless of whether it has a straight or draped
alignment. So applying the same principle,

loge F1 = -KL

or, F2 = F1 e-KL
Superimposing the wobble effect on the curvature effect, F2 = F1 e- μα-KL
 Loss due to Friction
In terms of stresses,
f2 = f1 e- μα-KL

The frictional loss of stress

ΔfpF = f1 – f2 = f1 (1- e- μα-KL )

Assuming that the prestress force between the start of the curved
portion and its end is small, it is sufficiently accurate to use the
initial tension for the entire curve and the above equation can be
simplified as

ΔfpF = - f1 (μα + KL)

Please note, L in feet.

Wobble and Curvature Coefficients (Source: PCI)
 Loss due to Shrinkage of Concrete
• The free water in concrete evaporates with time depending on
humidity, temperature and size and shape of members. Thus get
reduced in volume.
• Rate of shrinkage is high at the beginning, slows down with time.
• Generally 70-80% of shrinkage occur in the first year.
• Often simplified estimation is used using the ultimate shrinkage
strain to estimate the loss in prestress.
• Average ultimate shrinkage strain (ϵSH ) = 780 x 10-6 in/in(ACI 209
R-92 report)
• According to PCI nominal ultimate shrinkage (ϵSH )u = 820 x 10-6
in/in
 Loss due to Shrinkage of Concrete
For Pre-tensioned members the loss in prestress due to
shrinkage can be calculated using:

∆𝑓𝑝𝑆𝐻 = ∈𝑆𝐻 𝐸𝑝𝑠

For Post-tensioned members the loss due to shrinkage is lower than

pretensioned members as some shrinkage took place before
application of tensioning.
According to PCI for Post-tensioning:

𝑉
∆𝑓𝑝𝑆𝐻 = 8.2 × 10−6 𝐾𝑆𝐻 𝐸𝑝𝑠 1 − 0.06 (100 − RH)
𝑆
 Loss due to Creep of Concrete
Creep of concrete is the time dependent deformation under sustained
load.
Creep depends on amount of sustained load, mix proportion, curing
condition, environmental conditions and the age of concrete.
The ultimate creep coefficient is defined as the ratio between creep
strain to the elastic strain:
∈𝐶𝑅
𝐶𝑢 =
∈𝑝𝑖

The value of Cu varies between 2 and 4 and an average of 2.35 at

ultimate creep.
The creep coefficient at any time t (in days) is estimated from the
ultimate creep coefficient as
𝑡 0.6
𝐶𝑡 = 𝐶
10 + 𝑡 0.6 𝑢
The loss in prestressed members due to creep can be defined for
bonded member as
𝐸𝑝𝑠
∆𝑓𝑝𝐶𝑅 = 𝐶𝑡 𝑓𝑐𝑠
𝐸𝑐
Where fcs is the stress in the concrete at the level of the centroid of
the pre-stressing tendon.

For Post-tensioned, non-bonded members, the loss can be considered

uniform along the whole span. An average value of concrete stress fcs
between the anchorage points can be used for calculating the creep in
post-tensioned members.
ACI-ASCE committee expression is often used.-
𝐸𝑝𝑠
∆𝑓𝑝𝐶𝑅 = 𝐾𝐶𝑅 𝑓𝑐𝑠 − 𝑓𝑐𝑠𝑑 = n𝐾𝐶𝑅 𝑓𝑐𝑠 − 𝑓𝑐𝑠𝑑
𝐸𝑐

Where KCR = 2.0 for pretensioned and 1.60 for post-tensioned members.
𝑓𝑐𝑠 stress in concrete at the level of steel cgs immediately after transfer, 𝑓𝑐𝑠𝑑 is
stress after application of all superimposed loads.
1. Friction loss:
2. Anchorage-seating loss:
if it is post-tensioned
if it is post-tensioned
member.
member
ΔfpF = f1 (μα + KL)
Can find the μ and K from table
in PCI (or in text), α = L/R ΔfpA = (ΔA/L ) EPS

fpi = fpJ - ΔfpF

Net fpi = fpi - ΔfpA

3. Elastic-shortening loss:

𝑃𝑖 𝑃𝑖 𝑒 2 𝑀𝐷 𝑒
𝑓𝑐𝑠 = − − +
𝐴𝑐 𝐴𝑐 𝑟 2 𝐼𝑐
where, Pi = 0.90Pj can be used for
refinement
Pre-tensioned:
∆𝒇𝒑𝑬𝑺 = 𝒏𝒇𝒄𝒔
Post-tensioned:
𝒋
∆𝒇𝒑𝑬𝑺 𝒊
∆𝒇𝒑𝑬𝑺 =
𝒏 𝒋
𝒊=𝟏
4. Creep loss:
5. Shrinkage loss:
∆𝒇𝒑𝑪𝑹 = n𝑲𝑪𝑹 𝒇𝒄𝒔 − 𝒇𝒄𝒔𝒅
∆𝒇𝒑𝑺𝑯 = 8.2× 10−6 KSH𝐸𝑝𝑠 (1 − 0.06𝑉/
KCR = 2.0 for pre-tensioned
and 1.60 for post-tensioned
members.
Or
𝑡 0.6
KCR = 2.35 ( 0.6)
1+𝑡

6. Steel Relaxation loss:

For stress-relieved strands:

log 𝑡 𝑓𝑝𝑖
∆𝑓𝑝𝑅 = 𝑓𝑝𝑖 − 0.55
𝟏𝟎 𝑓𝑝𝑦

For low-relaxation strands:

Replace (10) by 45.
Example 3, Nawy Page 90
Homework Problem
AASHTO Lump-sum Losses
PTI Lump-sum Losses
Stages of Losses
Thank You