ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

Advantages of Prestressed Concrete:

1. Prestressed concrete members are free from cracks and the resistance to the effect of impact,
shock, and stresses are higher than rcc structures.

2. Longevity of prestressed structure is greater than rcc structure because the reinforcement stays
unaffected from outer agencies.

3. High compressive strength of concrete and high tensile strength of steel are used for
prestressing that makes it more economical.

4. Smaller sections can be used for longer span by reducing the section of members.

5. Prestressed members are lighter in weight and easily transportable.

6. It requires a smaller amount of construction materials.

7. The shear resistance of members can be increased by using curved tendons.

8. Prestressing also reduces the diagonal tension in concrete.

9. The size or dimensions of structural members are reduced, which may increase the clearances
or reduce storey heights.

10. It permits the use of large spans (greater than 30 m) with shallow members, even when heavy
load are encountered.

11. In addition to general advantages, such as excellent fire resistance, low maintenance costs,
elegance, high corrosion-resistance, adaptability etc, the prestressed concrete is found to sustain
the effects of impact or shock and vibrations.

12. Because of smaller loads due to smaller dimensions being used, there is considerable saving
cost of supporting members and foundations.

13. The prestressing technique has eliminated the weakness of concrete in tension and hence
crack free members of structure are obtained.

14. Because of better material (i.e. controlled concrete and high tension steel) being used and
nullifying the effect of dead loads, smaller deflections are caused.

Disadvantages of Prestressed Concrete:

1. The main disadvantage of prestressing is that it requires some special equipment like jacks,
anchorage etc, which pretends the use of prestressing.

2. High tensile steel is required for prestressing that is very difficult to procure.

3. It requires highly skilled workers and should be prepared under expert supervision.
4. It is costlier than other rcc structures.

5. The unit cost of high strength materials being used is higher.

6. Extra initial cost is incurred due to use of prestressing equipment and its installation.

7. Extra labour cost for prestressing is also there.

8. Prestressing is uneconomical for short spans and light loads.

Summary of Prestressed Concrete

Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction which is "pre-stressed" by
being placed under compression prior to supporting any loads beyond its own dead weight.[1]
[2]:3–5 [3] This compression is produced by the tensioning of high-strength "tendons" located
within or adjacent to the concrete volume, and is done to improve the performance of the
concrete in service.[4] Tendons may consist of single wires, multi-wire strands or threaded bars,
and are most commonly made from high-tensile steels, carbon fibre or aramid fibre.[1]:52–59
The essence of prestressed concrete is that once the initial compression has been applied, the
resulting material has the characteristics of high-strength concrete when subject to any
subsequent compression forces, and of ductile high-strength steel when subject to tension forces.
This can result in improved structural capacity and/or serviceability compared to conventionally
reinforced concrete in many situations.[2]:6[5]

Prestressed concrete is used in a wide range of building and civil structures where its
improved performance can allow longer spans, reduced structural thicknesses, and material
savings compared to simple reinforced concrete. Typical applications include high-rise buildings,
residential slabs, foundation systems, bridge and dam structures, silos and tanks, industrial
pavements and nuclear containment structures.[6]

First used in the late-nineteenth century,[1] prestressed concrete has developed beyond pre-
tensioning to include post-tensioning, which occurs after the concrete is cast. Tensioning systems
may be classed as either monostrand, where each tendon's strand or wire is stressed individually,
or multi-strand, where all strands or wires in a tendon are stressed simultaneously.[5] Tendons
may be located either within the concrete volume (internal prestressing), or wholly outside of it
(external prestressing). Whereas pre-tensioned concrete by definition uses tendons directly
bonded to the concrete, post-tensioned concrete can use either bonded or unbonded tendons.
 METHODS OF
PRESTRESSING

Pretensioning Other methods

Post-tensioning

Prestressing is applied to concrete by means of high-strength tendons (usually steel) in

tension, passing through the concrete. This can be achieved in one of two ways, namely
pretensioning and post-tensioning, the main distinction between the two methods being whether
the steel is tensioned before or after the concrete is cast, hence the terms “pre” and “post”.

(1) Pretensioning: Steel tensioned before casting concrete In pretensioning the prestressing
tendons (wires, strands) are stretched to a predetermined tension and anchored to fixed bulkheads
or molds. The concrete is poured around the tendons, cured, and upon hardening the tendons are
released. As the bond between the tendons and the concrete resists the shortening of the tendons,
the concrete is compressed. Pretensioning is the method most often used for the production of
precast prestressed concrete elements, because it offers great potential for mechanization.

(2) Post-tensioning:

In post-tensioning the tendons are stressed and anchored at the ends of the concrete
member after the member has been cast and attained sufficient strength.

Commonly, a mortar-tight metal pipe or duct (also called sheath) is placed along the
member before concrete casting. The tendons could be preplaced loose inside the sheath prior to
casting or could be placed after hardening of concrete.

After the concrete has attained the required strength the tendons are stressed using
prestressing jacks at the ends of the concrete member (from one or both ends simultaneously)
and anchored. After stressing and anchoring, the void between each tendon and its duct is filled
with a mortar grout which subsequently hardens. Grouting ensures bonding of the tendon to the
surrounding concrete, improves the resistance of the member to cracking and reduces the risks of
corrosion for the steel tendons.

Wires Tendons are made of Strands (individual or group) Bars (tensioned one at a time)

Bonded tendons: Use grout as explained above.

Unbonded tendons: Use grease or bituminous material instead of grout, or put outside the RC
section. This technique is widely used in slab systems of residential and parking structures with
several bays (up to 10 bays), because of its efficiency an economy.

Post-tensioning is primarily an in situ operation - used in large projects such as continuous long
span bridges.
 - Cast a duct, containing the desired number of strands, in the concrete at location where
prestressing steel is required
- Use metal sheath to form a duct or alternatively use a plastic duct since steel tends to corrode
- Locate duct in formwork by attaching to stirrups and longitudinal nonprestressed
reinforcement
- It is important to ensure that the duct is properly secured to avoid shifting in position during
casting of concrete
- Duct should be watertight to avoid leakage of wet concrete into the duct and plugging it
- After concrete attains required strength anchor tendon at one end using a mechanical anchor
- At other end of tendon attach a prestressing jack to the tendon, tension it and then anchor it

Pretensioning > Factory operation - precast industry Post-tensioning > Insitu construction mainly

(3) Other method of Prestressing

a. Thermal prestressing by application of electric heat. Electric and mechanical combination has
been also used in USSR.

b. Prebending high strength steel beam and encasing its tensile flange in concrete.
Releasing the bending will place the concrete under compression.

c. Chemical prestressing by means of expansive cement which expand chemically after setting
and during hardening started in France 1940 and known as self stressing.
 University of Eastern Philippines
University Town, Northern Samar
College of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department

ASSIGNMENT IN
ELECTIVE

Prepared by:

RETCHELLE JUNE E. DELIMAN

BSCE – 5b

Submitted to:

ENGR. ric gonzaga