Loss of Prestress

Emphasis on Items Specific to

Post-Tensioned Systems

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 1

 Loss of Prestress

• Friction
• Anchor Set Specific to post-tensioning
• Elastic Shortening
• Shrinkage
• Creep Similar to pre-tensioning
• Relaxation

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 2

 Jacking of PT Strands

The jack bears against the concrete

- Concrete is compressed gradually as the strand
is tensioned
- Many things occur simultaneously
- Jacking, Friction, Elastic Shortening

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 3

 Friction Losses
Friction between strand and duct

Duct
Strand
Dead End Live End
(Restraint) Force (Jacking) Force

Dead End Force < Live End Force

Strand
“Wobble” and
“Curvature Effects”
Duct

Idealized Reality

Duct/Strand Cross-Section

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 4

 Friction Loss

• Monitor elongation in addition to pressure during

jacking

• Overcoming Friction:
– Over-tensioning (limited)
– Jacking from both ends

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 5

 Friction Loss

• Calculating Losses
– Function of:
• Curvature Friction Coefficient
• Angle Change Over Length of Strand
• Wobble Friction Coefficient
• Length from Jack to Point of Interest

– Reference:
• Post-Tensioning Manual, Appendix A

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 6

 Elastic Shortening Losses
fpu
fpy

fjack
Effective Stress after Jacking/Elastic Shortening
Stress

“Elastic Shortening Loss”

Strain

Jacking (Exact Magnitude Affected by Friction)

Elastic Response of Concrete To Compression

Elastic Response of Concrete To Load

For Post-Tensioning, All Occur Simultaneously

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 7

 Elastic Shortening Losses
• Shortening of concrete compressed in jacking as the
two occur simultaneously

• If only one strand (tendon) – no ES losses

• If multiple strands (tendons)

– Tendons jacked early in the sequence will suffer
losses as subsequent tendons are stressed
– The first strand stressed will suffer the most total
loss
– The last strand stressed has zero loss
– Reasonable to take the average of first and last
7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 8
 Elastic Shortening Losses
Hooke’s Law
Δ𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 = 𝐸𝑝 𝜖𝑝
Change in strand stress due
Strain in strand
to elastic shortening loss
Steel elastic modulus

Assume: Perfect bond between steel and concrete  𝜖𝑝 = 𝜖𝑐

Strain in the concrete, due to compressive stress applied:

𝑓𝑐𝑔𝑝 Concrete stress at prestressing centroid
𝜖𝑐 =
𝐸𝑐𝑖 Concrete elastic modulus at time of stressing

Substitution through previous steps

𝑁 − 1 𝐸𝑝
Δ𝑓𝑝𝐸𝑆 = 𝑓
2𝑁 𝐸𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑔𝑝

Average of first and last strand that experience loss; the

last strand tensioned has zero loss, hence the (N-1) term.
7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 9
 Anchorage Devices

ENCAPSULATED STANDARD ANCHORS ENCAPSULATED

ANCHOR ANCHOR

WEDGES

Source: PTI
7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 10
 Anchorage Devices: Wedge

Source: PTI

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 11

 Anchorage Seating Loss

Concrete Anchor cast in concrete

Duct

Strand

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 12

 Anchorage Seating Loss
fpu
fpy

Jacking
fjack
Elastic Shortening
Stress

Effective Stress after Anchor Seating

Anchorage Seating Loss

Strain

Anchor Seating

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 13

 Anchorage Seating Loss

• Calculating Losses
– Some of the imposed strain on the strand is lost
when the wedge seats in the plate
• Function of:
–Hardware Used
–Type of Jack (Power Seating, etc.)

– Reference: Post-Tensioning Manual, Appendix A

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 14

 Friction and Anchorage Losses
Force in Tendon Jacking1

Jacking Stress1

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 Friction and Anchorage Losses
Release Jack
[Transfer force to
anchor]
Force in Tendon

Jacking Stress1

Anc. Seating Loss1

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 16

 Friction and Anchorage Losses
Jacking2

Effect of live end

Force in Tendon

jacking2
Jacking Stress1

Jacking Stress2
Anc. Seating Loss1

Increased PT
due to jacking2

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 17

 Friction and Anchorage Losses
Release Jack
[Transfer force to
anchor]

Anc. Seating
Loss2
Effect of live end
Force in Tendon

jacking2
Jacking Stress1

Jacking Stress2
Anc. Seating Loss1

Increased PT
due to jacking2

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 18

 Friction and Anchorage Losses
Jacking1 Jacking2

Anc. Seating
Loss2
Effect of live end
Force in Tendon

jacking2
Jacking Stress1

Jacking Stress2
Anc. Seating Loss1

Increased PT
due to jacking2

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 Friction and Anchorage Losses

• The variable prestress force in the previous slide is

negligible for:
– Strands less than 100 feet (single-end stressed)
– Strands less than 200 feet (both ends stressed)

– Reference: Bondy, K.B., “Variable Prestress Force in Unbonded Post-Tensioned

Members,” Concrete International, January 1992, pp. 27-33.

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 Shrinkage, Creep, and Relaxation
fpu
fpy

Jacking
fjack
Elastic Shortening
Stress

Anchor Seating

Effective Stress for Service

Time Dependent Losses Due to Concrete

Shrinkage and Creep
[Relaxation also considered in this stage]

Strain

Concrete Shrinkage and Creep

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 Concrete Shrinkage

Moisture

L L  L'
 sh  
L’
L

L L

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 22

 Concrete Shrinkage
Concrete Shrinkage Strain (εsh)

Ultimate Shrinkage (Baseline Condition)

Linetype Key:
Model Baseline
Effect of Decreasing f’c
Effect of Decreasing H
Effect of Decreasing V/S

Start of drying Time

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 Concrete Creep

Shrinkage Specimen Creep Specimen

P
L1’

L2’
L

ε1 ε2
7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 24
 Concrete Creep
Strain
Specimen 2
Creep

Elastic

Shrinkage

Specimen 1

Time
(Start Drying)
End Curing
Concrete

Apply
Load
Cast

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 25

 Concrete Creep

(Sum of Elastic and Creep Response)

Concrete Strain

Creep Strain

 cr   t, ti 
fc Total Strain

1  t , ti 
Ec fc
 total 
Elastic Strain Ec
fc
 el 
Ec
Instantaneous ti Time, t
application of stress, fc Linetype Key:
Model Baseline Effect of Decreasing H
Effect of Decreasing f’c Effect of Decreasing V/S
Effect of the same applied stress, fc, at a later time

Creep strain is calculated by a creep coefficient, 𝜓(𝑡, 𝑡𝑖 ), that expresses creep strain as
a function of elastic strain.

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 26

 Steel Relaxation

• A loss of stress in the steel after being held at a

constant elongation
• For low-relaxation steel (industry standard)
relaxation losses are very small compared to other
loss components (~1-3 ksi)

7/3/2018 Developed by Brian Swartz for PTI EDC130 27