CEE An introduction to PRESTRESSED CONCRETE CHARAn introduction to prestressed concrete A. H. Allen MA, BSe, FICE, FiStructEForeword This booklet is intended for the student requiring an introduction to prestressed concrete, without the complicated mathematical manipulation usually found in text-books on the subject. The hope is that this approach will also appeal to the young architect or engineer who needs a basic understanding of the principles of the technique. Prestressed concrete is introduced by words and pictures, but the use of technical terms cannot be avoided and some design equations have been used, For those to whom a ‘mathematical approach is desirable, the first Appendix is devoted to the basic theory In this second edition, apart from minor changes, the text of the chapter on Materials has been revised to take account of new British Standards relating to tendons and particularly of some new terminology used therein.Contents Foreword Brief history and development Principles Methods Pre-tensioning Post-tensioning 15 Materials Concrete Steel 21 Equipment Pre-tensioning Post-tensioning BBRV Dividag Macalloy Stronghold General 33 Applications Pre-tensioning Sleepers Roofs and floors Beams For buildings For bridges Piles Handling Post-tensioning Buildings Bridges Reservoirs and silos Piles Offshore structures 54 Conclusion 55 Appendix 1: Basic theory 64 Appendix 2: Suggestions for further reading 65 Appendix 3: AcknowledgementsFigure 1 ‘Sydney Opera House.Brief history and development ‘Although a patent for the material was taken out in California in 1886, it was not until the late 1940s that prestressed conerete really began to develop. The acute shortage of steel that occurred in Europe after the Second World War opened the way for the use of prestressed concrete in the period of reconstruction that followed the war. One tonne of prestressing stand can result in up to 15 times the amount of building that is made possible by one tonne of structural steel. Eugene Freyssinet of France is generally regarded as the ‘father’ of prestressed con- crete. His interest in the subject and tests carried out by him in the early 1900s led him to believe that prestressing would be a practical proposition if high-strength steel and high-quality concrete were available. These were slow in coming, and it was not until 1928, when he took out his first patent, that Freyssinet was able to establish his theory of prestressing. His first publication on the subject was aptly entitled A revolution in the art of building. It certainty was a revolution; indeed, it was regarded by many engineers as @ new-fangled idea that would never eaich on. “There were a few, however, such as Magnel in Belgium and Hoyer in Germany, who recognized its potential, and most of the basic ideas on prestressing systems had emerged by the time they were needed — after the war. The tools and materials were available and European engineers led the world in this new method of construction. Not that the rest of the world took a great deal of interest, in those early years. In the USA, for example, there ‘was some early se of prestressed conerete in construction of water tanks, pressure pipes and piles, but it was 1951 before North America’s first major prestressed concrete structure — a bridge — was completed. In 1952, an international society (the Fédération Internationale de la Précontrainte, or FIP) was created at a meeting in Cambridge, The main objective of this group of far- sighted engineers was to spread the message and enlighten the world about the relatively ‘unknown (at that time) concept of prestressed concrete construction. FIP was to do this by encouraging the formation of national groupsin all countries which had a special interest in the subject and by providing an international forum for the exchange of information Great Britain, together with a few other European countries, already had its own group (the Prestressed Concrete Development Group, or PCDG), the work of which has now been taken over by The Concrete Society. ‘Much of FIP's work is done quietly by technical commissions, which investigate particu- lar aspects of prestressed concrete technology, and draw up recommendations on design and construction methods, but every four years there is a congress which attracts most of the world’s leading authorities on the subject. Prestressing has made new methods of construction possible and enabled entirely new types of structure to be built, which could not have been conceived without it, However, there is only a limited number of ways in which cables and rods can be tensioned and anchored, and scope for innovation must now be small. There is still plenty of detailed work to be done in refining the concept and there are still possibilities for extending its us. ‘Two of the most challenging and useful applications in recent years have been for large sea structures (harbours, offshore terminals, fixed and floating platforms for oil produc- tion) and nuclear power stations. ‘There is still scope for prestressed concrete to increase its role in bridge construction, with the supporters of high-strength concrete vying with the supporters of lightweight concrete as to the better way in which to go. The industry looks to the future with confidence, and the view of Sydney Opera House (Figure 1) must surely give a boost to the morale of any budding architect, engineer or constructor.Figure2 Figure 3 Figure Principles Prestressed concrete can most easily be defined as precompressed concrete. This means thata compressive stressis put into a concrete member before it begins it working life andis, Positioned to be in areas where tensile stresses will develop under working load. Why are we concerned with tensile stresses? For the simple reason that, although ‘concrete is strong in compression, itis weak in tension, Consider a beam of plain concrete carrying a load. As the load increases, the beam deflects slightly and then fails abruptly. Under load, the stresses in the beam will be compressive in the top fibres, but tensile in the bottom fibres. A A ‘We can expect the beam to crack at the bottom and break, even with a relatively small load, because of concrete’s low tensile strength. There are two ways of countering this low tensile strength — by using reinforcement or by prestressing, In reinforced concrete, reinforcement in the form of steel bars is placed in areas where tensile stresses will develop under load. K A ‘The reinforcement absorbs all the tension and, by limiting the stress in this reinforcement, the cracking of the concrete is kept within acceptable limits In prestressed concrete, the compressive stresses introduced into areas where tensile stresses develop under load will resist or annul these tensile stresses.Figure 5 Pgure 6 Figure 7 So the concrete now behaves as if it had a high tensile strength of its own and, provided the tensile stresses do not exceed the precompression stresses, cracking cannot occur in the bottom of the beam. ‘An everyday example of the fundamental principle of prestressing is used by a person ‘moving several bricks. As an alternative to stacking them vertically, one on top of the other ‘and supporting them underneath, they can be lifted and moved in a horizontal stack by exerting pressure with @ hand at each end. ‘The tensile strength of the row of bricks is zero, but as long as sufficient pressure is applied, the whole row can be lifted together. Ifthe pressure is applied near the top, it will be found that the “unit is not very stable and will tend to open up atthe bottom. With the pressure applied below mid-height, it will be possible to stack bricks on top, so our unit is also carrying a load. The more load we put on, the more pressure we need to exert at each end. A simple demonstration can also be made by using a few empty matchboxes placed end to end and held together by an elastic band going right around them. The amount of load that can be carried varies with the amount of pressure applied by the elastic band. This basic idea of using several separate units becomes a very practical structural solution when we need to span a wide opening. Precast conerete units are erected on {alsework; they are pressed together; the falsework is taken away. As long as the pressure remains, we have 2 load-carrying member However, bending is only one of the conditions involved; we also have shear. Vertical ‘and horizontal shear forces are set up within a beam and these will cause diagonal tension and diagonal compression stresses of equal intensity. As conerete is weak in tension, cracks in a reinforced concrete beam will occur where these diagonal tension stresses are high, usually near the support. In prestressed concrete, the precompression stresses can also be designed to overcome these diagonal tension stresses. Under load, a prestressed beam will bend, gradually reducing the built-in compression; when the load is removed, the compression reasserts itself and the beam returns to itsFigure 8 original condition, illustrating the resilience of prestressed conerete. Furthermore, tests have shown that a virtually unlimited number of such reversals of the loading can be carried out without affecting the beam’s ability to carry its working load or impairing its ultimate load capacity. In other words, ‘prestressing’ endows the beam with high fatigue resistance. thas already been stated that if, at working load, the tensile stresses due to load do not exceed the prestress, the concrete will not crack in the tension zone bu, ifthe working load is exceeded and the tensile stresses overcome the prestress, cracks will appear. However, even after a beam has been loaded to a high proportion of its ultimate capacity, removal of the load results in complete closing of the cracks and they do not reappear under working load How is this precompression applied? For ground-floor slabs or pavings, it can be achieved by the use of externally applied jacks which, after compressing most of the slab between two fixed abutments, can be replaced by the remainder of the slab. This is not a practical method for most structural members, however, and the usual method is to use tensioned steel “tendons’ incorporated permanently in the member. The tendons are usually in the form of a high-strength wires, strands or bars, used singly or ‘made up into cables. Using tendons there are two basic methods called: {@) pre-tensioning; (b) post-tensioning; which will now be described in more detailFigure 9 Pre-tesioning, Methods Inpre-tensioning, as the word implies, first the steel is tensioned between abutments and then the concrete is placed in moulds around it. When the concrete has achieved sufficient ‘compressive strength, the steclis released from the abutments, transferring the force to the conerete through the bond that now cxists between the steel and the concrete — see Figure 9. stage Stage 2 ~ Sia923 Inpost-tensioning, the concrete is cast first in the mould and allowed to harden before the prestress is applied. The steel may be placed in position to a predetermined profile and. ‘cast into the concrete, bond being prevented by enclosing the steel in a protective metal sheathing. Or ducts may be formed in the concrete and the steel passed through after hardening has taken place, When the required concrete strength has been achieved, the steel is stressed against the ends of the unit and anchored off, thus putting the concrete into compression. The curved profile of the stcel, which usually occurs in post-tensioning, permits the effective distribution of prestress within the section to the designer's req ments — see Figure 10. Pre-tensioning Pre-tensioning may be used on site where large numbers of similar precast units are required, but is usually carried out in a factory where permanent stressing beds have already been constructed. The most effective method is long-line production, whereby a number of similar units are produced at the same time. The steel tendons, usually wire for small units and strand for larger units, are tensioned between anchor plates at opposite~f + Stage 2 Stage 8 Figure 10: SSS Post-tensioning. ends of a long stressing bed. These anchor plates are supported by large steel sections embedded in a block of concrete at each end of a casting surface, The base slab may actasa strut between these blocks of concrete but, with long stressing beds, each block is made massive enough to remain stable, ic. it will not slip or rotate. In very long stressing beds, there are sometimes intermediate blocks with preformed pockets so that temporary steel joists can be inserted to give a shorter stressing bed if the need arises, At one end, the anchor plate bears directly onto the supporting steel joints and is referred to as the fixed abutment. At the other end, the jacking end, temporary steel struts are introduced between the anchor plate and the supporting joists. The anchor plates are usually thick steel plates with holes through which the wires or strands can be passed and anchored, The fends of each unit will have a stop-end, which will be drilled to the layout of tendons required and for the size of wire or strand being used. A typical arrangement for long-line production is shown in Figure 11 bee ‘enrny anchor late archorapes Fare 11 Longeline production. The designed number of wires or strand are drawn down the full length of the stressing bed, threaded through the stop-ends and anchor plates and anchored off at the fixed abutment. At the other end of the bed, when all the wires have been positioned, jacking begins. The slack s taken upand theload applied. [The extension can alsobe read offand compared with calculated value but, as the tendons are virtually free to move (which they are not in the case of post-tensioning), itis the force in the tendon which is of primary importance.] The wie is then anchored off and the jack released. The operation is then repeated on the remaining wires, The sequence of stressing is not very important in pre-tensioning but, as with all prestressing, accurate stressing is essential If any secondary reinforcement isto be used, the amount necessary for each unit wil have been bunched together near the stop-ends and the tendons threaded through when the wires were being drawn down the bed. When stressing has been completed, reinforce- ment is fixed in its required position, The moulds are then assembled in preparation for concreting. In pre-tensioning, the bond between the stressed steel and the concrete is 10Figure 12 vitally important, and in all the operations carried out care must be taken to ensure that this steel is kept clear of any material, such as mould oil, that would interfere with this bond. To achieve full compaction of the concrete, vibrators are used and these can be internal or external. Internal vibrators, badly handled, can produce pockets of water adjacent to the stressed steel, which will reduce the effective bond. External vibrators do not cause this problem, but on the other hand, the moulds need to be much more rigid, ‘As with all conerete, curing is necessary. The process is sometimes accelerated by introducing steam under suitable cover, and a rapid production turn-round can be achie' ‘When the concrete has attained sufficient strength, the temporary struts are replaced by jacks which can be slowly released, As the tensioned steel tries to return to its original length, the bond between the concrete and steel prevents this and so the concrete is put into compression. Provided the units are free to slide along the bed, the tension in the stec! between the units is released, thus enabling the stecl to be cut quite safely at the ends of the units, At these points, the tendons will revert to their original diameter, so there is also a wedge action, in addition to the bond. The force in each tendon is transferred to the concrete over a certain length, which is called the ‘transmission’ length. This length is considerably affected by the surface condition in the case of wires but is much less variable for strand. In both cases, however, the length is affected by the degree of compaction Other arrangements involve the tendons being tensioned simultaneously. In this case, jacks are inserted between the anchor plate and steel joists instead of temporary struts. The jacks are then operated to tension all the tendons. As the jacks are also used for releasing the stress, they usually form an integral part of the stressing bed. For small proprietary units, secondary reinforcement is often unnecessary and, in one system, the concrete is continuously extruded around the tendons and subsequently sawn tolength (Figure 12). As the wires are still under tension when cut, the bond has to be very good or the wires will disappear into the unit‘As soonas the units ina long-line bed have been separated they can be stacked, but they should be handled with great care, lifted at the correct points and kept the ‘right way up’ at all times. This will be dealt with more fully under Applications (page 41) Pre-tensioning may also be applied to individual units and, in this case, the steel is stressed and anchored in each mould. These units, too, must be handled with great care. In the arrangements discussed so far, the tendons have all been straight and have all, been continuously bonded to the concrete, Although the majority of pre-tensioned units are made this way, which demonstrates that it is an economically viable arrangement, it does not provide the most efficient use of the prestressing force in the case of flexural members of constant section, In large units, where the self-weight is significant, advantage can be obtained by increasing the eccentricity of the tendons within the central portion of the span. The eccentricity ofa tendon isthe distance from the centre of the tendon to the centre of gravity of the section. Ifthe section of a unit is constant over its whole length, itcan be readily seen that, with straight tendons, the eccentricity is constant over the length of the unit, As the effectiveness of the prestressing force isa function of the force multiplied by the eccenttici- ty, this can be increased by increasing the eccentricity for the same force. Alternatively, the same effectiveness can be achieved by using a smaller force at a larger eccentricity. This principle is the basic criterion in post-tensioning, but can be applied to pre-tensioning if we deflect the tendons or debond some of the tendons. As we have tendons stretched between abutments, we can only hold down or hold up the tendons at points within their length, the tendons still following a straight line between these points. This is illustrated diagramatically in Figure 13 Figure 13: Defeced tendons. Figure 14: Debonded tendons. 12 The additional cost of operating and maintaining these hold-up or hold-down mechanisms does seem to have deterred manufacturers, although many units using this system have been made, Debonding does not require such sophisticated equipment. Itis the prestressing force at the ends of the unit which is decreased by sheathing some of the tendons in plastics tubing so that bond is prevented. The transmission length, therefore, starts at the end of the sheathing, Figure 14 shows how the prestressing force is reduced at the end of a unit. loses tucing Numer of fndons atest Post-tensioning Post-tensioning may be used in the factory production of large, special-purpose precast. units, both on-site and off-site. As previously described for pre-tensioning, the use of straight tendons is not the most efficient use of the prestressing force when it comes tolargeunits. ‘The maximum effective prestress is required at positions where the maximum bending moment occurs and, conversely, the minimum effective prestress where the ‘minimum bending moment occurs. With a constant prestressing force, this can be achieved by varying the eccentricity of the force so that, at any section along a beam, the prestressing effect will counteract the loading effect. If the tendons are within the concrete section, they will be positioned ina curved profile, so the sheathing, usually preformed circular metal ducting, has to be fixed to the required profile. This ducting has to be positioned accurately and is usually fixed to the reinforce- ‘ment cage, which has already been set up on the mould bed. The permanent anchorage at the ends of the ducts is fixed to the end mould. Figure 15 shows typical detail atthe end of 2 unit using preformed ducts Figure 15: + t t ~ i End of post-tnsioned anit. Links t contin bursting forces Ducts can also be formed in the concrete unit by using removable solid or inflatable rubber formers. As these have to be withdrawn after the conerete has hardened, the permanent anchorage cannot be cast into the unit, but provision has to be made for it in the end mould, The tendons can also be on the outside of the unit, in which case deflecting saddles are provided at appropriate places. The effect is then similar to that obtained with deflected tendons, as described for pre-tensioning ‘When preformed metal sheathing is being used, itis important to remember that grout must not be allowed to enter the duet; if it does, it has to be removed while still ina plastic state. As the sheathing will be in lengths, the joints have to be protected with tape. Even with the tendons inside the duct, there will be a tendency for the duct to float and, although it has been fixed accurately in position, it is important to remember that it also has to remain in this position during concreting. With the moulds assembled, the concrete is placed. It is then essential that the unstres- sed units are properly cured, to avoid shrinkage cracking during the hardening process. ‘When the conerete has achieved sufficient strength, the tendons are tensioned by anchor- ing one end of the tendon and jacking against the face of the anchorage at the other end, or by jacking at both ends simultaneously. The tendons in each duet may be tensioned individually, by attaching a single-strand or bar jack to each tendon in turn, or simultane ously, by attaching a multiple-wire or strand jack to all the tendons at the same time. With post-tensioning, it isimportant to verify the extension in the tendon as well as the load, The movement of the tendon in the duet cannot be seen; it can only be registered by the extension of the jack. The load being applied and the extension it causes should be observed, so that any irregularitiesin the rate of extension fora given rate of loading will be quickly seen. If a tendon becomes ‘locked’ somewhere along the duct, the amount of extension will decrease indicating a fault. Remedial action can now be taken, ‘When the designed load has been reached, the extension is recorded and, if this has reached the calculated value, the tendon can be anchored off. The load should never be increased beyond the specified value, particularly in an attempt to achieve the required extension. Where tendons are stressed separately, the sequence should be such that those stressed first do not interfere with the movement of those stressed later. If several cables are used in separate ducts, the order of stressing specified by the engineer must be followed, as failure to do so may damage the unit. With al tendons stressed and anchored off, the ducts are normally filled with a colloidal cement grout under pressure. The hardened grout is mainly to prevent corrosion of the 314 tendons, but also provides a bond between the tendons and the concrete. The amount of bond has little effect upon the behaviour of the member under normal load conditions but, does affect the nature of the cracking that would oceur inthe event of overloading and the factor of safety against rupture of the section. Different stressing systems use different equipment, as will be described later. Whichever system is used, the anchorages are permanent and form part of the finished unit. These anchorages are quite expensive and, on short units, the cost of these (together with the ducts and grouting) far outweighs the saving made in steel tendons compared with pre-tensioning. At the ends of post-tensioned units, the tendons apply a large force through an anchor age of relatively small area. The effect is like driving a wedge into a block of wood and, unless this ‘bursting’ force can be contained until it has dispersed over the section, the end of the unit will break up. Attention has to be given to this in the design calculations and usually results in a concentration of links in these end zones. The conerete must also be of good quality and thoroughly compacted in this area, despite the congestion of reinforcement, ducts and anchorages. In some cases, the end-biock may be precast, by turningit through 90° to, better access for concreting, and subsequently incorporated in the structure during con- struction.Materials ‘The concrete and the prestressing cables form two systems which may be considered in theory as externally connected, although in practice itis usually more convenient toencase the cable system within the conerete section. However, this theoretical independence enables the separate properties of the two materials to be studied. Conerete The design of concrete mixes and the various treatments to which they may be subjected is adequately dealt with elsewhere and does not fall within the scope of this booklet. It is sufficient here to mention some of the factors which have a direct bearing on prestressing, namely the production of high-strength concrete and the changes which take place in the material under stress. ‘A concrete mix for prestressed work should be workable when it is fresh and strong when it has hardened. The workability of fresh concrete is increased by increased water content and by good grading of the aggregates, whilst the strength of hardened concrete, which increases with age, is increased by a reduced water/cement ratio and by increased compaction. These conflicting requirements have been the subject of much study and sufficient is now known for us to be able to meet these requirements and also to predict a ‘minimum crushing strength after a specified time. This latter item is very relevant to prestressed concrete as the strength of the concrete in the member when the prestress is applied is a very important factor. This is generally referred to as the ‘initial’ or ‘transfer’ condition. ‘With long-line pre-tensioning, the stress cannot be applied to the unit and hence the units removed, until the concrete has reached its specified transfer strength. So, for production purposes, it is important to know when the bed can be emptied for re-use. The stiffening and hardening of concrete is due to a chemical reaction between the cement and water in the mix. At normal temperatures, it takes several days for the concrete to develop sufficient strength. Various methods of accelerating hardening are available, internally by the use of chemical admixtures and externally by heating. One admixture which mustnever be used is calcium chloride and codes of practice prohibit its usc. External heating includes saturated steam-curing and electrical heat curing (the former being the more widely used) and the required strength can be achieved after a very short time, Strengths normally attained after 28 days may be reached after a few hours but, as a result of heating the concrete and hence the steel, there may be a loss of prestress due to the proper bond not being obtained between the heated wires and the concrete. This only applies to pre-tensioning as, even if steam-curing is applied to post-tensioned units which have the cables in, the steel will not be stressed and grouted under these conditions. ‘Whatever method is used for curing, there is generally, with normal cements, ashrink- ‘age when hardening takes place. Although the majority of the shrinkage takes place early in the life of the unit, shrinkage continues to occur for many months and this can also be affected by the exposure conditions. For example, with a humid exposure of, say, 90% relative humidity, the shrinkage is about one-third of what occurs with a normal exposure of 70% relative humidity. Concrete is also an elastic material and, as soon as the stress is applied to th unit, the ‘unit will shorten, thus reducing the extended length of the steel and hence the stress init. ‘This loss of prestress is called elastic deformation of the concrete and is a function of the modulus of elasticity, E, of the concrete, the modulus of elasticity, E,, of the steel, and the 15Figure 16: Typical oreep curve for 16 stress in the concrete at the transfer condition. Although the modulus of elasticity is Primarily dependent upon the crushing strength of the concrete, itis also influenced by the ¢lastic properties of the aggregate and, to a lesser extent, the conditions of the curing and age of the conerete, the mix proportions and the type of cement. Codes of practice give values for E, related to the concrete strength, but these do not cover all cases and, if an accurate figure is required, it should be found from tests where a stress-strain curve is obtained. In pre-tensioned work where all the stress is applied at the same time, the greatest loss due to elastic deformation occurs. In post-tensioned work where all the stress is applied at the same time, the loss is nl since the concrete forms the anchorage and the stress in the concrete is reached by direct transfer as the steel is stressed. In post-tensioned work where the stress is applied in stages, there is a progressive loss during stressing as the member gradually shortens under progressive stressing, reducing the stress in all the steel that has been previously stressed. The loss is therefore intermediate between nil and the full amount which occurs in pre-tensioned work. A third and very important property of concrete in connection with its use for prestres- sed structures is creep. This can be defined as the inelastic deformation due to sustained stress. Where concrete is subjected to a sustained compressive stress, it will therefore reduce inlength, which again reduces the stress in the steel. It has been shown that the rate at which creep takes place is dependent upon the stress and the time for any given specimen of concrete. Thus, for a constant value of stress, the strain-time curve hasa shape as shown in Figure 16, where it will be noticed that there appears to be a limiting value for strain STRAIN TIME Steet ‘The stec! used in prestressing work is usually in the form of cold-drawn high-tensile wires or alloy steel bars. The wires can be used singly or twisted together to form strand. At this stage, it will be useful to define the terms used for steel in prestressed conerete work. Cable: a group of tendons. Tendon: a stretched element used in a concrete member to impart prestress to the concrete, Tendons may consist of individual hard-drawn wires, bars or strands, Wire: reinforcement of solid section complying with the requirements of BS 5896:1980 and generally supplied in coil form. Bar: reinforcement of solid section complying with the requirements of BS 4486:1980 and generally only supplied in straight lengths. Strand a group of wires spun in helical form around a common longitudinal axis (the latter being formed by a straight wire) complying with the requirements of BS 5896:1980 for 7-wire strand. Wire varies in diameter from 7 mm down to 3mm, but the smallest diameter in general Use for structural members is 4 mm. It can be supplied either “as drawn’ or ‘straightened and stress-relieved’. In the ‘as-drawn’ condition, it will be in mill coils and will have aRigure 17: Types of tendon (a) Wire (6) Standard strand (c) Drawn sirnd (a) Cable of seven strands (e) Dividog bar (9 Macaltoy bar natural curvature approximately equivalent to the capstan of the wire-drawing machine. As such, it will not pay out straight. This defect can be overcome by subsequent straighten ing on site, but the manufacturer will also supply specially wound large coils from which the wire will pay out straight, This wire has been straightened by a process which involves a stress-relieving heat treatment which induces enhanced elastic properties and leads to what is now designated ‘relax class 1° (previously ‘normal’ relaxation); or a similar stross-relieving heat treatment carried out under plastic deformation, e.g. under condi- tions of longitudinal strain, which also induces high elastic properties but, in addition, improves the relaxation characteristics and is now designated ‘relax class 2' (previously low’ relaxation). The terms ‘relax class 1 and ‘relax class 2 are applied to strand, as well as to wire, and relaxation is defined as the loss in stress after a period of time when a prestressing tendon is stressed to a given load under constant length and temperature conditions. It has been found that, for a given steel, the rate of relaxation is a function of the initial stress and the duration of its application. This rate decreases with time and the British Standards give a maximum relaxation after a period of 1000 hours, the loss being expressed as a percentage of the initial load, ‘Relax class 2’ wire or strand will have a smaller loss of stress than the “relax class 1° wire or strand, Codes of Practice and British Standards give guidance on how a preliminary assessment of this loss can be made but, for an accurate assessment, details should be obtained from the manufacturers who have carried out a large number of tests on their own materials. In order to ensure the maximum bond between the steel and concrete, it is general practice to supply the wire in a de-greased condition. In addition to de- greasing, the wire is, often indented or crimped to achieve better bond characteristics. Concerning the mechanical properties of the steel, the latest British Standards seem to prefer using the term ‘breaking load’ to ‘tensile strength’. Both are defined but, whereas the breaking load has one value, the tensile strength, in terms of tensile stress, can be based on the actual area or the nominal area of the tendon. Prestressing steel does not have a definite yield point and, in order to obtain an indication of the curvature of the load- elongation curve, the concept of a‘ proof load’ is used (ora ‘proof stress" ifthe tensile stress is used). The proof load is defined as the load at which the applied load produces a permanent elongation equal to a specified percentage of the gauge length. The British Standards use the value of 0-1% proof load, which is the value of the load on the load- elongation curve where astraight line, starting from 0-1% elongation and drawn at an angle equal to the modulus of elasticity (i.e. parallel to the elastic part of the curve) crosses the actual curve, as indicated in Figure 18, 7Figure 18 Typical loud-etongation atm or siran. An 01% priof load Be Loud 1% elongation Figure 19: Seven-nire strand, (a) Standard or super Sowing diameter oy outer wine alg ‘afer thar at of cre wine (9 Drawn Loan 195 £ 10 kN? oF 10 ELONGATION—s ‘Am alternative value which can be used for treated wire and strand is to determine the load at 1% elongation. This is also shown on Figure 18 and gives a slightly higher value than the 0-1% proof load, It should be noted that, as no value for the modulus of elasticity is given for ‘as-drawn' wire, this alternative value is the only one which can be determined Prestressing strand is virtually all 7-wire strand and is available in sizes from 8 mm to 18mm nominal diameter. Although a large range of sizes is available, manufacturers have preferred sizes and reference should be made to trade literature before choosing a size which fits the calculations. A list of organizations manufacturing wire and strand at the time of going, to print is given at the end of this section. As stated in the definitions, to make seven-wire strand, six wites are helically wound to form 4 single layer about the straight inner core wire. Ifthe wires were all parallel, their diameters would have to be identical to form the pattern shown in the cross-section in Figure 19a. However, as this is not the case and the sections of the outer wires in this view will be slightly elliptical, their diameters must be smaller than that of the core wire. Three types of seven-wire strand are available - standard, super and drawn. All are subjected to heat treatment as for wire, and so we have ‘relax class 1° and ‘relax class 2°. To reduce the percentage of voids in the cross-section of standard and super, the strand can be drawn through a die which compresses it. So, for the same ‘nominal” diameter, the amount of steel is higher, thus enabling a larger force to be exerted. This type of strand is classed as ‘drawn’ and a cross-section is shown in Figure 19b,Figure 2 ‘Stationary strand coll ‘spenser Figure 20 shows a type of stationary strand coil dispenser, where the strand is pulled out from the centre. The strapped coil is placed in the frame, security rods are fastened and the straps on the coil are then cut. The strand is pulled out from the inside of the coil, and this method puts a twist into the strand, This twist must be released by rotating the strand, so protective gloves are essential High-tensile alloy-steel bars vary in diameter from 20 mm to 50 mm and can be smooth or ribbed. With the smooth bars, threads are rolled on at the ends which can be used for anchorage purposes or coupling together. The ribbed bars hae rolled-on ribs for the entire Tength and these ribs act as threads for anchorage purposes or coupling, The required lengths. for the smooth bars ate therefore critical, whereas for the ribbed bars they are not. The relaxation of alloy-steel bars is now specified in the British Standard, and is between class 1 and class 2 as related to strand. ‘The table below gives a list of the more commonly used sizes and types of steel with the appropriate specified characteristic breaking load. As referred to earlier, prestressing steel does not have a yield strength, but a column has been added called Nominal tensilestrengthso that the reader can make a quick comparison with high yield bars for reinforced concrete where the yield strength is 460 N/mm? Nominal Specified Nominal diameter characteristic tensile Dee breaking load strength (om) on) (N/mm) wire 7 fo 1570 Strand "Standard? Rs tt 1770 152 23 160 “Super” bs 186 1860 7 265 0 ‘Drawn’ at 209 1860 132 300 1920 180 40 1700 Bar “Hot rolled 2 sas 1030 2 830 1030. 0 1300 1030 Processed 2s oo 1230 2 990) 1020 In the section on the history of prestressed concrete, it was stated that high-strength steel and high-quality concrete were essential for the satisfactory performance of this type of construction. As we have just been reading, loss of prestress occurs through the inherent Properties of the materials themselves. Itis convenient at this point to give a summary of losses that can occur, even though some have still to be discussed. It should also be borne in mind that not all the losses listed occur in both pre-tensioned and post-tensioned members. (@) Shrinkage of concrete (b) Elastic deformation of concrete, (©) Creep of concrete, (@) Relaxation of steel (©) Steam curing. (During anchorage (g) Friction in the jack and anchorage. (h) Friction in the duct, The amount of total loss of prestress cannot be given as a precise value, either for pre~ tensioning or for post-tensioning. It is usually quoted asa percentage based on the force in the tendons immediately after transfer and is of the order of 20%%. The losses which occur before and during transfer are of the order of 5% for post-tensioning and 10% for pre-tensioning. It can now be appreciated that stee! capable of being highly stressed initially is a necessary requirement if a stress of sizeable magnitude is to remain in the member. The following organizations manufacture and supply wire and strand for prestressed concrete and may be approached for further details. British Ropes Limited Bridon Wire Sales Carr Hill, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN4 8DJ Somerset Wire P.O. Box $6, Pengam Works, Cardiff CFL IRW Johnson & Nephew (Ambergate) Limited Ambergate, Derby DES 2HE ‘The following organizations supply bars for prestressed concrete and may be approached for further details Dividag Systems Limited ‘Westfield Road, Southam, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV33 HZ Reinforcement Steet Services McCalls Special Products P.O. Box 71 Hawke Street, Sheffield S9 2LNFigure 21 Grip assembly for pre-tensionin. Equipment Pre-tensioning With pre-tensioning, the most important item of equipment consists of the temporary grips which hold the wires or strand during, and after, tensioning. The method of tension- ing may vary, but the grip today consists of a barrel and wedge, see Figure 21 ‘The wedge is generally in two or three pieces with a collar and wire clip to keep them in the same relative position, asitisimportant that the wedge should be fixed around the wire or strand and in the barrel in a concentric position, with all segments of the wedge driven the same distance into the barrel. The wedge has grooves on the surface in contact with the tendon and, although they will be used many times, they should be carefully examined each time before use. At the fixed anchorage, the grips are forced onto unstressed tendons close to the anchor plate. At the stressing end, where individual tendons are being stressed, the grip is only placed on the unstressed tendon against the anchor plate. The jack is then positioned on the tendon and stressing begins, with the tendon being pulled through the grip. When the required load and extension have been reached, the wedge is forced onto the tendon, the stressing jack is released and, as the tendon tries to pull through the wedge, it forces the wedge onto itself and is firmly gripped. When the full length of the bed is not being used, double-ended joints as shown in Figure 22 are used; these enable precast works to join together lengths of wire or strand and so avoid wastage. |Figure 22: Double-ended joins Figure 23: CCL Siressomatic jack. Where tendons are stressed individually, the jacks are relatively small and generally power-operated A popular jack in precast work is the CCL Stressomatic jack (Figure 23) which, once the controls have been set to predetermined requirements, carries out the stressing and anchoring operations automatically. This enables the stressing to be carried out quickly and efficiently Post-te ing The equipment required for post-tensioning depends upon which system is being used. There are several systems in operation in this country and these are listed in alphabetical order of the organization with the trade name of the system and the type of tendon used Although the list is meant to be comprehensive, it can only be so at the time of going to print, and other systems may subsequently be formed.Organization system Tendon BBRY Prestressing BBRV Wire (M) “Multi Construction Limited Sirand (8 and M) Stockport, Cheshire SK3 OXP (CCL Systems Limited cabco Surand (8) Cabeo Hore Multiorce Strand (M) Ewell Road Strandforce Strand (3) Surbiton, Surcey KT6 7AH Unbonded Strand (5) Dividag Systems Limited Dywidag Single Bar Bar (8) Westfield Road Southam Leamington Spe Warwickshire CV33 HZ MeCalls Special Products Macalloy Bar (8) POBox 71 Hawke Stoet Shelfield 8 2LN SC Freysinet Limited "© Range Strand (0) The Ridgeway MonoStrand Strand (8) ser, Bucks SLO OIE PSR Servies Limited Circular ‘Strand (8 and M) Stephenson Road Hounds Basingstoke, Hants RG21 2XP- Stronghold International Limited Stronghold Strand (M0) Star House Oxford Road Stone Aylesbury, Bucks HIT &PL VSL Systems Limited Strand (M) Lupion Road Thame, Oxon OX9 2PQ M indicates multiple stressing 5 indicates single stressing Although other methods of classification could equally well be selected, a convenient one is to group the systems by the method adopted to anchor the tendons, and here we have either a threaded-nut system ora wedge system. In the first category, we have BBRV, Dividag and Macalloy. All the other systems use wedges, ‘A brief description of each system will now be given, but full details of any particular system can be obtained from the organization concerned. It will be seen that several of the systems have similarities. BBRV This system is classed as a threaded-nut system as, in the lower half of the range of forces available, it is a lock nut which bears against a stecl bearing plate and transfers the ‘compression into the concrete. In the upper half of the range of forces, the stress is transferred by means of metal chocks inserted between the stressing anchor and the bearing plate. In all cases, the basic element consists of steel cylinder with a number of machined axial holes to accommodate the separate wires. Anchoring of each wire is by ‘means of a preformed button head and Figure 24 shows a typical example of the two types of anchorage. In the smaller anchorage, the basic element is threaded internally to receive 1a draw bar for jacking, and externally to receive the locking nut. In the larger anchorage, a thread is provided externally only to receive a temporary pull-sleeve, which is attached to the jack. ‘The button heads are formed at both ends of the wire after it has been passed through the anchor head. The length of the cable is therefore fixed and has to be determined 23Figure 24 BBRV stressing anchors. Figure 25 Intermediate stage in stresing, 24 accurately so that, when the cable has been tensioned, the anchor head will be in the correct position in relation to the bearing plate. Figure 25 shows an intermediate stage in the stressing operation at the jacking end and the length of the end trumpet depends upon the extension of the scale. ‘Where possible the whole cable, including preformed sheathing and anchorages at both ends, is made up in the factory and then transported to site. If it is not possible to predetermine the cable length, the button heads at one end are formed on site by using & portable machine. Although wires of other diameters can be used, 7 mm is the preferred size and the number of wires varies between 8 and 163, giving jacking forces which vary between 34 and 790 tonnes. ai ois taros OE CREA > temporary pulsed — temporary lock nut Dividag This system uses an alloy steel bar as the tendon. Two types of bar are used, the Smoothbar and the Threadbar. For the Smoothbar the threads are cold-rolled onto the ends of the bar only, whereas the Threadbar has rolled-on deformations on two sides over its entire length. The force is transmitted to the end bearing plate by means of a nut which screws ‘onto the ends of the bar. Figure 26 shows typical anchorages of the bell and solid-plate types. ‘The Smoothbar is available in diameters of 12-2, 26, 32 and 36 mm and is always stressed singly. The Threadbarisavailable in diameters of 15, 16, 26-5, 32 and 36 mm, and although usually stressed singly, the 16 mm bars can be stressed in multiples of3 to 9. Two grades of stecl are offered. Prestressing forces range from 13 to 96 tonnes for single stressing and from 63 to 202 tonnes for multiple stressing. Tendons of any length can be assembled on site by means of hollow steel couplers threaded internally to receive the Smoothbar or Threadbar. During the stressing operation, as the bar is being stretched by the jack, the anchor nut is continuously screwed down and then transfers the load to the anchorage once the jack has been releasedFigure 26 Anchorages for Dividag sytem Macalloy Macalloy prestressing is a smooth bar system with threads rolled on the ends of the bars. ‘The force is transferred to the concrete by means of a threaded nut bearing against steel washers onto a solid stee! distribution plate, see Figure 27, or a ribbed cast-iron sleeve, or by a tapped steel plate at a dead anchorage Bars of 20, 25, 32 and 40 mm diameter are available, The bars are always stressed singly butcan be arranged in cables of 1, 2, 3 or 4 bars, giving stressing forces ranging from 23 to 350 tonnes. Figure 27 Macally anchorages for four bars and one bar. With all threaded-nut systems, the load can be applied at intervals to suit construction or design requirements, or losses can be taken up at any time prior to grouting. The anchorage is completely positive and there is no loss of prestress on transfer of the load from the jack to the nut, 25Figure 28: Apical Muttiforce'Cabeo anchorage Figure 29: CCL Sirandjorce anchorage 26 ccL Ascan be seen from the list of manufacturers, CCL has three main systems, all of which use strand. Cabco and Multiforce use exactly the same anchorage with the strands in a circular pattern, but in the Cabco system the strands are stressed separately whereas in the Multiforce they are stressed simultaneously. Figure 28 shows the stressing anchorage, which comprises individual wedges to grip each strand, a bearing plate to transmit the load from the strands onto the tube unit and a tube unit to transmit the load into the concrete. The individual two-piece wedges are seated in tapered holesin the bearing plate and are similar to earlier CCL anchorages, but the strands are now grouped as closely as possible to the centre of the bearing plate, thus reducing its diameter and making the anchorage more compact. Where the non-stressing end of the tendon is buried in the structure or where there is no access to the anchorage at the time of stressing, Dead End Anchorages are available using a compression grip to terminate the strands. The compression grip is a metal sleeve which is swaged or extruded onto the strand. Alllsizes of strand from 13 mm standard to 18 mm compacted are used, giving stressing forces ranging from 50 to 575 tonnes, and for very large structures such as nuclear pressure vessels, one of the systems has a stressing force of 850 tonnes. ‘The Strandforce system has the strands arranged linearly in one or two rows of five, each strand being stressed separately. The anchorages, therefore, cater for ten or for five strands which pass through slots and anchor directly on the anchorage faces, using barrels ‘and wedges atthe stressing end, and compression grips at the dead end, Figure 29 shows a typical 10 strand stressing anchorage.Figure 30: VSL stressing anchor. In simply supported box girders with narrow webs, the tendons can be placed with the ‘major axis vertical to obtain the maximum possible prestressing force over the narrow width. With continuous construction, pockets should be boxed out at the reverse curves and saddie plates inserted after threading to prevent the trapping of strands; 18 or 19 mm. diameter strand is generally used, giving forces ranging from 130 to 320 tonnes. For single-strand stressing, the Stressomatic jack is generally used, as illustrated under Pre~ tensioning, but a much larger jack, known as the Multimatic, is required when multiple stressing is being carried out and this requires mechanical equipment for setting up and ‘moving about. The strands are gripped for tensioning near the nose of the jack, thus using the minimum amount of strand for stressing. When the required load has been reached, the permanent wedges are forced into the bearing plate. A longcable can therefore be stressed in stages without moving the jack from the cable. All the stressing jacks, including the larger ones, are equipped with accurate load-cellsin ‘order to measure direcily the load applied to the tendon Losinger ‘The VSL Strand System is multiple-strand stressing in a circular pattern. All strands are stressed simultaneously and are anchored by means of wedges forced into tapered holes in the anchor head, which transmits the force to the concrete by means of a steel bearing plate. Figure 30 shows a typical stressing anchor, ‘The VSL jack has the pulling head atthe end of the jack remote from the unit. When the required force has been reached, the jack pressure is released and the strands pull the ‘wedges into the tapered holes. At the dead end, the strand can either be taken in a loop round a curved plate and led back to the stressing end or terminated with a compression fitting bearing onto a steel plate. Inthe first case the loop and curved stel plate are conereted into the unit, whereasin the second case bond can be prevented over the end length by wrapping tape around the exposed strand. ‘A combination of force transfers by bond and bearing is achieved withthe third type, the H-anchorage, which is completely embedded in the concrete (Figure 31), The number of strands can vary from a single 13 mm diameter to fifty-five 15 mm diameter, giving forces ranging from 11 to 1150 tonnes. Psc As importers of the Freyssinet 12-wire system, PSC developed multiple stressing and also single stressing but have now phased out the original system of cones. Al the systems now aigure 31: Dead-end anchorage. Figure 32 PSC ‘Monogroup Mulisirand anchorage Figure 33. PSC Monosirand anchorage. 28Pagure 34: PSC Titan jacks. Figure 35 PSC npe T jack use wedges and the anchorages are identical in concept for both Monogroup and Mono- strand systems, The stressing anchorage consists of an iron guide which is cast into the concrete, a forged steel anchor block and three-piece wedges to anchor the strand. Figure 32 shows a Monogroup/Multistrand anchorage and Figure 33 shows a Monostrand anchor “The strands are arranged ina circular pattern and the holes in the anchor blocks are not only tapered but drilled at an angle in relation to the tendon pattern so that kinks in the strand are avoided. ‘Where access to the anchorage is not available, two types of dead end anchorages are available called Blind-end in the PSC system. There is the looped anchorage, where the strand passes around a metal saddle, and there is also the swaged and capped anchorage, where ends of the strand have swaged grips for anchoring. Various types of jack are available. For single stressing there are the Titan jacks, as illustrated in Figure 34, and for multiple stressing there is the ‘S'*T”and“K’ range. The S and T models, originally for the small and intermediate forces, have positions around the outside ofthe jack for fixing 12 strands, with various numbers of strands passing through a hole in the centre of the jack, for stressing and a T model is shown in Figure 35 “The K model was originally introduced for the large forces but is now available in different sizes to cover the whole range of forces from 100 to 1400 tonnes. As can be seenFigure 36: PSC type K jack 30 from Figure 36, all the strands are within the jack and are held in a temporary anchor plate at the end remote from the permanent anchor block, scp Stressed Concrete Design Limited have two basic systems, circular and rectangular. In the circular system, the strands are arranged in a circular pattern and can be stressed individu- ally, known as Monogrip, or stressed simultaneously, known as Multigrip. The strand is anchored in each case by means of a taper hole barrel with three-piece collet or wedges. ‘The distribution and bearing plate is the same for both circular systems. A typical 7-strand anchorage for 12-7, 15-2 and 18 mm Dyform strand is shown in Figure 37. Nineteen- strand 15:2 and 18 mm cables are also available. ‘The rectangular system is a development of the carly Magnel-Blaton system, where the wires were held by flat wedges in a sandwich plate. The modern version isa series of triple blocks, each block having three tapered circular holes taking a standard collet to anchor individual strands. The strands are stressed individually and Figure 38 shows a typical anchorage assembly where the anchorage blocks are laid horizontally and placed one on top of the other. The whole assembly can be turned through 90°, if required. With the rectangular system, ducts can be formed with the use of extractable rubber cores or metal sheathing. A wide runge of forces is available, varying from 12 tonnes with a single 13 mm strand to 400 tonnes with twenty-seven 13 mm strands arranged in multiples of three (as shown for the 12 strand in Figure 38), which permits each strand to be fully grouted by the use of grille separation. Stronghold Wires or strands can be used and are stressed simultaneously. The anchorage consists of trumpet of castor fabricated steel, together with an anchor block having tapered holes to accommodate individual wires or strands and two-piece wedges. At the dead end, i. the non-jacking end, wire tendons usually terminate with button heads, avoiding the use of wedges. Figure 39 shows a typical live anchorage for wire and strand. ‘The Stronghold jack grips all the wires or strands at the same time and, having stressed them through the anchorage wedges, it then forces the wedges into the tapered holes. The tendon projection required outside the anchorage is only 200 to 300 mm, thus reducingFigure 40: Grout vent (2) Components (6) Assembled 32 wastage of steel. The forces most commonly used range from 34 to 340 tonnes, but larger forces are available. General Except for the rectangular SCD Stress Block system, preformed circular metal ducts or sheaths are used. They have to be sufficiently flexible to be bent to a radius and at the same time strong enough to maintain their shape when being conereted in. Although the sheathing can be made to any length, in several cases a standard length is made which ‘means that the sections of sheathing have to be joined together. This has to be done very carefully to ensure that no mortar can get into the duct during concreting. Special couplers are available for this purpose. As the cables are usually grouted when stressing has been completed, grout or air vents have to be provided at intervals; these are usually formed at the required positions by drilling the sheathing and attaching a plastics grout vent as shown in Figure 40,Figure 41 The manufacure of presiested concrete Faulway sleepers by the longline proces. Applications In practice, it is gencrally found that for certain applications of prestressing the pre- tensioning method is preferable, whilst for others post-tensioning is more satisfactory. Pre-tensioning ‘The pre-tensioning method is most suitable for units of small cross-section which could not easily accommodate the comparatively bulky post-tensioning cable. The system is also well adapted to the mass production of large numbers of similar units, such as railway sleepers, floor joists, beams, floor units, poles, piles etc., when it is found to be very economical Ithas, however, certain disadvantages which make its use more limited than that of the other method in the case of very large members. The wires are generally straight, so that the shear resistance from curved-up cables is not available; the loss of prestress is greater; the effectiveness of a given force is not so great; and so on, The deciding factors in the use of pre-tensioning are therefore: (1) the size of the member; (2) the number of units required; (3) the suitability of straight wires. ‘When these conditions are satisfied, units of excellent quality can be produced econom- ically, and are in fact being produced in large numbers both in this country and abroad, Sleepers During the 1939-45 War, it became essential to find an alternative to timber for railway sleepers and the manufacture of prestressed concrete sleepers was developed, Factories Were set up to produce these units and are now highly mechanized with a low labour content. Stressing beds are in the region of 135 m long and each accommodates 100 sleepers. Figure 41 shows factory layout for the production and Figure 42 isa section and. elevation of a sleeperFigure 2: A prestressed concrete ritay sleeper, showing the position of the a b reinforcement. (a) End section ° Figure 43 Precast Beams (a) Recingular D =300, 350, 400, 450, 500 or 600 mm (6) Inverted T D = 150, 200, 250 (or 300 mn 450.0r600 | a ' pane Oe —— b a () () OO C) i (6) Wide tad Seo or 190 — 34Figure 45 Floor aserbly Roofs and floors ‘Much work has been done in the manufacture of pre-tensioned flooring and roofing units. Beams, which span between columns and support structural flooring, are generally rectan- gular or of inverted T section. The rectangular beam is the cheaper from a structural point of view, but it has the deeper downstand and can be expensive in over-all building costs. The inverted T is more expensive to produce, but gives a smaller downstand and may be more economical in the over-all building sense. Figure 43 gives typical arrangements and the floor components indicated can be of prestressed concrete joists and lightweight concrete infiller blocks or prestressed concrete hollow slabs. In several cases, the prestres- sed concrete units are produced by long-line pre-tensioning systems in which the concrete is extruded by machines. Figure 44 shows the smaller range of joists and infill blocks and the larger range of the slab units. For the smaller range, as used in domestic dwellings, a span of approximately 5:8 m can be achieved with a floor component depth of 140 mm With the larger slab unit, the span can be more than doubled for the same loading, but the depth will have to be increased to 250 mm. In their catalogues, manufacturersstate that larger openings can be trimmed and that for smaller holes check-outs can be preformed in the factory for the slab units. What has to be remembered, however, is that the pre-tensioning long-line system is based on standard units with the minimum interference. Check-outs, recesses, changes in width all interfere with the mass production and are regarded as ‘specials’. These involve additional costs, which should not be overlooked. Various other types of hollow floor slab are available and one of the manufacturers has slabs 2700 mm wide, which reduces the number of units required but increases slightly the handling problems. Figure 45 shows concrete blocks combined with precast prestressed beams. Slab units similar to those shown diagrammatically in Figure 44 can also be used for vertical wall panels as shown in Figure 46. Another popular type of floor unitis the double T, as is shown in Figure 47. This is most useful on long spans where depth is not restricted, as multi-storey car parks (Figure 48), or in the concourse toa racecourse grandstand (Figure 49). They can also be used vertically as wall units (Figure 50). Beams For buildings. Although beams were discussed under Roofs and floors, they were an integral part of the floor. There are occasions, however, where a large uninterrupted floor space is required in a single-storey shed type of structure. Portal frames with a pitched roof