Chapter I : Precast and Prestressed concrete

Dr. Ibrahim ALACHEK

Civil engineering
Islamic University of Lebanon (IUL)
2019-2020

INTRODUCTION
The concept of prestressed concrete appeared
in 1888 when P.H. Jackson was granted the
first patent in the United States for prestressed
concrete design. idea was perfect,
but the technology of high strength steel that
exhibited low relaxation characteristics was
not yet available.
It was not until Eugene Freyssinet defined
the need for these materials that prestressed
concrete could be used as a structural building
material. Unfortunately, although Freyssinet, a
brilliant structural designer and bridge builder,
lacked the teaching qualities necessary to
communicate his ideas to other engineers.
It would take Gustave Magnel to write the
first book of design in prestressed concrete,
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 PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
Prestressing can be defined in general terms as the preloading of a structure, before
application of the service loads, so as to improve its performance in specific ways.

Concrete is essentially a compression material, its strength in tension is much lower than that
in compression, and in many cases, in design, the tensile resistance is discounted altogether.
The prestressing of concrete, therefore, naturally involves application of a compressive
loading, prior to applying the anticipated service loads, so that tensile stresses that otherwise
would occur are reduced or eliminated.

The original concept of prestressing concrete was to introduce sufficient axial precompression
in beams so that all tension in the concrete was eliminated in the member at service load.
However, as knowledge of this relatively new form of construction has developed, it has
become clear that this view is unnecessarily restrictive, and in present design practice tensile
stress in the concrete, even some limited cracking, is permitted. By varying the amount of
compressive prestress, the number and width of cracks can be limited to the desired degree. Of
equal importance, the deflection of the member may be controlled. Beam may even be
designed to have zero deflection at a specific combination of prestress and external loading.
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PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

By crack and deflection control at service loads, prestressing makes it possible to employ
economical and efficient high tensile strength steel reinforcement and high strength concrete.

-stressed concrete is a form of reinforced concrete that builds in compressive stresses

during construction to oppose those found when in use.

It is a combination of steel and concrete that takes advantages of the strengths of each material.

PRINCIPLE Using high tensile strength steel alloys producing permanent pre-compression
in areas subjected to Tension.
A portion of tensile stress is counteracted thereby reducing the cross-sectional area of the steel
reinforcement .

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 BRIDGE OF THE RIVER MARNE AT LUZANCY, FRANCE

Bridge of 180-ft span over the river Marne at

Luzancy designed by Freyssinet and built in
1941,this very flat, two-hinged portal frame
has a depth at midspan of inly 4.17 ft, a ratio
of span to depth of 43. The hinged supports
of the bridge were provided with adjustments
in order to compensate for the effects of
shrinkage and creep. The I-shaped bridge
segments were precast. The flange were cast
first and were connected by wires that were
tensioned prior to casting the web by jacking
the flanges apart. After the webs were cast,
the jacking force was released,
precompressing the webs to counteract
diagonal tensile stresses resulting from loads.
Individual segments were then assembled
into large components, which were placed in Segmentally precast
final position by cableways, and the entire bridges
structure then post-tensioned.

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PRECAST CONCRETE

Precast concrete construction is a product achieved by casting concrete in a mold or

which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the
construction site and erected into place.
The quality control of the materials and workmanship in a precast plant is greater
than on a construction site.
The precast concept is favorable for construction where the majority of structural
components are standardized and produced in plants
The principle for achieving that objective is to design buildings with a standardized
configuration in plan and elevation.
Prefabrication has a much greater potential for economy, structural performance and
durability.
As a consequence, precast products are much more slender and present a high durability and
longevity.

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 PRECAST CONCRETE

An advantages is that adverse weather conditions influence the construction process

while site work stops when the temperature falls below -5 C.
The use of high early strength cement and steam curing allow concrete members to be cast
and cured in only 24 hours.
A disadvantage is that precast members are often more difficult and costly to ship that the
bulk cement and gravel ingredients used for mixing concrete on the job site. Giant cranes
are needed to hoist these heavy hunks of concrete.

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TRANSPORTATION AND ERECTION OF PRECAST CONCRETE

The erection procedure, and in turn the design of the structure is very affected by the weight
and seize of the individual components.
The lifting of any precast product requires the use of special equipment and substantial
planning and knowledge. The selection of crane type and size is an important ingredient to the
viability of the precast structure, usually, mobile cranes are the most economical solution.

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 PRECAST CONCRETE BUILDING ELEMENTS

The precast concrete building elements are the following: Slabs, beams, columns. Walls,
panels, foundations and special elements.

Precast concrete slabs, beams and structural tees are one-way spanning units that may be
supported by site cast concrete, precast concrete, or masonry bearing walls, or by steel or
precast concrete frames. The precast units are manufactured with normal-density or
structural light weight concrete and prestressed for greater structural efficiency, which
results in less depth, reduced weight and longer spans.

Precast wall panels may be conventionally reinforced or prestressed for greater structural
efficiency, reduced panel thicknesses, and longer spans. In addition to the required tensile,
shrinkage, and temperature reinforcement, extra reinforcement may be necessary to resist
the stresses of transportation and erection. Window and door openings, corbels, and
anchoring devices are cast into the wall panels.

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PRECAST SLABS

Precast Concrete Slabs

Used for floor and roof decks.
Deeper elements (toward the right below) span
further than those that are shallower (toward the
left).
Right: Hollow core slabs stacked at the precasting
plant.

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 PRECAST BEAM & GIRDERS
Precast Concrete Beams and Girders
Provide support for slabs.
The projecting reinforcing bars will bond with concrete cast on site.
Left: Inverted tee beams supported by precast columns.

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PRECAST CONCRETE COLUMNS AND WALL PANELS

Precast Concrete Columns and Wall Panels
Provide support for beam and slab elements.
Since these elements carry mainly axial loads with little
bending force, they may be conventionally reinforced without
prestressing.
Or, long, slender multistory elements may be prestressed to
provide resistance to bending forces during handling and
erection (columns at right).
Precast concrete wall panels may be solid (right), hollow, or
sandwiched (with an insulating core).
Wall panels can be ribbed, to increase their vertical span
capacity while minimizing weight, or formed into other
special shapes (below).

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 PRECAST CONCRETE BUILDING ELEMENTS

Lateral stability of a precast concrete structure requires that those floors and roofs will be
able to transfer their lateral forces to shear-resisting wall panels. Wall panels in turn, must
be stabilized by columns or cross walls as they transfer the lateral forces to the ground
foundation. All forces are transferred by a combination of grouted joints, shear keys,
mechanical connectors, steel reinforcement, or reinforced concrete toppings

Precast concrete foundations are to transfer loads from structures into the bearing soils,
resist uplift forces caused by wind and enclose basements and crawl spaces, and to resist
lateral earth and hydrostatic pressures.

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ASSEMBLY CONCEPTS FOR PRECAST CONCRETE BUILDINGS

Vertical support can be provided

by precast columns and beams
(above), wall panels (below), or a
combination of all three.

The choice of roof and floor slab

elements depends mainly on span
requirements.

Precast slab elements are

frequently also used with other
vertical loadbearing systems such
as sitecast concrete, reinforced
masonry, or steel.

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 ASSEMBLY CONCEPTS FOR PRECAST CONCRETE BUILDINGS

Above: Precast concrete structure

consisting of solid wall panels and
hollow core slabs.

Below: A single story warehouse

consisting of double tees supported by
insulated sandwich wall panels

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JOINING PRECAST CONCRETE ELMENTS

Example Column-to-Column Connection
Metal bearing plates and embedded anchor bolts are cast into the ends of the columns.

After the columns are mechanically joined, the connection is grouted to provide full bearing
between elements and protect the metal components from fire and corrosion.

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 JOINING PRECAST CONCRETE ELMENTS

Example Beam-to- Column Connection

Beams are set on bearing pads on the column corbels.

Steel angles are welded to metal plates cast into the beams and columns and the joint is
grouted solid.

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JOINING PRECAST CONCRETE ELMENTS

Example Slab-to-Beam
Connection
Hollow core slabs are set
on bearing pads on precast
beams.

Steel reinforcing bars are

inserted into the slab
keyways to span the joint.

The joint is grouted solid.

The slab may remain

untopped as shown, or
topped with several inches
of cast in place concrete

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 JOINING PRECAST CONCRETE ELMENTS
Sitecast Concrete Toppings over Precast Slabs

Greater floor
strength and
stiffness

Greater fire
resistance

Greater acoustic
isolation

Allow easy
integration of
electrical services
into floor system

Create a smoother,
flatter floor

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CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECAST CONCRETE

Precast System Types

Depending on the load-bearing structure, precast systems can be divided into the following
categories :

1. Large panel systems

2. Frame Systems

3. Slab-column systems with walls

4. Mixed systems

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECAST CONCRETE
1. Large panel systems
The designation of -panel refers to multistory structures composed of large wall
and floor concrete panels connected in the vertical and horizontal directions so that the wall
panels enclose appropriate spaces for the rooms within a building. Wall panels are usually on
story high. When properly joined together, horizontal elements act as diaphragms that transfer
the lateral loads to walls.

box-like structure.

both vertical and horizontal elements are

load-bearing.

one-story high wall panels (cross-wall

system / longitudinal wall system / two way
system).

one-way or two way slabs.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECAST CONCRETE

2. Frame systems
Precast frames can be constructed using either linear elements of spatial beam-column. The use
of linear elements generally means placing the connecting faces at the beam-column junctions.
The beam can be seated on corbels at the columns, for ease of construction and to aid the shear
transfer from the beam to the column.

Components are usually linear elements.

The beams are seated on corbels of the

pillars usually with hinged joints (rigid
connection is also an option).

Joints are filled with concrete at the site.

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECAST CONCRETE
3. Slab-column systems with walls
These systems rely on shear walls to sustain lateral load effects, whereas the slab-column
structure resists mainly gravity loads. There are two main systems in this category :

1. Lift-slab system with walls,

2. Prestressed slab-column system

In the Lift-slab system, the load-bearing structure consists of precast reinforced concrete
columns and slabs. Precast columns are usually two stories high. The slab panels are lifted to
the top of the column and then moved downwards to the final position. Temporary supports are
used to keep the slabs in the position until the connection with the columns has been achieved.

The prestressed slab-column system uses horizontal prestressing in two orthogonal direction
to achieve continuity. The precast concrete column elements are 1 to 3 stories high. After
prestressing, the gaps between the slabs are filed with in situ concrete and the tendons then
become bonded with the spans. Seismic loads are resisted mainly by the shear walls (precast or
cast-in-place) positioned between columns at appropriate locations.
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LIFT-SLAB SYSTEM WITH WALLS

partially precast in plant (pillars) / partially

precast on-site (slabs).
one or more storey high pillars (max 5).
up to 30 storey high constructions.
special designed joints and temporary joints.
slabs are casted on the ground (one on top of
the other) then lifted with crane or special
elevators.

pillars and the first package (e.g. 5 pieces) of slabs prepared at ground level
lifting boxes are mounted on the pillars + a single slab lifted to the first floor level.
boxes are sequentially raised to higher positions to enable the slabs to be lifted to their
required final position - slabs are held in a relative (temporary) positions by a pinning system

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 LIFT-SLAB SYSTEM WITH WALLS

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CURING PROCESS

There are various methods of accelerated curing of Precast concrete applications, and their
impact on short- and long-term compressive strength. The methods are :

a) Steam curing at low pressure.

b) Steam curing at high pressure.

c) Conduction/Convection used for accelerated curing.

d) Electrical curing.

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 Steam curing at low pressure.
Steam curing at ordinary pressure or low pressure.

Steam curing and hot water curing is sometimes adopted. With thee methods of curing, the
strength development of concrete is very rapid.

In steam curing the temperature of steam should be restricted to a maximum of 75 C as in the

absence of proper humidity (about 90%), the concrete may dry too soon. In case of hot water
curing, temperature may be raised to any limit, 100 C.

At this temperature, the development of strength is about 75% of 28 days strength after 4 to 5
hours.

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High pressure Steam curing (autoclaving)

The high-pressure steam curing, also known as autoclaving, has been successfully employed
in the production of prestressed precast concrete elements. During this process, the increase of
curing temperature and humidity are combined with an increase in pressure.

On of the benefits of this technique is that extremely low water-cement ratios can be
utilized in the initial mix design.

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 Other curing methods

Conduction/Convection Used for accelerated Curing :

The temperature of the forms may be increased either electrically or by pumping hot oil or hot
water through them. The direct contact between the concrete and the forms with an elevated
temperature results in conductive heat transfer.

By utilizing convection as well, in the form of following oil or water, the rate of thermal energy
is increased, thereby increasing the rate of curing.

Electrical resistance curing :

By imposing an electrical current through reinforcing steel, heat is generated inside the
concrete as a result of the provided electrical resistance, resulting in an increased curing
temperature.

When steel forms are used, thi method may also be used by applying electrical currents directly
to the formwork, or by attaching electrical resistance elements to the forms.

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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PRECAST CONCRETE

A. Advantages
Quick erection times
Possibility of conversion, disassembling and moving to another site
Possibility of erection in areas where a traditional construction practice is not possible
or difficult
Low labor intensivity
Reduce wastage of materials
Easier management of construction sites
Better overall construction quality
Ideal fit for simple and complex structures

B. Disadvantages and Limitations

size of the units.
location of window openings has a limited variety.
joint details are predefined.
site access and storage capacity.
require high quality control.
enable interaction between design phase and production planning.
difficult to handling & transporting.

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