Prestressing System Research Articles

In-situ methods to determine residual prestress forces in concrete bridges

Levels of residual prestress forces are key parameters when assessing the structural behaviour of existing prestressed concrete bridges. However, these parameters are often unknown and not easy to determine. To explore them, two existing non-destructive and destructive approaches have been further developed for practical application and demonstrated on a multi-span continuous girder bridge. The evaluation of the prestress forces was part of an extensive experimental programme aimed to calibrate and develop assessment methods. Due to the pursuit of practical applications for existing bridges, the main focus was on non-destructive methodology, combining experimental data and finite element modelling to obtain the residual prestress forces. Assuming that the initial prestress force corresponded to 85% of the characteristic 0.2% proof strength of the reinforcing steel, estimated losses in investigated sections ranged between 5 and 70%. However, determined residual prestress forces were generally higher than theoretically based estimates accounting for friction and time-dependent losses in the prestressing system. In addition to describing in detail the methods for prestress evaluation, this paper presents suggestions for improvements and further studies, based on experiences from the field tests.

Flexural Behaviour of RC Beams Strengthened with Prestressed CFRP NSM Tendon Using New Prestressing System

CFRP has been used mainly for strengthening of existing structures in civil engineering area. Prestressed strengthening is being studied to solve the bond failure model featuring EBR and NSMR methods. The largest disadvantage of the prestressing system is that the system cannot be removed until the filler is cured. This problem lowers the turning rate of the equipment and makes it limited to experiment, which stresses the necessity of a new prestressing system. Therefore, the present study applies a new prestressing system which reliefs the need to wait until the curing of the filler after jacking to the prestressing of NSMR and examines the effect of the prestressing size and location of the anchorage on the strengthened behaviour. The experimental results show that the crack and yield loads increase with higher level of prestress, while the ductility tends to reduce, and the anchor plate should be installed within the effective depth ds to minimize the occurrence of shear-induced diagonal cracks. The comparison of the experimental results and results by section analysis shows that the section analysis could predict the maximum load of the specimens strengthened by prestressed NSMR within an error between 4% and 6%.

RESEARCH ON THE NEW CFRP PRESTRESSING SYSTEM FOR STRENGTHENING OF RC STRUCTURES

Abstract The paper presents a research on the new Polish CFRP prestressing system for strengthening of reinforced concrete structures. The system is called Neoxe Prestressing System II (NPS II). NPS II consists of two main elements: a special steel anchorages mounted on both ends of a single CFRP strip and a tensioning device. The anchorage is made of two steel plates. CFRP strip end is fixed between steel plates through bonding by epoxy resin and gripping by bolts. The tensioning device compatible with anchorages can generate maximum prestressing force of 170 kN. The research on NPS II comprised a series of static and fatigue tests on anchorages themselves, system mounted on strengthened beams as well as on-site, i.e. on actual RC bridge. The system has been examined, its efficiency has been confirmed in laboratory and in field tests and now it is ready to use in strengthening purposes.

Prestress Loss of CFL in a Prestressing Process for Strengthening RC Beams

A prestressing system was designed to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) beams with prestressed carbon fiber laminate (CFL). During different prestressing processes, prestress loss was measured using strain gauges attached on the surface of CFL along the length direction. The prestress loss was 50–68% of the whole prestress loss, which is typically associated with CFL slipping between the grip anchors. Approximately 20–27% of the prestress loss was caused by the elastic shortening of the RC beam. An analytical model using linear-elastic theory was constructed to calculate the prestress loss caused by CFL slipping between the anchors and the elastic shortening of the strengthened beams. The compared results showed that the analytical model of prestress loss can describe the experimental data well. Methods of reducing the prestress loss were also suggested. Compared to other experiments, the prestressing system proposed by this research group was effective because the maximum percentage of prestress loss was 14.9% and the average prestress loss was 12.5%.

Selection of the optimal constellation of hybrid systems for pre-stressing

Hybrid systems, which were created by integrating the structural systems of different behavior in the transfer of loads, represent a new efficient system, with low self-weight, increased capacity characteristics and reduced deformability compared to the systems of which they are made of. Applicable to all materialization and logical geometric forms, they represent transparent systems suitable for optimization of structures. In this paper is represented the original analysis of parameters, reduced to relative values of a hybrid system with and without pre-stressing of different geometric shapes, particularly in terms of deformability. The results of the research are represented through the practical expressions and diagrams for use in practice, and on the basis of which can be determined suitable constellation of system from a simple girder, strut type hybrid system with different geometrical characteristics and pre-stressed hybrid system, and in the case of wood-steel hybrid system for different percentage of moisture of wood girder. To give access presents the accurate method that can be applied to any combination of materials in the context of a hybrid system.

Strengthening of metallic beams with different types of pre-stressed un-bonded retrofit systems

Unlike bonded retrofit systems, un-bonded systems do not need any surface preparation prior to bond application, which reduces the overall time and cost of a retrofit plan. Because the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plate in the un-bonded (tendon) systems is not bonded to a metallic substrate, different variants of the retrofit systems can be developed to ease application in the field. This paper presents four different variants of the prestressed un-bonded retrofit (PUR) systems: trapezoidal PUR (TPUR), triangular PUR (TriPUR), Flat PUR (FPUR), and Contact PUR (CPUR) systems. Analytical solutions based on the flexibility approach are developed to predict the behavior of the metallic beams retrofitted with the PUR systems. A finite element (FE) model is created to simulate the behavior of the retrofitted beams. The results of the analytical solutions are compared with those obtained from the FE model. The results from the analytical and numerical models have been compared with the results of an experimental study on steel and aluminum beams retrofitted with the PUR systems. A series of parametric studies are performed to investigate the influence of different parameters such as the type of the PUR system and the CFRP pre-stress level on the behavior of the retrofitted beams. The results show that for a specific CFRP pre-stress level, all four different PUR systems result in approximately the same stress reduction in the steel beam bottom flanges. Therefore, it is possible to use any of the four pre-stressing technique depending on the requirements of the structure to be pre-stressed.

Vibration serviceability of pre-stressed concrete floor system under human activity

A comprehensive research was undertaken to study the vibration serviceability of a long-span pre-stressed concrete floor system intended to be used in an indoor badminton court, using the field test and finite element method. Specifically, heel-drop was adopted to capture the natural frequencies and modal damping ratios of the floor system and the tests for jumping impact and different types of human excitations (walking, running and hopping) were performed to capture the acceleration responses. The floor system is found to have low frequency and modal damping ratio. The comparison of the experimental results with the published values from China’s design code, AISC design guide and PCI design handbook indicates that the pre-stressed concrete floor system exhibits satisfactory vibration perceptibility overall. The acceleration threshold value given in the China’s code and AISC design guide may be conservative for the pre-stressed concrete floor under hopping excitation. For determining the fundamental natural frequency analytically, fixed-pinned support condition is recommended for accounting for the effect of adjacent structures on floor stiffness. Coefficients βrp is proposed to calculate the RMS acceleration conveniently by hand.

Fiber Reinforced Polymer Strengthening of Structures by Near-Surface Mounting Method.

This paper provides a critical review of recent studies on strengthening of reinforced concrete and unreinforced masonry (URM) structures by fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) through near-surface mounting (NSM) method. The use of NSM-FRP has been on the rise, mainly due to composite materials’ high strength and stiffness, non-corrosive nature and ease of installation. Experimental investigations presented in this review have confirmed the benefits associated with NSM-FRP for flexural and shear strengthening of RC and URM structures. The use of prestressing and anchorage systems to further improve NSM-FRP strain utilization and changes in failure modes has also been presented. Bond behavior of NSM-FRP-concrete or masonry interface, which is a key factor in increasing the load capacity of RC and URM structures has been briefly explored. Presented studies related to the effect of temperature on the bond performance of NSM-FRP strengthened systems with various insulations and adhesive types, show better performance than externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) FRP retrofitting. In summary, the presented literature review provides an insight into the ongoing research on the use of NSM-FRP for strengthening of structural members and the trends for future research in this area.

Innovative technique for identification of prestressing tendons layout in post-tensioned bridges using a probe with MEMS accelerometer

Post-tensioned concrete bridges are currently often constructed engineering structures. In this type of bridges it is crucial that geometrical layout of prestressing system complies with the design requirements. Unfortunately, major errors still occur during assembly of tendon routes. This has often negative effects. In a local aspect, it may cause a local damage, such as spalling of concrete cover. In a global aspect, prestressing may produce distribution of forces in the bridge structure different from the expected. That is why numerous methods have been developed to control the accuracy of executed tendon routs. Some of them, e.g. geodetic measurements with levelers, require direct access to tendon sheaths. Other methods, which can be used after casting of concrete (mainly NDT methods) have a series of resolution, efficiency and accessibility limitations. Hence, the paper presents a proposal of an alternative method for control of tendons routing using a special probe with Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems capacitive accelerometer. The paper presents a concept of tests performed with the probe, evaluation of the probe application in the view of a random process and finally assessment of the results obtained with the use of the constructed measurement system in trial laboratory conditions.

Swelling of Collagen-Hyaluronic Acid Co-Gels: An In Vitro Residual Stress Model.

Tissue-equivalents (TEs), simple model tissues with tunable properties, have been used to explore many features of biological soft tissues. Absent in most formulations however, is the residual stress that arises due to interactions among components with different unloaded levels of stress, which has an important functional role in many biological tissues. To create a pre-stressed model system, co-gels were fabricated from a combination of hyaluronic acid (HA) and reconstituted Type-I collagen (Col). When placed in solutions of varying osmolarity, HA-Col co-gels swell as the HA imbibes water, which in turn stretches (and stresses) the collagen network. In this way, co-gels with residual stress (i.e., collagen fibers in tension and HA in compression) were fabricated. When the three gel types tested here were immersed in hypotonic solutions, pure HA gels swelled the most, followed by HA-Col co-gels; no swelling was observed in pure collagen gels. The greatest swelling rates and swelling ratios occurred in the lowest salt concentration solutions. Tension on the collagen component of HA-Col co-gels was calculated from a stress balance and increased nonlinearly as swelling increased. The swelling experiment results were in good agreement with the stress predicted by a fibril network+non-fibrillar interstitial matrix computational model.

LONG TERM BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE MEMBER STRENGTHENED WITH INTERNAL PRESTRESSING SYSTEM

To maintain and retrofit appropriately concrete structures, various strengthening materials and methods have been developed and applied. One of the effective and reliable strengthening method for concrete is an application of the prestressing system. The present study focuses on a strengthening system using an internal anchorage and a prestressing tendon. The strengthening system is acceptable even in relatively narrow workspaces, and also applicable for joints between existing and additional concrete members. In our previous investigations, a static push-out and pull-out tests were performed to examine the load-bearing capacity of the prestressing tendon embedded in the wedge anchor. The test confirmed that the prestressing tendon can be anchored firmly in an internal wedge hole filled with high-strength mortar. Long-term behavior of the strengthened member should be examined to confirm the applicability of the system. The load and deformation of a concrete member subjected to sustained force by the prestressing bar were measured for 1 year. This paper reports the long-term loading test, and discusses the time-dependent properties of the strengthened concrete member. The test result confirms that the loss of prestressing force is negligible for actual applications.

Long-Span Wooden Structural Floors with Self-Tensioning System: Performance under Asymmetrical Loads

This study analyzes the performance of wooden structural floors equipped with the self-tensioning system patented by the authors, consisting of a force multiplying mechanism connected to a self-tensioning tendon, which is activated automatically when the load is applied to the structural element. The paper describes the system’s difficulties when the structural floor is subjected to asymmetrical loads. The proposed solution consists of anchoring the tendon by an adhesive connection in the central part of the piece yielding a favorable redistribution of the bending moments and an effective performance in terms of deformations. The comparative study focuses onπ-shape cross section pieces with spans of 12 m and 15 m, using sections without prestressing and with initial prestressing and self-tensioning system.

Experimental and analytical studies on the vibration serviceability of pre-stressed cable RC truss floor systems

The developed pre-stressed cable reinforced concrete truss (PCT) floor system is a relatively new floor structure, which can be applied to various long-span structures such as buildings, stadiums, and bridges. Due to the lighter mass and longer span, floor vibration would be a serviceability concern problem for such systems. In this paper, field testing and theoretical analysis for the PCT floor system were conducted. Specifically, heel-drop impact and walking tests were performed on the PCT floor system to capture the dynamic properties including natural frequencies, mode shapes, damping ratios, and acceleration response. The PCT floor system was found to be a low frequency (<10Hz) and low damping (damping ratio<2 percent) structural system. The comparison of the experimental results with the AISC׳s limiting values indicates that the investigated PCT system exhibits satisfactory vibration perceptibility, however. The analytical solution obtained from the weighted residual method agrees well with the experimental results and thus validates the proposed analytical expression. Sensitivity studies using the analytical solution were also conducted to investigate the vibration performance of the PCT floor system.

Wood-based beams strengthened with FRP laminates: improved performance with pre-stressed systems

Using bonded fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates for strengthening wooden structural members has been shown to be an effective and economical method. In this paper, properties of suitable FRP materials, adhesives and two ways of strengthening beams exposed to bending moment are presented. Passive or slack reinforcement is one way of strengthening. The most effective way of such a strengthening was to place reinforcement laminates on both tension and compression side of the beam. However, the FRP material is only partially utilised. The second way is to apply pre-stressing in FRP materials prior to bonding to tension side of flexural members and this way was shown to provide the most effective utilisation of these materials. The state of the art of such a strengthening and various methods are discussed. Increasing the load-bearing capacity, introducing a pre-cambering effect and thus improving serviceability which often governs the design and reducing the amount of FRP reinforcement needed are some of the main advantages. A recent development on how to avoid the requirement for anchoring the laminates at the end of the beams to avoid premature debonding is shown, and the advantage of such a system is described.

Improving the state of the art in FEM analysis of PCCVs with bonded and unbonded prestress tendons

In order to assess the structural performance of grouted prestressing systems in nuclear power containment vessels, a full containment vessel was modeled using the finite element program, ABAQUS. Both bonded (grouted) and unbonded (ungrouted) prestressing systems were modeled. Prior to simulation of grouting, both models were identical, with the prestressing stages modeled explicitly, and friction represented along the tendons. The results indicate higher peak stresses and strains in the bonded model since the tendon system is not permitted to slip and redistribute forces as the vessel deforms. Correspondingly, it is noted that the analysis predicts failure of the vessel at a lower internal pressure in the case of the bonded system. This work is an extension of a collaborative study of finite element analysis (FEA) of prestressed concrete containment vessels (PCCVs) sponsored by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) of India. Particular emphasis was placed on advancing the state of the art in modeling tendons (Akin et al., 2013a; Heitman et al., 2014).

Surrounding rock control mechanism of deep coal roadways and its application

Aiming at the surrounding rock control problem of mining and preparation entries in Xingdong mine with large mining depth, and the comprehensive control countermeasures including high pre-stress cable truss system, this study put forward powerful anchor support system and anchor cable adaption technology to surrounding rock deformation. Furthermore, the control measures possess the supporting performance with “primary rigid-following flexible-new rigid, and primary resistance-following yield-new resistance”, which suits deep roadway surrounding rock control. The mechanical model of truss anchor supporting roof beams was established, and the inverted arch deflection produced by the cable pre-stress with stress increment effect and roof beam deflection were obtained. And then the system working mechanism was illustrated. Finally, the surrounding rock support parameters were determined by means of comprehensive methods, and put into practice. The results show that surrounding rock deformation realized secondary stability after three months. The roadway sides convergence value was less than 245mm, and roof subsidence was less than 124mm. In addition, there was no expansion and renovation during service period.

ハイブリッド・プレストレッシングシステムの開発と偏心圧縮を受けるRC細柱への適用

ハイブリッド・プレストレッシングシステムの開発と偏心圧縮を受けるRC細柱への適用

Determination of minimum CFRP pre-stress levels for fatigue crack prevention in retrofitted metallic beams

The majority of fatigue strengthening studies focus on reducing propagation rates of existing cracks, ignoring the crack initiation stage. Many existing metallic bridge members however do not contain existing cracks, but rather are nearing their design fatigue life. Limited research exists on the prevention of crack initiation using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials. In this paper, constant life diagrams (CLDs) are used to determine the minimum level of CFRP pre-stress required to indefinitely extend the fatigue life of existing metallic beams. It is shown that by applying a compressive force to an existing fatigue-susceptible detail using pre-stressed CFRP plates, the mean stress level can be reduced such that the detail is shifted from the ‘finite life’ regime to the ‘infinite life’ regime. The proposed fatigue strengthening approach is advantageous particularly when the stress history from the prior traffic loadings is not known. To validate the proposed method, a pre-stressed un-bonded CFRP reinforcement system is introduced and tested on four metallic beams. The proposed un-bonded CFRP system is advantageous over traditional bonded CFRP systems as it can be applied to rough or obstructed surfaces (surfaces containing rivet heads or corrosion pitting for example). Additionally, the new un-bonded CFRP system offers a fast on-site installation (no glue and surface preparation are required) and an adaptive pre-stress level. Experimental results show that strengthening using pre-stressed CFRP plates are capable of shifting the working stresses from a finite fatigue-life zone to an infinite fatigue-life zone preventing crack initiation. Although according to many structural standards, the stress range is the main parameter that affects the fatigue life of a metallic detail, the results of this study clearly show that the mean stress level also plays a significant rule in the detail fatigue life. Based on the proposed CLD approach in this paper, the combined effects of the stress range and mean stress level can be taken into account for prediction of fatigue life of metallic members.

Numerical Simulation on the Effect of Compound Roof Separation Position on Bolting Performance

Prestress is a key parameter in bolting, while the cohesive force of layers in the compound roof strata is low and prone to separation, causing the prestress proliferation very poor. With the method of numerical simulation analysis,the location of separation in compound roof to affect the performance of bolting support was researched. It is concluded the roof separation in the edge of anchorage zone, the prestress field superpose, but is away from the deep surrounding rock and shows poor stability,however the role of cable can make up for the defect of rockbolts support. It has been found the highly prestressed strength bolting system adapts to the compound roof.

Application and Development of Resin Capsules in Chinese Coal Mines

Development and application of resin capsules in Chinese coal mines were introduced in this paper, including the category, feature, applicability and basic parameters. The paper pointed out that unsaturated polyester resin capsules were the most widely used in Chinese coal mines. A kind of newly-developed low-viscosity resin capsule was applied to industrial test in Fengshuigou Colliery, and the results showed that the high pre-stress and intensive bolting system could effectively control the violent displacements of the surrounding rock, and it provided an effective approach for the support of soft rock roadway. Finally the future developments of resin capsules were prospected.