PROJECT REPORT ON STUDY OF PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE AND PSC BOX GIRDER

SUBMITTED BY: PRATAP KUMAR BEBARTA G.ASHISH MOHIT MOHANTY SWAJIT MISHRA

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INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION OF PRE-STRESS

2. MAJOR BRIDGE AND ITS DIFFERENT PARTS

3. SAILENT FEATURES OF BRIDGE NO:557

4. WELL FOUNDATION

5. CONSTRUCTION OF PSC BOX GIRDER

6. CONCLUSION

Page |3 BASIC CONCEPT OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE: Pre-stress concrete is basically concrete in which internal stresses of a suitable magnitude and distribution are introduced so that stresses resulting from external loads are counteracted to a desired degree. In ordinary reinforced concrete, consisting of concrete and mild steel as basic components, the compressive stresses are borne by concrete while tensile stresses are taken up entirely by steel. The concrete surrounding steel reinforcement does not take part in resisting the external forces/moments since concrete is considered weak in tension. It simply acts as a bonding material. Thus only that portion of concrete, which lies above the neutral axis, is considered to be useful in resisting the external forces. This results in heavy sections. In the case of prestressed concrete comprising of concrete and high tensile steel as basic components, both steel and concrete are stressed prior to the application of external loads. If such induced prestress in concrete is of compressive nature, it will balance the tensile stress produced in concrete surrounding steel due to external loads in which there have been introduced internal stresses of such magnitude and distribution that the stresses resulting from given external loadings are countered to a desired degree. In reinforced concrete member, the pre-stress is commonly introduced by tensioning the steel reinforcement. Thus, pre-stress is the creation of permanent stresses in a structure in order to improve its strength and behavior under various service conditions. Pre-stressed concrete is a method for overcoming concretes natural weakness in tension. Pre stressing tendons (made up of high tensile steel cable or rods) are tensioned which in result produce compressive stress in the concrete that counters the tensile stress that the concrete compression member would otherwise experience due to the applied bending load. History: The present state of development in the field of pre-stressed concrete has been achieved by continuous research by scientists and engineers over the last century. In 1886, Jackson and Francisco applied for a patent for construction of artificial stone and concrete pavements, in which pre-stress was introduced by tensioning the reinforcing rods sets in sleeves. Dohring of Germany manufactured slabs and small beams in 1888, using the embedded tensioned wires to avoid cracks. The idea of pre-stressing to counteract the stresses due to load was first put forward by an Austrian engineer Mandl in 1896. In 1907 a German scientist, M. Koenen, due to reported the losses of pre-stress due to elastic shortening of concrete. The importance of losses in pre-stressing due to shrinkage of concrete was first put forward by Steiner of the United States.

Page |4 In 1923, Emperger of Vienna developed a method for making wire-bound reinforced concrete pipes by binding high tensile steel wires on pipes at stresses ranging from 160 to 800 N/mm^2. The use of unbounded tendon was first demonstrated by Dischinger, in 1928, in the construction of a major bridge of the deep-girder type, in which pre-stressing wires were placed inside the girder without any bond. Loses of pre-stress were further compensated by subsequent tensioning of the wires. Freyssinet, in 1928, demonstrated the advantages of using high-strength steel and concrete to account for the various losses of pre-stress due to creep and shrinkage of concrete. Further the development of vibration techniques for production of high strength concrete and the invention of double-acting jack for stressing the high-strength steel were considered to be the most significant contributions made by Freyssinet. Hence he is widely regarded as the father of Pre-Stressed Concrete. During recent times PSC is used to construct long span bridges, industrial shell roofs, water-retaining structures, railway sleepers, nuclear pressure vessels and many other structures.

HOW PRE- STRESSING IS DONE: The fundamental concept of pre-stressed concrete is to stretch or tension the steel reinforcement, which in result will produce compressive stress in the concrete. This is accomplished in 3 different ways. Pre-tensioned concrete Post-tensioned concrete

PRE-TENSIONED CONCRETE: In pre-tensioning system, the high-strength steel tendons are pulled between two end abutments (also called bulkheads) prior to the casting of concrete. The abutments are fixed at the ends of a pre-stressing bed. Once the concrete attains the desired strength for pre-stressing, the tendons are cut loose from the abutments This method produce good bond between the tendon and the concrete. This protects the tendon from corrosion and allows direct transfer of tension. The cured concrete bonds with the steel tendons and when the tension is released it is transferred to concrete as compression by friction. This process requires stout anchoring points between which the tendon is stretched.

Page |5 ADVANTAGES OF PRE-TENSIONING: The relative advantages of pre-tensioning as compared to post-tensioning are as follows. Pre-tensioning is suitable for precast members produced in bulk. In pre-tensioning large anchorage device is not present.

DISADVANTAGES OF PRE-TENSIONING The relative disadvantages are as follows. A pre-stressing bed is required for the pre-tensioning operation. There is a waiting period in the pre-stressing bed, before the concrete attains sufficient strength. There should be good bond between concrete and steel over the transmission length.

EQUIPMENTS: The essential devices for pre-tensioning are as follows.

Pre-stressing bed End abutments Shuttering / mould Jack Anchoring device

The various stages of the pre-tensioning operation are summarised as follows. Anchoring of tendons against the end abutments Placing of jacks Applying tension to the tendons Casting of concrete Cutting of tendons

During the cutting of the tendons, the pre-stress is transferred to the concrete.

Page |6 POST-TENSIONING SYSTEM: In post-tensioning systems, the ducts called sheath for the tendons (or strands) are placed along with the reinforcement before the casting of concrete. The tendons are placed in the ducts after the casting of concrete. The duct prevents contact between concrete and the tendons during the tensioning operation.

Unlike pre-tensioning, the tendons are pulled with the reaction acting against the hardened concrete.

ADVANTAGES OF POST-TENSIONING: The relative advantages of post-tensioning as compared to pre-tensioning are as follows. Post-tensioning is suitable for heavy cast-in-place members. The waiting period in the casting bed is less. The transfer of pre-stress is independent of transmission length. Apart from the above advantages the chief merit using post-tensioning is that it allows use of curved and stopped-off cables which helps the designer to vary the pre-stress distribution at will from section to section so as to counter the external loads more efficiently.

DISADVANTAGES OF POST-TENSIONING: The relative disadvantage of post-tensioning as compared to pre-tensioning is the requirement of anchorage device and grouting equipment. DEVICES: The essential devices for post-tensioning are as follows. Casting bed Mould/Shuttering Ducts Anchoring devices Jack

The various stages of the post-tensioning operation are summarised as follows. Casting of concrete Placing the tendons Placing the anchorage block and jack Applying tension to the tendons

Page |7 Seating of the wedges Cutting of the tendons

LOSSES IN PRE-STRESSING: The initial pre-stress in concrete undergoes gradual reduction with time from the stage of transfer due to various causes. This is generally referred as loss of pre-stress The losses are broadly classified into two groups, immediate and time-dependent. The immediate losses occur during pre-stressing of the tendons and the transfer of pre-stress to the concrete member. The time-dependent losses occur during the service life of the prestressed member. The losses due to elastic shortening of the member, friction at the tendonconcrete interface and slip of the anchorage are the immediate losses. The losses due to the shrinkage and creep of the concrete and relaxation of the steel are the time-dependent losses.

LOSSES IN PRE-TENSIONING: Losses in pre tensioning occur due to following reasons: a. Relaxation of the steel tendons b. Elastic deformation of the concrete c. Shrinkage and creep of the concrete

LOSSES IN POST TENSIONING: Losses in post tensioning occur due to following reasons: a. b. c. d. e. Relaxation of the steel tendons Elastic deformation of the concrete if the wires are successively tensioned. Shrinkage and creep of the concrete Slip or movement of the tendons at the anchorages during anchoring. Friction

TRANSMISSION OF PRE-STRESSED FORCE: FOR PRETESIONED MEMBER: In pre-stressing member, when a wire is released from its temporary anchorage on pre-stressing bed, the ends of wire swells which induce wedge effect. The end of the wire swells because of the recovery of lateral contraction.

Page |8 This results the pre-stressing force to become zero at the end. This is called as Hoyer effect. The swelling of wires is only a few thousandth millimetre but it nevertheless produces considerable radial pressure on the concrete, giving rise to large frictional force. The transmission of pre-stressing force from steel to concrete is generally through the bond comprising of a) Adhesion b) Friction c) Shearing resistance At the intermediate point along the beam, the bond stress is resisted by adhesion, while in the transfer zone the tendon invariably slip and sink in to concrete, destroying most of the adhesion. So the bond stress is due to friction and friction and shear resistance.

FOR POSTTESIONED MEMBER: In post tensioned member the wires are introduced in cable hole and then stressed and anchored at the end face. As a result of this large force is concentrated over relatively smaller areas are applied on the end block. These highly discontinuous force which are applied at the end, while changing progressively to continuous linear distribution, develop transverse and shear stresses. The zone between the end of the beam and the section where only longitudinal stress exist is generally referred to the anchorage zone or end block. The transverse stress developed in the anchorage zone are tensile in nature over a large depth and since concrete is weak in tension, adequate reinforcement should provided to resist the tension. So adequate amount of steel should provide in the anchorage zone to resist the transverse tensile stress.

MATERIALS FOR PSC:

High strength concrete High strength steel

Page |9 High strength steel required for PSC because the normal loss in steel is generally 100 N/mm2 to 240N/mm2 .So it is apparent that that this loss in stress is to be small portion of the initial stress, the stress in steel must be very high, about 1200N/mm2 to 2000N/mm2 .This high range stress only possible in case of high-strength steel. Again, high strength concrete required in pre-stress concrete, as the material offer high resistance in tension, shear, bond and bearing and it is less liable to shrinkage crack and has higher modulus of elasticity and smaller ultimate creep strain.

STRENGTH REQUIREMENTS: The minimum 28 days compressive strength prescribed in IS code is 40N/mm2 for pretensioned member and 30N/mm2 for post-tensioned member. In high-strength concrete mixes the water content should be as low as possible with due regard to adequate workability and concrete should be suitable for compaction by available at the site.

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF PSC:

ADVANTAGES: The pre-stressed concrete has several advantages over the commonly used reinforced cement concrete. These are as listed below. The steel corrosion is reduced. Thus, durability of the structure is increased. In case of PSC the whole section is utilised unlike the RCC structure where the part of the section over the neutral axis only takes the compressive load where as steel reinforcement takes up the tensile load. Performance of the section is improved under dynamic and fatigue loading. Self weight of the section is greatly reduced. PSC sections are more economical. Maintenance is reduced. Hence the cost of maintenance is lowered which contributes towards the economy of the section. Pre-stressing enhances the bending, shear and torsional capacities of the flexural members.

P a g e | 10 DISADVANTAGES: Although pre-stressing has advantages, some aspects need to be carefully addressed. Pre-stressing needs skilled technology. Hence, it is not as common as reinforced concrete. The use of high strength materials is costly. There is additional cost in auxiliary equipments. There is need for quality control and inspection.

APPLICATION AND USAGE: Used in large diameter concrete pipes Used to construct railway sleepers Used in construction of water tanks Used in construction o bridges

BRIDGE: NAME OF THE WORK: The major bridge no. 557 is being constructed in between Cuttack and Barang over the river Kuakhai. Its the part of the doubling of railway line project between Khurda road and Cuttack. The construction work has been taken up by RAIL VIKASH NIGAM LIMITED, BHUBANESWAR. SALIENT FEATURES OF THE BRIDGE NO.557: The major bridge no.557 constructed over river Kuakhai is of PSC box deck slab type girder. The bridge consists of 20 girders having clear span of 45.1 meters. The entire bridge is resting on 2 nos. of abutments and 19 nos. of piers. These abutments and piers are supported on well foundation. So there are 21 nos. of well foundation of circular type with diameter of 8 meters. Each girder weighs around 750 tonnes. For construction of each girder 645 tonnes of concrete and 43 tonnes of steel reinforcement have been used.

P a g e | 11 Each girder has been provided with 12 tonnes of HT strands (12T15). POT PTFE bearings with capacity of 520 tonnes have been used. Seismic reaction blocks to resist the lateral movement of the girder are provided. These blocks have dimension of 900*800*1382 mm3. On the top of the girder a wear coat of 20 mm thickness has been provided.

DIFFERENT PARTS OF MAJOR BRIDGE: FOUNDATION: Foundation is the part of structure that transmits the load from the structure to soil without failure of structure. Generally foundation can be divided into 2 types. Namely, a) shallow and b) deep foundation. Shallow foundation is taken up where the bearing capacity of soil is adequate where as deep foundation is preferred where the bearing capacity of soil is relatively small. Usually for the construction of bridges deep foundations are adopted as the soil strata in rivers are clayey. Different types of foundations used in bridges are a) Well foundation b) Pile foundation c) Raft foundation/open foundation

For the major bridge no. 557 well foundation was taken up.

WELL FOUNDATION: Well foundation is preferable to pile foundation when foundation has to resist large lateral forces. The foundations may consist of a single large diameter well or of a group of smaller wells of circular or other shaped. The shape of wells may be circular, double D, Square, rectangular, Dum-bell shaped etc. While deciding the bottom level of the foundation the following considerations may be kept in view. a. Normally, a sandy stratum with adequate bearing capacity is preferred to clayey strata.

P a g e | 12 b. A thin stratum of clay occurring between two layers of sand is not relied upon but pierced through c. The foundation has to be laid on the clayey layer; a well is rested on stiff clay only. The minimum size of a dredge hole is 2.5m. From considerations of sinking effort and erection of shuttering, a large diameter well is nowadays preferred to a group of small sized wells. From practical considerations, the maximum size of a single circular well should be limited to about 12 m diameter for a concrete steining and 6m diameter for a brick masonry steining.

COMPONENTS OF WELL FOUNDATION: A well foundation consists of the following components.

CUTTING EDGE: The mild steel cutting edge shall be strong enough and not less than 40kg per m to facilitate sinking of the well through any types of soil strata to be encountered without suffering any damage. In case of Bridge No. 557 over the river Kuakhai, two nos. of angles of dimension- 150x150x12 mm are welded in circular shape having diameter of 8.2 m and it is made to rest on levelled firm ground. Temporary supports are provided at the bottom of the cutting edge to facilitate erection and maintenance of assembly in true shape. The cutting edge shall be laid about 300mm or more above the prevalent water level.

WELL-CURB: The well curb is designed for supporting the weight of the well with partial support from cutting edge. The cutting edge and well curb are assembled on timber sleepers laid on levelled sand bed. Before the erection of L-frame over the cutting edge, a load test is conducted to determine the satisfactory spacing of the timber and the stability of the island. The dimension of the L-frames used is 75x75x8 mm and its function is only to hold the inner and outer skin plates so that a conical box is formed to hold the concrete. Later on hoop steel, bond reinforcement is inserted and shuttering work is also completed. The curb concrete is placed in layers not exceeding 300mm depth, extending up to 3.45m of the curb. The concreting for each layer is done in one continuous operation. Each layer is then symmetrically compacted applying mechanical vibrations to reduce voids and increase the density.

P a g e | 13 WELL-STEINING: The circular wall of the well foundation is known as the well-

steining. The thickness of the steining should be adequate for the stresses developed during sinking and after installation. The design of the steining reinforcement depends upon the skin friction and the unit weight of the well. The reinforcement used in the wells of Bridge No. 557 over the river Kuakhai are of diameter 20mm and the hoop steels used are of 10mm diameter. The concreting of the well steining is done in stages. M 35 concrete is used for this. The first lift of the well steining is cast over the well curb and is of a height of 2.6m. The subsequent lifts of the steining can be 2.5m or as required. The steining is built using straight edges and the lower portion of the straight edges is kept butted with the steining of the earlier lifts. The height of the steining built at any lift should be such that the well does not lose stability.

BOTTOM PLUG: The bottom plug should be strong enough to transmit the load to the soil below. It is designed as a thick plate subjected to unit bearing pressure under the maximum vertical load. The bottom plug is given the shape of an electric bulb to produce an arch action to reduce hoop tension in the curb and to provide larger base area. The concreting for bottom plug is done with M 25 concrete and extra 10% cement is added as some cement is washed away by the water. The bottom plugging is done to a height of 3.75m. The water in the well must be still and at its normal level. The concreting for bottom plugging should always be done in one continuous operation.

SAND FILLING: The portion in between the bottom plug and the top plug is filled with sand. This is known as sand filling. The main purpose of sand filling is to provide stability to the well by increasing the weight. Sand is used for the filling as it a self-compacted material. Sand filling is done up to the top plug.

TOP PLUG: After the sand filling is done, a top plug of M 25 concrete is provided for a height of 500mm. The main function of the top plugging is to transmit the load of the pier to the well steining.

P a g e | 14 WELL-CAP: The well cap is a slab resting on the well and can be extended as cantilevers to accommodate piers. Reinforcements are provided on which concreting is done. The concrete used is M 25 concrete.

SINKING OF WELLS:

The sinking operation is begun after the casting of the curb and the first stage of steining. Enough time is provided for curing before the sinking process is started. The well is sunk by excavating materials from the inside of the curb. A grab is attached to the crane. The grab goes in and excavates the soil from inside the well. If any hard material is encountered during sinking, the grabs are replaced by chisels. The chisels break or loosen the hard materials and then the grab takes it out. For sinking through rock, explosives are used. But the explosions have to be carried out very carefully as there is chance of causing cracks in the well steining.

As the well sinks, the friction on the sides increases. So to accelerate sinking, additional loads called kentledge are applied. Usually kentledges are provided in the form of sand bags. If the kentledge loads are insufficient to counter-act the friction on sides, water jets are forced on the periphery of the well to facilitate well sinking.

2. SUPER STRUCTURE: It is the portion of structure that is above the soil. Different parts of super structures are Pier Girder Girders are generally of 3 types: RCC girders (Reinforced cement concrete girder) PSC girders (pre-stress concrete girder) Steel girders

ADVANTAGE OF PSC GIRDER: The pre-stress concrete which is made up of high-strength concrete and high tensile steel has following advantage over steel and RCC Bridge.

P a g e | 15 High strength concrete and high tensile steel, besides being economical, make for slender section, which are aesthetically superior. Pre-stress concrete bridges require very less maintenance as compare to steel bridges. Overall construction cost is less in Post-Tensioned PSC girder i.e. it is economical in compared to other type of bridges.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PSC GIRDER: PSC box girder PSC I girder PSC T girder

PSC BOX GIRDER:

SUITABILITY OF BOX GIRDER: Nowadays PSC Box girders are preferred in railways for road over bridges and major bridges due to the reason that box girder section imparts better tolerance for ever increasing loadings. STAGING: Staging for PSC box girder is done in various stages. Those are listed as follows: First of all, a foundation is laid for staging. This is done in 3 steps such as: First sand filling is done. Sand is filled up to a depth of 500-700 mm. Then curing is done. After that sand is compacted. After foundation is laid cc cribs are placed. Dimension of cc crib is 600*600 mm and height is 1.8 m. Its made up of angle section ISA 50. 4 such cc cribs one above the other were placed. Above cc crib a 200 mm thick wooden block was placed. On the wooden block ISMB 400 sections were placed. One along lateral direction and another along the longitudinal direction above it. Then, a wooden block 100 mm thick was placed above it. ISMB 100 sections were placed above it in longitudinal direction.

P a g e | 16 These conclude the staging for the box girder. After staging is done reinforcements are placed. And shuttering is done followed by concrete casting.

SHUTTERING AND CASTING OF CONCRETE: 1. Shuttering are first provided at the bottom soffit slab. 2. Then, shuttering is provided for the outside of side web. 3. After that, Reinforcements are provided at the bottom slab and web in which Stressing cable sheathing pipe kept in position as per the drawing and upon this top layer reinforcement is placed. 4. After that, Inner side web shutters to be provided. 5. Then, Top slab and cantilever shutter provided and top reinforcement to be placed in position. 6. After placing reinforcement in proper manner, casting was done with M 50 grade concrete.

Total amount of reinforcement (HYSD Fe500) used is 44 Tones for one girder. In general practice box girders are casted in two pours. After third day of initial concreting done, shutters are removed and fixed in the location where second phase of

P a g e | 17 concreting to be done. On fourth day second pour of concreting is taken up and completed. a) In 1 st pour the soffit slab and web were casted. b) In 2nd pour the cantilever portion and top slab were casted. 7. After casting of concrete, curing was done.

PRECAUTION TAKEN DURING SHUTTERING: Shutters should be rigidly tied. Shutters placed horizontally should be levelled properly. At the joints of shutters there should not be any gap. If any gape is present there at the time of casting the concrete may fall down through that gap. So reinforcement at that portion may not be properly covered with concrete which leads to the corrosion of the reinforcement. So the gaps should be properly covered. Vertical alignment of the shutters should be checked. Shutters provided in the web should be at right angle to the horizontal shutters. Otherwise the load distribution may be affected.

CHECKS APPLIED TO THE REINFORCEMENT AFETR PLACING: Alignment of the bars (both horizontal and vertical). Spacing of bars Reinforcement should be properly tied Reinforcement should be placed such that one layer should not touch another layer and gape between them should kept constant Reinforcement should not in contact with shutter at any point and it should be at a height of clear cover from bottom end of reinforcement bar. Bars should be properly bended at the exact location.

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TESTS: The tests performed on the concrete before casting are: Slump test: Workability of the concrete is tested by this test. Workability is the ease with concrete can be mixed placed and compacted so that dense concrete can be produced which is of full compaction. The slump cone is placed on water tight leveled platform and fresh concrete is placed in it in four layers. Each layer is tamped with 25 strokes by round end of the tamping rod which is 16 mm diameter and 600 mm long. After completely filling, the cone is lifted vertically .by which some amount of concrete subsides. The difference between the height of the mould and that of the highest point of the specimen should be measured and it is called as slump. Diameter of slump cone .at the bottom is 200mm and that at the top is 100mm. Height of the slump cone is 300mm. The slump is usually 25 to 75 mm for low workability, 50 to 100 mm for medium workability and 100 to 150 mm for high workability. Cube test: Compressive strength of the concrete is tested by this test. This test is made on 150mm size cube. Six such cubes are filled with concrete. Concrete is filled in the mould in the three layers. Each layer should be compacted by tamping with 35 strokes with 16 mm diameter and 600 mm long rod. Then that cubes are placed in moist air. Then curing was done until the required days of testing and the specimen was taken just prior to the test and tested while they are in wet condition. Tests are done after 7 days and 28 days. In the tests the compressive force is applied on cube and compressive strength of material noted.

PRECAUTION TAKEN DURING CASTING:

The forms where the concrete is to be deposited should be cleaned and wet with water before placing. The forms may be treated with approved composition or may be oiled. Care shall be taken such that reinforcement is kept out of the contact with the reinforcement. During casting proper care was taken, so that concrete should be properly compacted and the air void should be minimum. There are generally two types of vibrator used for compaction .They are needle vibrator and external vibrator. Needle vibrator was used to ensure proper compaction of the concrete. The needle vibrator should be used at right angle to the concrete. However, a tilt of not more than 8 degrees is allowed. In case of external vibrator It is attached to the form and the vibration is transmitted through the forms.

P a g e | 19 While compaction precaution was done, so that concrete should not be over vibrated. Over vibration results segregation. Segregation is said to occur when the constituent materials of concrete try to separate out from each other producing concentration of coarser materials at one place and finer particles at other place. Such concrete contains larger voids and less durable. While casting the concrete should not be dropped from height more than 1.5 meters which results segregation of concrete. Presence of air voids greatly affects the strength of concrete. If 5% air voids remain in concrete while compacting, the strength of concrete will be reduced by 25%. If 10% air voids remain in concrete while compacting, the strength of concrete will be reduced by 50%. If 25% air voids remain in concrete after compaction, the strength of concrete will be reduced by 90%.

STRESSING: Stressing is probably the most important part in the construction of a PSC girder. During the process of stressing the high strength steel tendons/cables are stressed. In the bridge no.557 post-tensioning method has been adopted. The tensioning of pre-stressing tendons shall be carried out in manner that will induce a smooth and even rate of increase of stress in the tendons. All wires/strands in a tendon shall be stressed simultaneously. The total tension imparted to each tendon shall conform to the requirement of the design. No alteration in the pre-stressing force in any tendon shall be allowed unless specifically allowed by the designer Any slack in the pre-stressing tendon shall be first taken by applying in a small initial tension. MATERIALS USED IN STRESSING: TENDON/CABLE: The different types of cable used in PSC girders are a) 12T15: tendon consists of 12 no of strands each having diameter 15.2 mm. b) 19T13: tendon consists of 19 no of strands each having diameter 12.7 mm. Breaking load of strands according to IS-14268 is For 15.2 mm diameter: 260.7 KN

P a g e | 20 For 12.7 mm diameter: 183.7 KN Tension applied to the cable should be within 70-80% of breaking load. For Bridge no.557 (PSC box girder) 12T15 type of cable use For cable no. 1,3,5,7,9,11,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21 Tension applied=2461.2 KN per cable For cable no.2,4,6,8,10,12,13,tension applied =2385.6KN per cable

SHEATH: The sheathing shall be in mild steel. However, as an alternative HDPE sheathing may be used. The sheaths shall be sufficiently watertight to prevent concrete laitance penetrating in them in quantities likely to increase the friction. The alignment of all sheath and extractable cores shall be correct to the requirement of the drawings and maintained securely to prevent displacement during the placement and compaction of concrete. The permissible tolerance in the location of the sheaths and extractable cores shall be 5 mm. Mild steel sheathing material shall be cold rolled cold annealed mild steel. In bridge no 557 mild steel sheathing of diameter 85 mm is being used. STAGES OF POST-TENSIONING The various stages of the post-tensioning operation are summarized as follows. 1) Placing the tendons. 2) Placement of the anchorage block and jack. 3) Stressing and Seating of the wedges. 4) Cutting of the tendons

1) PLACING THE TENDONS:

It is possible to select suitable cable profile in pre-stressed concrete member such that the transverse component of the cable force balance the given type of external loads.

P a g e | 21 The concept of load balancing is useful in selecting the tendon profile, which can supply most desirable system of forces in concrete. In general, this requirement will be satisfied if the cable profile in a pre-stressed member corresponds to the shape of the bending moment diagram resulting from the external loads. Thus if the beam supports two concentrated loads, the cable should follow trapezoidal profile. If the beam supports uniformly distributed loads, the corresponding tendon should follow a parabolic profile.

The profile of cable used in bridge no.557 was linear for soffit slab and parabolic for side webs.

After placing the sheath the profile of sheath was checked as per design table to ensure weather the sheaths are placed properly or not.

P a g e | 22 2) STRESSING EQUIPMENT AND THEIR PLACEMENT: Equipment used: A) Hydraulic jack B) Hydraulic pump C) Wedges

A) Hydraulic jack: It is usually divided into 2 parts: A) Main cylinder B) Branch cylinder Various parts of Hydraulic jacks are A) Collar bearing/collar plate B) Locking Plate C) Guide plate D) Pulling plate

(Jacking and anchoring with wedges of usha martin system)

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(Stressing jack)

(Cross-section of jack)

P a g e | 24 Multi-strand post-tensioning tendons are usually stressed as an entire group, using very large custom made jacks. This ensures that all strands are tensioned together and avoids the risk of trapping an individual strand. Stressing jacks are generally of the centre-hole type - i.e. tendons pass through a hole in the middle and are attached at the rear of the jack. Pre-stressing jacks must be very accurate - which is difficult to achieve. Stressing jacks have more wearing surface and packing than a conventional jack of the same capacity. This, and the necessity of a long jack stroke, increases the potential for variations in the accuracy of the applied force. Other factors that affect the accuracy and efficiency of stressing jacks are: use of dirty oil, exposure of the system to dust or grit, eccentric loading, type of packing, ram position, oil temperature, hydraulic valves, ram and packing maintenance, and readout equipment.

B) Hydraulic pump: It is used to induce required jacking force. Various parts of Hydraulic pump are: Stressing valve: It is used to control the amount of stress to be applied on cable. Locking valve: it is used to fix the live wedges to the bearing plate by which applied stress is restrained against slip.

P a g e | 25 Pressure release valve: It is used to release the applied stress gradually. Stress adjustment valve Stressing dial gauge/pressure gauge: It shows the pre stress applied to the cable.

(HYDRAULIC PUMP) C) WEDGES: Master wedge: it is fixed with pulling plate. Live wedge: It is fixed with bearing plate. Its a permanent anchoring device.

3) STRESSING OPERATIONS: Applying jacking force to the tendons. Locking stress. Releasing . Returning the ram.

P a g e | 26 The force required in each tendon is determined by the Designer. Also, the corresponding elongations are pre-determined taking into account all losses due to curvature friction, wobble, wedge set, and friction within the anchor and jack, as necessary. For post-tensioning, measurement of elongations serves as a check of the anticipated jacking force primarily given by the gauge pressure and calibration chart. There are two basic pieces of information that need to be recorded: tendon elongations and gauge pressures. Both will give an indication whether the tendon is stressed to the force required. The gauge pressure is a direct measurement of the force at the jack and the elongation will give an indication how the remainder of the tendon is being stressed. Normally, the tendon which is fixed through jack will be stressed to a pre-determined gauge pressure which is generated through hydraulic pump, representing a certain force in the tendon at the stressing end.

LOCKING STRESS: After applying required amount of pressure which was increased gradually through hydraulic pump, the stress applied was fixed for few seconds by locking valve and elongation was measured by measuring the length of ram outside of the jack. FOR SPAN-17 of bridge no.557: Total no. of cables=24. In which 3 cables are future cable. Stressing was done in 2 stages.

FIRST STAGE STRESSING: In this stage cable-1 to cable-13 were stressed. After this it was checked that whether it is able to take its self weight of girder and 40% of the live load. If above condition was satisfied, it is safe.

SECONED STAGE STRESSING: In this stage rest of the cables i.e. cable-14 to cable -21 are stressed. It will take the rest of the load. Permissible deflection after this stage should not greater than 20 mm.

P a g e | 27 MEASURING ELONGATIONS ON STRAND TENDONS: When stressing a tendon a certain portion of jack extension will be needed to remove the slack. This gives a false initial elongation that should not be part of the real elongation measurements. For this reason, the first step is to stress the tendon an initial force of approximately 20% of the final force to remove the slack. From this point up to 100% of the required load, the extension of the jack will cause pure elongations of the tendon. At the end of the operation, a correction can be made for the unmeasured portion of the elongation by straight extrapolation. The accuracy of the determination of the elongation obtained during the first step, i.e. tensioning up to 20% of the jacking force, can sometimes be improved by recording elongations at intermediate gauge readings of 40%, 60% and 80% and plotting results on a graph. Elongation for Span no.17 was measured and stated below:

Correction is done by adding the average of first 3 differences. CALCULATION OF STRESS TO BE APPLIED: For cable NO-9 Coil no:813642/3 Em=199.52KN/mm2 Am=139.76mm2 dlth= 96mm Ath=140mm2 Eth=195KN/mm2 dlmod=dlth.Am.Em/E mod.Am =140 x 195 x 96/(199.52 x 139.78) =93.99mm Actual modified elongation=93.99+10+5=108.99 mm=109mm Pth=2461.2 x 1000/(9.81 x 1025.7) =244.60 kg/cm 2 Pm=Pth/jack efficiency=244.6/.96=254.70 kg/cm2=255 kg/cm2

P a g e | 28 FOR ONE END:

STRESS (KG/CM2) 50 100 150 200 230 250

ELONGATION (MM) 31 55 77 97 112 123

DIFFERENCE

CUMULATIVE

CORRECTION

REMARK

24 22 20 15 11

46 66 81 92

88 103 114

FOR THE OTHER END:

STRESS (KG/CM2) 50 100 150 200 230 250

ELONGATION (MM) 30 54 72 96 111 120

DIFFERENCE

CUMULATIVE

CORRECTION

REMARK

24 18 24 15 9

42 66 81 90

88 103 112

STRESS RELEASING: When stressing reaches full load, providing that the elongation is within the required tolerance of that anticipated, the jack is released and the tendon is anchored off by the permanent wedges. Wedge pull-in must be recorded and deducted from the elongation at full load to give the final actual elongation at this end of the tendon.

STRAND SLIP: During stressing strands may slip at the wedges. This might happen if the size of the strands and wedges are at opposite ends of their manufactured tolerance range. When stressing the slip should be within 10 mm (6 mm for half cable length and 4 mm for grip length).

All strands in the tendon should be marked at both ends so that a slipped strand will show up immediately. One way to do this is to cut the strands off evenly at both ends after the jack has been attached and pressurized. The cut should be made at some distance from a dead end wedge plate and beyond the rear of the stressing jack(s) leaving a sufficient length projecting in case it is necessary to re-grip and re-stress. Another method is to mark all strands with

P a g e | 29 spray paint. A slipped strand will show up promptly by lagging behind the other strands. (It is not possible, nor is it necessary except in very unusual circumstances, to identify which strand is which at both ends of the tendon 5) CUTTING OF THE TENDONS: The ends of the strands should only be cut off if the jacking forces and elongations are satisfactory. If there is any doubt that might require verification by a lift-off test or additional jacking, strands should not be cut. Preferably, strands should be trimmed as soon as possible, so that permanent grout caps can be placed over the wedge plate to seal the tendon until grouting. Strands should be cut off at the wedges leaving approximately 20 to 50mm of strand projecting but no greater than that which can be accommodated by any permanent nonmetallic grout cap supplied for installation with the post-tensioning system. Strands should be cut only with an abrasive cutting tool. Under no circumstances should flame cutting be used as the heat can soften the strands and wedges and lead to loss of strands. After strand tails have been cut-off, the ends of the tendon should be temporarily protected in an approved manner until the tendon has been grouted. Preferably, a non-metallic (plastic) grout cap should be placed over the strands and wedges.

PRECAUTIONS TAKEN DURING PRESTRESSING: Stressing should be considered a basically unsafe operation. People operating the equipment and taking measurements should never stand behind a live jack. This is also true at the deadend of the strand: never stand behind the anchor of a tendon being stressed. Although it does not happen often, tendons do break, wedges do let go and large forces are released in a split second, making jacks jump and propelling tendons out of an anchorage. GROUTING OF PRE-STRESSING CABLE DUCTS: The purpose of grouting is to provide permanent protection to the post tensioned steel against corrosion and develop bond between pre stressing steel and surrounding structural concrete. The grout ensures encasement of steel in an alkaline environment for corrosion protection and by filling the duct space; it prevents water collection and freezing.

GROUTING MATERIALS: Water: water free from impurities shall be used. Cement: Ordinary Portland cement should be used for preparation of grout. It should be as fresh as possible and free from lumps. Pozzolana cement should not be used. Sand: It is not recommended to use sand for grouting of pre-stressing tendons. In case the internal diameter of the duct exceeds 85mm use of sand may be considered. The

P a g e | 30 weight of the sand in the grout shall not be more than 10% of weight of cement, unless proper workability can be ensured by addition of suitable plasticizers. Admixture: acceptable admixtures may be used with the approval of the engineer in charge, if tests have shown that their use improves the properties of grout i.e. increase in fluidity, reducing bleeding, entraining air or expanding grout. Admixtures must not contain chlorides, sulphides, sulphate or any other product which are likely to damage the steel or grout. When an expanding agent is used the total unrestrained expansion should preferably be between 4-6%.

GROUTING EQUIPMENTS: Grout agitator: It is essential that the grout is maintained in a homogenous state and have uniform consistency so that there is no separation of cement. It is therefore, necessary that the grout be continuously agitated by a suitable mixer at a minimum speed of 1000 rpm and discharge not exceeding 15 m per second. Grout pump: The pump should be a positive displacement type and must be capable of injecting the grout in a continuous operation and not by way of pulses. The grout pump must be fitted with a pressure gauge to enable pressure of injection to be controlled. The minimum pressure at which the grout should be pumped shall be 0.3 MPa. And the grout pump must have a relief arrangement for by pass of the grout in the case of build up of pressure beyond 1 MPa. The capacity of the grout pump should be as such so as to achieve a forward speed of grout of around 5-10 m/min. The lower rates are preferable as they reduce the possibility of occurrence of voids. If the capacity of the pump is large, it is usual to grout 2 or more cables simultaneously through a common manifold. Water pump: before commencement of grouting a stand by direct feed high pressure water pump should be available at site for an emergency. In case of any problem in grouting the ducts, such pump shall immediately be connected to the duct and all grout flushed by use of high pressure flushing. It is therefore recommended to have adequate storage of clean potable water for operation of the water pump.

PROPERTIES: Water cement ratio should be as low as possible, consistent with workability. The ratio should not normally exceed 0.45. Before grouting the properties of the grout mix should be tested in the laboratory depending on the facilities available. Tests should be conducted for each job periodically .The recommended test is described below:-

P a g e | 31

Compressive strength test: - The compressive strength of the 100 mm cube of the grout shall not be less than 17 N/mm2 at 7 days .Cubes shall be cured in a moist atmosphere for first 24 hrs and subsequently in water. Cement: This shall be normally be ordinary Portland cement and shall be less than one month old. The cement should be stored in a dry place. When used, the temperature shall not exceed 40 degree centigrade. Mixing of grout: proportion of materials should not be based on field trials made on the grout before commencement of grouting, but subject to the limits specified above. The materials should me measured by weight. Water should be added to the mixture first, followed by cement and sand, if used. Admixture, if any, may be added as recommended by the manufacturer. Mixing time depends upon the type of mixture but will normally be between 2-3 minutes. However the mixing should be for such a duration as to obtain uniform and thoroughly blended grout without excessive temperature increase or loss of expansive properties of the admixtures. The grout should be continuously agitated until it is injected. Once mixed, no water shall be added to the grout to increase its fluidity. Hand mixing is not permitted.

GROUT SCREEN: The grouting equipment should contain a screen having a mesh size of 100 micro meters. Prior to introduction into the grout pump, the grout should be passed through such screen. The screen should be easily accessible for inspection and cleaning.

PROCEDURE OF GROUTING: Cable duct is filled with 1% lime water with the help of grout pump and lime water will be kept in duct for 5-10 minutes. Cable duct is washed with plain water using grout pump. Water filled duct is flushed with compressed air till the duct becomes almost dry. Cement (OPC 43) is mixed, one bag at a time, with a quantity of water calculated as per finalized w/c ratio. Mixing is done manually in a 100 litre container.

P a g e | 32 Then admixture is added to this slurry to increase the setting time. Here admixture is forsroc cebex 100 which is plasticised expanding grout and it will compensate the shrinkage of cement and increase setting time. The temperature of the slurry should not be more than 23 degree celsius. So that the setting time of cement get increases.

(GROUTING AGITATOR) Slurry, thus prepared, is poured into agitator manually through 100 micron sieve, while electrical agitator keeps mixing the same. Required quantity of grout admixture will be charged into agitator at this stage. Allowing some time for mixing, mixed grout is poured using grout pump through hose and ball valve into the pre-stressing cable duct till duct gets filled and grout comes out on other end. Pumping of grout is continued till quality of grout material coming out at other end is same as that being pumped on active end/inlet.

P a g e | 33 100 mm cubes is cast using grout material coming out of other end for compressive strength test of grout on 7th day of grouting

. (GROUTING PUMP) The ball valve on other end is closed and pressure will be increased to 5 kg/cm2 slowly by continuous pumping of grout. When pressure reaches 5 kg/cm2 and becomes steady, pressure is maintained at 5 kg/cm2 for 1 minute. Inlet valve, then, is closed and hose disconnected. Whole process should be completed within 30 minutes. Valves are removed after 3 hours of grouting. The same procedure is followed for other grouts also.

P a g e | 34