CONSTRUCTION TEHNOLOGY III

PRE TENSIONING & POST TENSIONING

BY:
AHMAD MUHAIMIN BIN ROHIZAN (2017626524)
MOHAMAD HAZIM BIN MOHAMAD KHAIRI (2017488872)
 PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

 A method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension.

 Compressive strength are introduced into concrete to reduce tensile
stresses resulting from applied loads including the dead load in
prestressed members.
 To transmit compressive stresses to concrete, presresssing steel such as
strands bars or wires are used.
 This strength is gained by means of tendons (stressing wires)
incorporated permanently in the member
 Methods: a) Pre-tensioning
b) Post-tensioning
 PRE-TENSIONING

 A method of pre- stressing in which the tendons are tensioned

before the concrete is placed, and the pre-stress is transferred to
the concrete when a suitable cube strength is reached.
 Produces a good bond between the tendon and concrete, which
both protects the tendon from corrosion and allows for direct
transfer of tension.
 Usually, pre-tensioned concrete elements are prefabricated in a
factory and must be transported to the construction site, which
limits their size
 Most suitable for mass manufacturing of pre-cast components such
as slabs, beams, poles, piles, railway sleepers etc. that involved long
line method of casting.
 PRE-TENSIONING STAGE

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

Tendons and Tendons are stressed Concrete is cast into When the concrete
reinforcement are to about 70% of their the beam mould and has cured the
positioned in the ultimate strength. allowed to cure to stressing force is
beam mould. the required initial released (with
strength. additional 10% of
ultimate strength)
and the tendons
anchor themselves
in the concrete.
STAGES OF PRE-TENSIONING
 APPLICATIONS

 Pre-tensioned concrete is most commonly used for the fabrication

of structural beams, floor slabs, hollow-core planks, balconies, lintels,
driven piles, water tanks and concrete pipes.
 The most effective method is long line production where a number
of similar units are produced at the same time
 Deciding factors in using pre-tensioning:
a) Cross-section of member
b) Number of units required must be massive
c) Suitability of using straight wires
 POST-TENSIONING

 A method of pre-stressing in which the tendon is tensioned after the

concrete has reached a suitable strength. The tendons are
anchored against the hardened concrete immediately after pre-
stressing.
 Post-tensioning method is usually applied where stressing is to be
carried out on site.
 The method is more versatile and efficient, resulting in reduced
tension loss because it is bonded at both ends.
 Commonly used in heavy structures such as bridges, portal frame,
shell roof, reservoir and fly over
POST-TENSIONING STAGE
STAGES OF POST-TENSIONING
 WHY USE POST-TENSIONING?
 Concrete is very strong in compression but weak in tension.
 This deflection will cause the bottom of the beam to elongate slightly &
cause cracking.
 Steel reinforcing bars (“rebar”) are typically embedded in the concrete
as tensile reinforcement to limit the crack widths.
 Rebar is what is called “passive” reinforcement however; it does not
carry any force until the concrete has already deflected enough to
crack.
 Post-tensioning tendons, on the other hand, are considered “active”
reinforcing.
 Because it is prestressed, the steel is effective as reinforcement even
though the concrete may not be cracked .
 Post-tensioned structures can be designed to have minimal deflection
and cracking, even under full load.
 ADVANTAGES

 Post-tensioning allows longer clear spans, thinner slabs, fewer

beams and more slender, dramatic elements.
 Thinner slabs mean less concrete is required. It means a lower
overall building height for the same floor-to-floor height.
 Post-tensioning can thus allow a significant reduction in building
weight versus a conventional concrete building with the same
number of floors reducing the foundation load and can be a major
advantage in seismic areas.
 A lower building height can also translate to considerable savings in
mechanical systems and façade costs.
 ADVANTAGES (cont’d)

 Beams and slabs can be continuous, i.e. a single beam can run
continuously from one end of the building to the other.
 Reduces occurrence of cracks .
 Freezing & thawing durability is higher than non prestressed
concrete.
 Post-tensioning also allows extremely long span bridges to be
constructed without the use of temporary intermediate supports.
This minimizes the impact on the environmentand avoids disruption
to water or road traffic below.
 ADVANTAGES (cont’d)

 In stadiums, post-tensioning allows long clear spans and very

creative architecture.
 Post-tensioning can also be used to produce virtually crack-free
concrete for water-tanks.
 The high tensile strength & precision of placement gives maximum
efficiency in size & weight of structural members.
 Applications of various prestressed techniques enable quick
assembly of standard units such as bridge members,building
frames, bridge decks providing cost-time savings.
 WHEN TO USE ?

 Slabs on ground: PT is used extensively for slabs on grade where soils

are likely to move (expansive soils)
 For strengthening of existing structures, especially as an upgrade to
resist seismic forces.
 ADVANTAGES (cont’d)

 Post-tensioning allows bridges to be built to very demanding

geometry requirements, including complex curves, and significant
grade changes.
 Post-tensioning is the system of choice for parking structures since it
allows a high degree of flexibility in the column layout, span lengths
and ramp configurations
 In areas where there are expansive clays or soils with low bearing
capacity, post-tensioned slabs-on-ground and mat foundations
reduce problems with cracking and differential settlement
 CONSTRUCTION

 In slab-on-ground construction, unbonded tendons are typically prefabricated at a

plant and delivered to the construction site, ready to install.
 The tendons are laid out in the forms in accordance with installation drawings that .
 After the concrete is placed and has reached its required strength, usually between
3000 and 3500 psi (“pounds per square inch”), the tendons are stressed and
anchored.
 The tendons, like rubber bands, want to return to their original length but are
prevented from doing so by the anchorages.
 The fact the tendons are kept in a permanently stressed (elongated) state causes a
compressive force to act on the concrete.
 The compression that results from the post-tensioning counteracts the tensile forces
created by subsequent applied loading (cars, people, the weight of the beam itself
when the shoring is removed).
 This significantly increases the load-carrying capacity of the concrete.
 Since post-tensioned concrete is cast in place at the job site, there is almost no limit
to the shapes that can be formed.
 LIMITATIONS OF PRESTRESSING

 The limitations of prestressed concrete are few and really depend

only upon the imagination of the designer and the terms of his brief.
 The only real limitation where prestressing is a possible solution may
be the cost of providing moulds for runs of limited quantity of small
numbers of non-standard units
CONCLUSION