Strength Model for Prestressed Concrete Beams Subjected to Pure Torsion

Abstract

A torsional strength model for prestressed concrete beams was proposed considering the initial crack angle, principal stress angle, and longitudinal strain, which are affected by the axial stress induced by the effective prestress. The use of the torsional effective thickness was also proposed to calculate the torsional strength of prestressed concrete beams by considering the effect of prestress. The shear element in the torsional member was simplified under the assumption that the principal tensile stress and principal compressive strain were negligible in the ultimate state. The torsional strength was determined when the principal compressive stress or shear stress at the crack surface in the shear element reached the failure criterion according to the multipotential capacity model, which considers concrete crushing and aggregate interlocking as the main resistances to the applied load. The proposed strength model was verified using test specimens collected from existing experimental studies. The proposed model accurately evaluated the torsional strength of prestressed concrete beam specimens, regardless of the key variables of the prestressed concrete specimens, where the mean value of the tested results to the calculated torsional strengths was 1.123, and the corresponding coefficient of variation was 17.7% for 104 prestressed concrete beam specimens, while the ACI 318-19 torsional design method gave the mean and coefficient of variation of 0.880 and 24.3%, respectively.