Losses in Prestress
Introduction
Introduction
▧ In prestressed concrete applications, the most important variable is the prestressing
force. In the early days, it was observed that the prestressing force does not stay
constant but reduces with time. Even during prestressing of the tendons and the
transfer of prestress to the concrete member, there is a drop of the prestressing force
from the recorded value in the jack gauge. The various reductions of the prestressing
force are termed as the losses in prestress.
▧ The flexural stresses calculated for the beams of previous examples were based on initial
stresses in the prestress tendons. These stresses, however, become smaller with time
(over a period of roughly five years) because of several factors.
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Introduction
▧ The losses are broadly classified into two groups, immediate and time-dependent.
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Introduction
▧ Immediate Losses occur during prestressing of the tendons and the transfer of prestress
to the concrete member.
▧ Time Dependent Losses occur during the service life of the prestressed member.
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Introduction
▧ The causes of the various losses in prestress are shown in the following chart:
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Introduction
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Introduction
▧ Prestress Losses on Pretensioned Members
▧ Prestress Losses on Posttensioned Members
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Introduction
▧ Although it is possible to calculate prestress losses individually for each of the factors
listed, it is usually more practical and often just as satisfactory to use single lump-sum
estimates for all the items together. There are just too many interrelated factors
affecting the estimates to achieve accuracy.
▧ The ultimate strength of a prestressed member is almost completely controlled by the
tensile strength and cross-sectional area of the cables. Consequently, losses in prestress
will have very little effect on its ultimate flexural strength. However, losses in prestress
will cause more cracking to occur under working loads, with the result that deflections
will be larger. Furthermore, the member’s shear and fatigue strength will be somewhat
reduced.
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Elastic Shortening (ES)
Pre-tensioned Members
▧ When the tendons are cut and the prestressing force is transferred to the member, the
concrete undergoes immediate shortening due to the prestress. The tendons also
shorten by the same amount, which leads to the loss of prestress
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Pre-tensioned Members
▧ If the tendon has an eccentricity e at the beam midspan and the self-weight moment is
taken into account, the stress the concrete undergoes at the midspan section at the level
of prestressing steel becomes:
𝑷𝒊 𝑷𝒊 𝒆𝟐 𝑴𝒆
𝒇𝒄𝒔 =− ± ±
𝑨𝒄 𝑰𝒄 𝑰𝒄
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Example 1
▧ A pretensioned prestressed beam has a span of 50 ft (15.2 m), as shown in the Figure.
For this beam; Calculate the concrete fiber stresses at transfer at the centroid of the
tendon for the midspan section of the beam and the magnitude of the loss in the
prestress due to the effect of elastic shortening of the concrete. Assume that prior to
transfer, the jacking force on the tendon was 75%𝑓𝑝𝑢 .
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Example 1
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Example 1
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Post-Tensioned Members
▧ If there is only one tendon, there is no loss because the applied prestress is recorded
after the elastic shortening of the member.
▧ For more than one tendon, if the tendons are stretched sequentially, there is a loss in a
tendon during subsequent stretching of the other tendons.
▧ In post-tensioned beams, the elastic shortening loss varies from zero if all tendons are
jacked simultaneously to half the value calculated in the pretensioned case if several
sequential jacking steps are used, such as jacking two tendons at a time. If n is the
number of tendons or pairs of tendons sequentially tensioned, then
𝟏 𝒏−𝒋
Δ𝒇𝒑𝑬𝑺 = σ𝒏𝒋=𝟏( )( Δ𝒇𝒑𝑬𝑺 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 )
𝒏 𝒏−𝟏
where n denotes the number of jacking operations. Note that the tendon that was tensioned
last does not suffer any losses due to elastic shortening, while the tendon that was tensioned
first suffers the maximum amount of loss.
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Example 2
▧ Solve Sample Problem No 1 if the beam is post tensioned and the prestressing operation
is such that:
a. Two tendons are jacked at a time.
b. One tendon is jacked at a time.
c. All tendons are simultaneously tensioned.
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Example 2
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Steel Stress
Relaxation (R)
Steel Stress Relaxation
▧ Loss of prestress when the wires or strands are subjected to essentially constant strain
or elongation with time.
▧ Stress-relieved tendons suffer loss in the prestressing force due to constant elongation
with time. The magnitude of the decrease in the prestress depends not only on the
duration of the sustained prestressing force but also on the ratio of the initial prestress
on the yield strength of the reinforcement ,
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Steel Stress Relaxation
▧ For stress-relieved steel, stress-relaxation loss becomes;
▧ For low-relaxation steel, stress-relaxation loss becomes;
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Example 3
▧ Find the relaxation loss in prestress at the end of 5 years in Sample Problem No 1,
assuming that relaxation loss from jacking to transfer, from elastic shortening and from
long term loss due to creep and shrinkage over this period is 20 percent of the initial
prestress. Assume also that the yield strength (Stress-relieved)= 230,000 psi (1,571
MPa).
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Creep loss (CR)
Creep Loss
▧ This is the deformation of concrete under sustained load such as prestressing force, self-
weight and superimposed load that is applied on the structure.
▧ The deformation or strain resulting from this time-dependent behavior is a function of
the magnitude of the applied load, its duration, the properties of the concrete including
its mixture proportions, curing conditions, the age of the element at first loading and
environmental conditions.
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Creep Loss
▧ The ACI-ASCE Committee used the following expression for evaluating creep loss:
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Example 4
▧ Compute the loss in the prestress due to creep in Sample Problem No. 1 given that the
total superimposed load after transfer is 375 lb/ft (5.5 KN/m).
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Shrinkage loss (SH)
Shrinkage Loss
▧ The volume change of concrete under no extra load. Primarily this loss is driven by
moisture change.
▧ The magnitude of the shrinkage of the concrete is affected by several factors. They
include mixture proportions, type of aggregate, type of cement, curing time, time
between the end of external curing and the application of prestressing, size of the
member and environmental condition.
▧ Approximately 80 percent shrinkage takes place in the first year of life of the structure.
▧ The average value of ultimate shrinkage strain in both moist-cured and steamed cured
concrete is given as 780x10^-6 in ACI209R-08 Sec. A.1.1
▧ This average value is affected by the length of initial moist curing, ambient relative
humidity, volume-surface ratio, temperature and concrete composition. Hence, the
average value of shrinkage strain should be multiplied by correlation factor γ𝑆𝐻 .
𝝐𝑺𝑯 = 𝟕𝟖𝟎𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝜸𝑺𝑯
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Shrinkage Loss
▧ The Prestressed Concrete Institute stipulates for standard conditions an average value
for nominal ultimate shrinkage strain.
(𝝐𝑺𝑯 )𝒖 = 𝟖𝟐𝟎𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝒎𝒎/𝒎𝒎
▧ If ϵSH is the shrinkage strain after adjusting for relative humidity at volume−to−surface
V/S, the loss in prestressing in pretensioned member is;
Δ𝒇𝒑𝑺𝑯 = 𝑬𝒑𝒔 (ϵ𝑆𝐻 )
▧ For post-tensioned members, the loss in prestressing due to shrinkage is somewhat less
since some shrinkage has already taken place before post-tensioning.
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Shrinkage Loss
TIME-DEPENDENT METHOD
▧ Adjustment of shrinkage losses for standard conditions as a function of time t in days
after 7 days for moist curing and 3 days for steam curing can be obtained from the ff:
a. For moist-cured concrete at any time t after age 7 days,
𝑡
(ϵ𝑆𝐻 )𝑡 = 𝑘𝑆𝐻 (ϵ )
35+𝑡 𝑆𝐻 𝑢
(ϵ𝑆𝐻 )𝑢 = 800x10−6 if local data are not available
𝑘𝑆𝐻 = 1 for standard humidity H ≈ 40%
𝑘𝑆𝐻 = 1.40-0.010H for standard humidity 40% < H ≤ 80%
b. For steam-cured concrete at any time t after age 1 to 3 days,
𝑡
(ϵ𝑆𝐻 )𝑡 = 𝑘𝑆𝐻 (ϵ )
55+𝑡 𝑆𝐻 𝑢
(ϵ𝑆𝐻 )𝑢 = 730x10−6 if local data are not available
𝑘𝑆𝐻 = 1 for standard humidity H ≈ 40%
𝑘𝑆𝐻 = 3.00-0.030H for standard humidity 80% < H ≤ 100%
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Shrinkage Loss
ACI-ASCE METHOD
▧ If the relative humidity RH is taken as a percent value and the V/S ratio effect is
considered, the PCI general expression for loss in prestressing due to shrinkage
becomes:
𝑉 𝑉
(ϵ𝑆𝐻 ) =8.2x10−6 𝑘𝑆𝐻 (1-0.0024 )(100-RH) if is in mm
𝑆 𝑆
𝑉 𝑉
(ϵ𝑆𝐻 ) =8.2x10−6 𝑘𝑆𝐻 (1-0.06 )(100-RH) if is in in.
𝑆 𝑆
𝑘𝑆𝐻 = 1.0 for Pre-tensioned members
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Shrinkage Loss
▧ Compute the loss in the prestress due to shrinkage in Sample Problem No. 1 if a.)
Pretensioned and b.) Posttensioned due to shrinkage at 7 days after moist curing using
both the ACI-ASCE and Time-Dependent Method. Assume that prior to transfer, the
jacking force on the tendon was 0.75 fpu, and that the relative humidity is 70 percent
and volume-surface ratio is 50mm. Use the ultimate shrinkage strain specified on ACI
209R-08 Sec A.1.1
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Losses due to Friction (F)
Losses due to Friction
▧ Loss of prestressing occurs in post tensioning members due to friction between the
tendons and the surrounding concrete ducts.
▧ The magnitude of this loss is a function of the tendon form or alignment, called
curvature effect, and the local deviations in the alignment, called wobble effect.
▧ The curvature effect is predetermined during shop drawing preparations.
▧ The wobble effect is the result of accidental or unavoidable misalignment, since ducts or
sheaths cannot be perfectly placed.
▧ Loss varies linearly along the beam span, with the maximum frictional stress loss at the
far end of the beam if jacking is from one end.
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Losses due to Friction
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Losses due to Friction
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Losses due to Friction
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Losses due to Friction
Δ𝒇𝒑𝑭 = 𝒇′ 𝒑𝒋 (𝟏 − 𝒆− 𝝁𝜶+𝒌𝒙
)
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Losses due to Friction
▧ In Sample Problem No. 1, if the tendon is made of 7-wire uncoated strands in flexible
metal sheathing, compute the frictional loss of stress in the prestressing wires due to the
curvature and wobble effects. Assume that prior to transfer, the jacking force on the
tendon was 0.75fpu.
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Losses due to Friction
Δ𝒇𝒑𝑭 = 𝟏𝟑𝟗𝟔. 𝟓(𝟏 − 𝒆− 𝟎.𝟐𝟓 𝟎.𝟏𝟒𝟕 +𝟎.𝟎𝟎𝟐(𝟏𝟓.𝟐) )
Δ𝒇𝒑𝑭 = 𝟏𝟖𝟎 𝑴𝑷𝒂
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Anchorage – Seating
Losses (A)
Anchorage - Seating Losses
▧ Occur in posttensioned members due to the seating of wedges in the anchors when the
jacking force is transferred to the anchorage.
▧ A remedy for this loss can be easily effected during the stressing operations by
overstressing.
▧ Generally, the magnitude of anchorage seating loss ranges between ¼ in and 3/8 in
(6.35 mm and 9.53 mm) for the two-piece wedges.
▧ The magnitude of the overstressing that is necessary depends on the anchorage system
used since each system has its particular adjustment needs and the manufacturer is
expected to supply the data on the slip expected due to anchorage adjustments.
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Anchorage - Seating Losses
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Anchorage - Seating Losses
▧ In Sample Problem No. 1, Compute the anchorage seating loss in the post tensioned
beam if the estimated slip is ¼ in (6.35 mm) . Assume that prior to transfer, the jacking
force on the tendon was 0.75fpu.
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Thanks!
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