OVERVIEW OF THE KALAMNA FLYOVER DISASTER AND THE FUNCTION OF

PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
Rangamma Gari Sreenath1
1
School of Civil Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India
Email: rsreenath529@gmail.com
Abstract
This case study examines prestressed structures' development and subsequent collapse,
mainly focusing on Nagpur: On Tuesday night, a section of the Pardi-Kalamna flyover in east
Nagpur, still under construction, collapsed. According to reports, ten of the bridge's girders
between two columns collapsed close to Mahakalkar Sabha Gruha, located near Bharat Nagar
Chowk on the Kalamna ring road. There were no recorded casualties at the National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI) construction project. Through an in-depth investigation, this study
analyses how subpar material quality and insufficient quality control played a role in the disaster,
resulting in considerable loss of life and damage to infrastructure. The case study highlights
essential lessons learned, stressing the necessity of strict compliance with material specifications,
detailed inspection protocols, and improved supervision throughout the construction process.
Furthermore, it suggests best practices to fortify future projects, highlighting the importance of
rigorous material testing, extensive project planning, and consistent maintenance routines. By
examining the causes behind the Kalamna Flyover collapse, this study offers valuable guidance
to engineers, policymakers, and stakeholders, enhancing the safety and longevity of prestressed
structures and ultimately minimising the likelihood of similar failures in the future.
1.0 Introduction
In Bharat Nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra, on October 19, 2021, the Kalamna flyover
experienced a major structural breakdown. When a prestressed concrete bridge slipped off its
supporting pillars, the flyover under construction for almost seven years collapsed, causing
significant disturbance to the surrounding neighbourhood. Since there was little traffic on the
surrounding roads at the time of the incident, which occurred at approximately 9 PM, fortunately,
no one was hurt. The building of this vital infrastructure project, which aimed to increase
communication between HB Town and the Kalamna market, was supervised by the National
Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in
construction that has been pre- or post-tensioned to enhance its strength and performance under
various loads. This technique overcomes concrete's weakness in tension, improving cracking and
deflection resistance. Here's an elaborate description of prestressed concrete. Concrete is strong
in compression and weak in tension. Steel tendons (wires, cables, or bars) induce compressive

stresses in the concrete before it is subjected to service loads to counteract the tensile forces.

Figure 1 Shows the Kalamna flyover collapsed in Bharat Nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra.
The prestressing process induces compressive stresses that counteract the tensile stresses from
applied loads, reducing the formation of cracks, which is especially beneficial in structural
elements like beams and slabs. Prestressed concrete structures experience less deflection under
load than conventional reinforced concrete, ensuring better performance and aesthetics over
time. Pre-stressed concrete is a particular form of reinforced concrete. Prestressing involves
applying an initial compressive load to the structure to reduce or Eliminate the internal tensile
forces and, thus, control or eliminate cracking. The initial compressive load is imposed and
sustained by highly tensile steel reinforcement (tendons) reacting on the concrete. A prestressed
Concrete section is considerably stiffer than the equivalent (usually cracked) reinforced concrete
sections. Pre-stressing may also impose internal forces opposite to the external loads and may
significantly reduce or eliminate deflection. Figure 2 shows flexural cracks of the prestressed
concrete beam.

Figure 2 shows the cracking in prestressed concrete beam pre-tensioned

1.1 Stages of pre-tensioned
The high-strength steel tendons are pulled between two end abutments (bulkheads) before
concrete casting in the pre-tensioning system. The abutments are designed to support the weight
of the bed. Once the concrete has reached the desired strength for pre-stressing, the tendons are
cut loose from the abutments. The pre-stress is transferred to the concrete from the tendons due
to their bond. In the transfer of pre-stress, the member undergoes elastic length, which will be
reduced. If the tendons are located eccentrically, the member will likely bend and deflect
(camber).
Figure 3 shows the failures in prestressed concrete structures.
1.2 Failures in Prestressed Concrete Structures
1. Compression Failure: Compression Failure is a failure mode that develops under
concentric loads. The section is considered to have failed when the concrete strain
reaches 0.002.
2. Compression Failure (Small Eccentricity): The failure mode develops when the extreme
fibre strain in concrete reaches a value of 0.003. In comparison, the strain in the pre-
stressing steel at the far side is below the yield strain. The eccentricity of the axial load is
smaller than the balanced eccentricity.
3. Balanced Failure: Balanced failure develops the tension-yielding of pre-stressing steel
and crushing concrete, and the co-occurring eccentricity of the axial load is defined as
balanced eccentricity.
4. Failure of under-reinforced sections: If the cross-section is provided with more steel than
the minimum prescribed, the failure is characterised by excessive steel elongation
followed by concrete crushing. As bending loads are increased, excessive steel elongation
raises the neutral axis closer to the compression face at the critical section. The member
approaches failure due to the gradual reduction of the compression zone, exhibiting large
deflections and cracks, which develop at the soffit and progress toward the compression
face. When the concrete area in the compression zone is insufficient to resist the resultant
internal compressive force, the ultimate flexural failure of the member occurs through
concrete crushing. Under-reinforced sections fail, the deflections are large, and the cracks
are wide. These are the characteristic features of under-reinforced sections at failure.
5. Failure of over-reinforced section: The effective reinforcement index, expressed in terms
of the percentage of reinforcement, the compressive strength of concrete, and the tensile
strength of steel, exceeds a specific range of values; the section is said to be over-
reinforced. Generally, over-reinforced members fail when concrete suddenly crushes
them, and small deflections and narrow cracks characterise the failure.
6. Initial Tension Failure: The steel yields are due to concrete crushing in this failure mode.
The eccentricity is larger than the balanced eccentricity.
1.3 Importance of prestressed concrete
Concrete prestressing has several advantages over traditional reinforced concrete (RC)
without prestressing. A fully prestressed concrete member is usually subjected to compression
during service life. This rectifies several areas that need improvement in concrete. The following
text broadly mentions the advantages of a prestressed concrete member with an equivalent RC
member. The benefits of each effect are listed.
2.0 Materials and Methods
Prestress is a method of applying pre-compression to control the stresses resulting from
external loads below the neutral axis of the beam tension developed due to external load, which
is more than the permissible limits of plain concrete. The pre-compression applied (axial or
eccentric) will induce the compressive stress below the neutral axis or as a whole of the beam
c/s. It results in either no tension or compression.

2.1 Selection of Materials for Prestress Concrete Members

The literature review observed the preparation of prestressed concrete, which includes
Portland cement (Ordinary Portland cement, Portland slag cement, Rapid hardening Portland
cement, and high-strength ordinary Portland cement), coarse aggregates, steel (high-tensile steel,
tendons, strands or cables), and chemical admixtures. Prestressed concrete is concrete in which
internal stresses of a suitable magnitude and distribution are introduced to counteract the stresses
resulting from the external loads to a desired degree.
2.2 Pre-tensioning
Prestressing concrete involves tensioning the tendons before the concrete is placed. In this
method, the bond between steel and concrete introduces the concrete.

Figure 4 shows the pre-tensioning of a beam

2.3 Post-tensioning
A method of prestressing concrete by tensioning the tendons against hardened concrete. In this
method, the prestress is imparted to concrete by bearing.

Figure 5 shows the stages of the post-tensioning beam

2.4 Cement
The cement used should be any of the following: Ordinary Portland cement conforming to
IS269, Portland slag cement conforming to IS455, Slag content should be at most 50%, Rapid
hardening Portland cement conforming to IS8041, High-strength ordinary Portland cement
conforming to IS8112.
2.5 Concrete
Prestress concrete requires concrete with high compressive strength at a reasonably early age and
comparatively higher tensile strength than ordinary concrete. The concrete for the members shall
be air-entrained concrete composed of Portland cement, fine and coarse aggregates, admixtures
and water. The air-entraining feature may be obtained using air-entraining Portland cement or an
approved air-entraining admixture. The entrained air content shall be at least 4 per cent or more
than 6 per cent. A minimum cement content of 300 to 360 kg/m 3 is prescribed for durability.
The water content should be as low as possible.
2.6 Steel
Steel High tensile steel, tendons, strands or cables. The steel used in prestress shall be any one of
the following: Plain hard-drawn steel wire conforming to IS1785 (Part-I & Part-III), Drawn
indented wire conforming to IS6003, High tensile steel wire bar conforming to IS2090, Uncoated
stress relived strand conforming to IS6006

Figure 6 shows the process of pre-stressed concrete beams in practical applications

2.7 Necessity of high-grade concrete and steel
The higher the grade of concrete, the higher the bond strength, which is vital in pre-
tensioned concrete, and the higher the bearing strength, which is critical in post-tensioned
concrete. Further creep & shrinkage losses are minimal with high-grade concrete. Generally,
minimum M30 grade concrete is used for post-tensioned & M40 grade concrete is used for
pretensioned members. For various reasons, the losses in prestress members typically range from
250 N/mm2 to 400 N/mm2. Suppose mild steel or deformed steel is used. The residual stresses
after losses are either zero or negligible. Hence, tensile steel wires, which vary from 1600 to
2000 N/mm2, are used.
2.8 Structural Details of Construction Process
3.0 Results and Discussions

3.1 Investigation of failure

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) announced on Wednesday that an expert
committee will be established to investigate the causes of the collapse of a section of a flyover
still under construction in Nagpur, Maharashtra and on a section of the flyover under
construction collapsed in Bharat Nagar, in the Kalamna neighbourhood of Nagpur. According to
a release from NHAI general manager (Tech) Naresh Wadetwar, the organisation has formed an
expert committee to investigate the causes of the collapse and will take appropriate action based
on its findings.