Agni College of Technology

Thalambur, Chennai 600 130

Office of Examcell
Question Bank For UNIT IV & UNIT V
Sub Name: Prestressed Concrete Structures Department: CIVIL
Sub Code : CE6702 Year &Sec : IV

PART – A
1. Define propped construction.

The dead load stress developed in the precast prestressed units can be minimized by propping them
while casting the concrete in situ. This method of construction is termed as propped construction.

2.
How to achieve compositeness between precast and cast in situ part and show the
sketches?

The composite action between the two components is achieved by roughening the surface of the
prestressed unit on to which the concrete is cast in situ, thus giving a better frictional resistance or
by stirrups protruding from the prestressed unit into the added concrete or by castellations on the
surface of the prestressed unit adjoining the concrete which is cast in situ.

3. What is meant by composite construction of prestressed and in situ concrete?

In a composite construction, precast prestressed members are used in conjunction with the concrete
cast in situ, so that the members behave as monolithic unit under service loads. The high strength
prestressed units are used in the tension zone while the concrete, which is the cast in situ of
relatively lower compressive strength is used in the compression zone of the composite members.

4. How deflections in composite members are computed?

In the case of composite members, deflections are computed by taking into account the different
stages of loading as well as the differences in the modulus of elasticity of concrete in the precast
prestressed unit and the in situ cast element.

5.
What do you mean by unpropped construction?

If the precast units are not propped while placing the in situ concrete, stresses are
developed in the unit due to the self weight of the member and the dead weight of the in situ
concrete. This method of construction is referred to as unpropped construction.

6. Distinguish between propped and unpropped construction methods.

S.No Propped construction Unpropped construction

1 The dead load stress developed in If the precast units are not propped while

the precast prestressed units can be placing them in situ concrete, stresses

minimized by propping them while are developed in the unit due to the self

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 casting the concrete in situ. This weight of the member and the dead

method of construction is termed as weight of the in situ concrete. This

propped construction. method of construction is referred to as

unpropped construction.

2 If the pretensioned beam supports If the slab is externally supported while

the weight of the slab while casting. casting.

7. Name the loadings to be considered for computing deflection if the beam is propped
section.

Prestress

Self weight of the beam

Dead weight of the in situ cast concrete

Live load of the in situ cast concrete

8. What are the advantages in using precast prestressed units?

Saving in the cost of steel in a composite member compared with a reinforced or prestressed
concrete member.

Sizes of precast prestressed units can be reduced due to the effect of composite action. Low ratio
of size of the precast unit to that of the whole composite member.

Composite members are ideally suited for construction bridge decks without the disruption of normal
traffic.

9. What are the roles played by shear connectors in composite construction?

It is generally assumed that the natural bond at the interface contributes a part of the
required shear resistance depending upon the strength of the in situ cast concrete and the
roughness of the precast element. Any extra shear resistance over and above this should be
provided by shear connectors.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
10. How do you compute the shrinkage and resultant stresses in composite member?

The magnitude of differential shrinkage is influenced by the composition of concrete

and the environmental conditions to which the composite member is exposed. In the absence of
exact data, a general value of 100 micro strains is provided for computing shrinkage stresses.

11. Differentiate prestressed cylinder and non-cylinder pipe. (AUC May/June 2013)
Prestressed cylinder pipe:

  It is developed by the Lock Joint Company.

 A welded cylinder of 16 gauge steel is lined with concrete inside and steel pipe wrapped
 with a highly stressed wire.

 Tubular fasteners are used for the splices and for end fixing of the wire and pipe is
 finished with a coating of rich mortar.

 It is suitable upto 1.2 m diameter.

Prestressed non-cylinder pipe:

  It is developed by Lewiston Pipe Corporation.

  At first concrete is cast over a tensioned longitudinal reinforcement.

 A concrete pipes after curing are circumferentially stressed by means of a spiral wire
 wound under tension and protected by a coat of mortar.

 The main function of longitudinal prestress is to prevent cracking in concrete during

circumferential winding and cracking due to the bending stresses developed during the

handling and installation of pipes.

12. Define circular prestressing.

When the prestressed members are curved in the direction of prestressing, the prestressing

is called circular prestressing.

For example, circumferential prestressing in pipes, tanks, silos, containment structures and

similar structures is a type of circular prestressing.

13. What are the design criteria for prestressed concrete tanks?

 It is to resist the hoop tension and moments developed are based on the considerations
 of desirable load factors against cracking and collapse.

 It is desirable to have at least a minimum load factor of 1.2 against cracking and 2 against
 ultimate collapse as per IS code.

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  It is desirable to have at least a minimum load factor of 1.25 against cracking and 2.5
 against ultimate collapse as per BS code.

 The principal compressive stress in concrete should not exceed one-third of the
 characteristic cube strength.

When the tank is full, there should be a residual compressive stress of at least 0.7
N/mm2.

 When the tank is empty, the allowable tensile stress at any point is limited to 1 N/mm 2.
 The maximum flexural stress in the tank walls should be assumed to be numerically equal
to 0.3 times the hoop compression.
 

14. How are the tanks classified based on the joint?

  Tank wall with fixed base.

  Tank wall with hinged base.

 Tank wall with sliding base.

15. Write any two general failures of prestressed concrete tanks.

  Deformation of the pre-cast concrete units during construction.

 Manufacturing inaccuracies led to out of tolerance units being delivered to the site
 under investigation.

 It May have affected the ability to achieve a good seal.

16. Explain the effect of prestressing force in concrete poles.

It should be reduced in proportion to the cross section by the techniques of debonding or

dead ending or looping some of the tendons at mid height.

17. Write the various types of loadings that act on prestressed concrete poles.

  Bending due to wind load on the cable and on the exposed face.

  Combined bending and torsion due to eccentric snapping of wires.

  Maximum torsion due to skew snapping of wires.

  Bending due to failure of all the wires on one side of the pole.

 Handing and erection stresses.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
18. What are the advantages of prestressing water tanks? Define degree of prestressing.

degree of prestressing : A measure of the magnitude of the prestressing force related to the
resultant stress occurring in the structural member at working load.

advantages of prestressing water tanks:

  Water storage tanks of large capacity are invariably made of prestressed concrete.

 Square tanks are used for storage in congested urban and industrial sites where land
 space is a major constraint.

  This shape is considerable reduction in the thickness of concrete shell.

 The efficiency of the shell action of the concrete is combined with the prestressing at the
edges.

19. Define partial prestressing. (AUC May/June 2013, Nov Dec 2011)

The degree of prestress applied to concrete in which tensile stresses to a limited degree

are permitted in concrete under working load. In this case, in addition to tensioned steel, a

considerable proportion of untensioned reinforcement is generally used to limit the width of cracks

developed under service load.

20.
Mention the advantages of partial prestressing and List
any two applications of partial prestressing.

 Limited tensile stresses are permitted in concrete under service loads with
controls on the maximum width of cracks and depending upon the type of
 prestressing and environmental condition.

 Untensioned reinforcement is required in the cross-section of a prestressed

member for various reasons, such as to resist the differential shrinkage,
 temperature effects and handling stresses.

 Hence this reinforcement can cater for the serviceability requirements, such as
control of cracking, and partially for the ultimate limit state of collapse which can
 result in considerable reduction in the costlier high tensile steel.

 Saving in the cost of overall structure.

Applications:

 Used in large diameter concrete pipes

 Used in railway sleepers

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  Water tanks

 Precast concrete piles to counter tensile stress during transport and erection.

Used in bridges construction

PART – B
1. (i) A Prestressed Concrete cylinder pipe is to be designed using a steel cylinder of [13]
1200mm internal dia and thickness of 1.5mm. The service internal hydrostatic
pressure in the pipe is 0.8N/mm2. 4mm dia high tensile wires initially tensioned to a
stress of 1 kN/mm2 are available for circumferential winding. The yield stress of
mild steel cylinder is 280N/mm2. The maximum permissible compressive stress in
concrete at transfer is 15 N/mm2. And no tensile stress is permitted under service
load conditions. Determine the thickness of concrete lining and the number of turns
of circumferential wire winding and the factor of safety against bursting. Assume
modular ratio as 6 and loss ratio as 0.8.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

2. (i) A cylindrical prestressed Concrete water tank of internal dia of 30m is required to [13]
store water over a depth of 7.5m. The permissible Compressive stress in concrete at
transfer is 13 N/mm2 and the minimum compressive stress under working pressure
is 1 N/mm2. The loss ratio is 0.75. 5mm dia wires with initial stress of 1000N/mm2
are available for circumferential winding and Freyssinet cables made up of 12 wires
of 8mm dia stressed to 1200N/mm2 are to be used for vertical prestressing. Design
the tank walls assuming the base as fixed. The cube strength of concrete is
40N/mm2.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

3. (i) Design a precast prestressed inverted T – section to be used in a composite slab of [13]
total depth 600 mm and width 500 mm. the composite slab is required to support an
imposed load of 16 kN/m2 over a span of 14 m. the compressive stress in concrete at
transfer and the tensile stress under working loads may be assumed to be 20 and 1
N/mm2 respectively. The loss ratio is 0.85. Determine the prestressing force required
for the section.

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 Agni College of Technology
Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
4. (i) A Precast Pretensioned beam of rectangular section has breadth of 100mm and [13]
depth of 200 mm. The beam with effective span of 5m is prestressed by tendons
with centroid coincides with the bottom kern. The initial force of tendon is
150kN.Loss may be assumed as 15%. The beam is incorporated in a composite T
beam by casting Top flange of breadth 400mm and thickness 40mm. If the
composite beam supports a live load of 8kN/m2.Find the resultant stress in i)
Propped and ii) Unpropped Condition.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

5. (i) Design a cylindrical prestressed concrete water tank to suit the following data: [13]
Capacity of tank = 24500 x 106 liters. Maximum compressive stress in concrete at
transfer not to exceed 13 N/mm2 (compression). Minimum compressive stress under
working load to be 1 N/mm2. The prestress is to be provided by circumferential
winding of 7 mm dia with an initial stress of 1000 N/mm2 and by vertical cables of
12 wires of 8 mm diameter which are stressed to 1200 N/mm2. Loss ratio = 0.75.
The cube strength of concrete is 40 N/mm2.Design the walls of the tank and details
of circumferential wire winding and vertical cables for the following joint condition
at the base: elastomeric pads (assume coefficient of friction as 0.5).

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
6. (i) Write down the design procedure of Prestressed Concrete Water tanks. [13]

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7. (i) Write down the design procedure of Prestressed Cylindrical pipe and Prestressed [13]
Non -Cylindrical pipe.

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 Agni College of Technology
Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
8. (i) Analyse a composite beam of flanged width 480mm and thickness 50mm with a [13]
prefabricated unit of size 120mm wide and 240mm deep. The span of the beam is
6m. The stem is post tensioned to an initial prestressing force 230kN. Loss of
Prestress is 15%. Tendons are provided such that they are 80mm above the soffit of
the beam. In addition the composite beam has a live load of 4kN/m. Find Propped
and Unpropped Condition.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

9. (i) Write the design steps of Composite slab and Precast Pretensioned Section. [13]
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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
10. (i) Write the design Procedure of Prestressed Continuous members. [13]

11. (i) A rectangular pretensioned concrete beam has a depth of 230mm and breadth of [13]
100mm is prestressed and after all losses, the prestress is 12N/mm2 @ soffit and 0
@ the top. The beam is incorporated in a composite I beam by casting a top flange
300mm x 50 mm. Find the maximum UDL that can be supported on a simply
supported beam of 4.5m without any tensile stress. If the slab is externally supported
while casting and pretensioned beam supports the weight of the slab while casting,
find the resultant stress.

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Agni College of Technology
Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

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12. (i) Analyse a composite beam of flanged width 450mm and thickness 50mm with a
prefabricated unit of size 100mm wide and 250mm deep. The span of the beam is 6m.
The stem is post tensioned to an initial prestressing force 300kN. Loss of Prestress is
15%. Tendons are provided such that they are 60mm above the soffit of the beam. In
addition the composite beam has a live load of 5kN/m. Find Propped and Unpropped
Condition.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

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13. (i) Explain in brief about Partial prestressing its merits, demerits and applications. [1
(Refer Notes) 3]

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell
14. (i) A Continuous prestressed beam AB=BC=10m has a rectangular section
with a depth of 400mm &width of 200mm.It is prestressed by a
parabolic cable carrying an effective prestresssing force of 100KN.The
cable is concentric at the supports A,B,C and has an eccentricity of
100mm towards the soffit of the beam at the centre of the
span.(1)calculate the SM and BM developed in the beam due to the
Prestressing force at the point ,(2)If the beam supports an imposed load
of 1.5KN/m,calculate the resultant stress at the top and bottom of the
beam at B.Assume the density of as 24kN/m3.(3)Find the position of
pressure line at the section.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

15. (i) A continuous prestressed beam AB=BC=8m having a rectangular section

of width 200mm and depth 400mm is prestressed by a parabolic cable
carrying an effective prestresss force of 200KN.The cable is concentric at
A and C has an eccentricity of 160mm towards the top of the beam at the
point B the cable also has an eccentricity of 80mm towards the soffit of
the beam at the centre of span.calculate the secondary moment and
resultant moment in the beam due to the prestressing force at B.(1) shoe
that the cable is concordant(2)locate the pressure line in the beam when its
supports a live load of 5.6KN/m in addition to the self weight.

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
Office of Examcell

16. (i)

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Thalambur, Chennai 600 130
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Subject Incharge HOD
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