Flexural stresses after

cracking in partially
prestressed beams
Arthur H. Nilson
Professor of Structural Engineering
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

A method is presented to calculate elastic

flexural stresses in partially prestressed concrete
beams, in which cracking can be expected at
service load.
The effect of mild steel reinforcement, often
used to supplement the main prestressing steel
in such construction, ca i easily be included in
the analysis.
A numerical example is given to demonstrate
the proposed method.

arly in the development of pre-
E stressed concrete, the goal of pre-
stressing was the complete elimination
of concrete tensile stress at service
loads. The concept was that of an en-
tirely new, homogeneous material
which would remain untracked and re-
spond elastically up to the maximum
anticipated loading.
This kind of design, where the limit-
ing tensile stress in the concrete at full
service load is zero, is generally known
as full prestressing, while an alternative
approach, in which a certain amount of
tensile stress is permitted in the con-
crete at full service load, is called par-
tial prestressing.
Abeles,l Thurlimann,2 Leonhardt,3

and others have pioneered in the de-
velopment of partially prestressed con-
crete construction. They have con-
vincingly demonstrated its advantages
over full prestressing, and have shown
that substantially improved perfor-
mance, reduced cost, or both, may be
obtained through partial prestressing.
Fully prestressed beams may exhibit
an undesirable amount of upward cam-
ber due to the eccentric prestressing
force, a displacement which is only
partially counteracted by the gravity
loads producing downward deflection.
This tendency is aggravated by creep
in the concrete, which magnifies the
upward displacement due to the pre-
stressing force, but has little influence
on the downward deflection due to
live loads, which may be only inter-
mittently applied.
Should heavily prestressed members
be overloaded and fail, they may do so
in a brittle way, rather than in a ductile
manner as for beams with a smaller
amount of prestress. Furthermore, ex-
perience indicates that in many cases
improved economy results from use of a
combination of unstressed bar steel and
high strength prestressing steel ten-
dons.
Present ACI Code
Provisions
The tensile stress f2 at the bottom of
a concrete beam may be found from
the expression:
P r / ec 2 M,
f2 = A I 1 r L I S (1)
,\ 2
in which P e is the effective prestress-
ing force after losses, A, is the area of
the concrete section, e is the eccen-
tricity of the prestressing force, r is
the radius of gyration of the concrete
se-tion, M, is the total moment due to
dead and live loads, and c 2 and S 2 are,
re>pectively, the distance from the see-
PCI JOURNAL/July-August 1976
tion centroid to the bottom surface and
the section modulus with reference to
the bottom surface.
The ACI Code4 permits concrete
tension of 6 V7 : psi at full service load,
slightly less than the usual modulus
of rupture. If explicit calculation of
deflection indicates that it is within
allowable limits, a tensile stress of
12 \/f e ' psi is permitted.
In each case, the tensile stress is to
be calculated on the basis of properties
of the untracked cross section. Since
the higher stress limit is well above the
modulus of rupture, this limit corre-
sponds to a nominal stress only.
It is further stated in the ACI Code
that a nominal tensile stress higher than
12V7' psi is permitted when it is
shown experimentally or analytically
that performance will not be impaired.
The above provisions clearly permit
use of partially prestressed concrete
members.
Flexural Stresses
After Cracking
At the full service load stage, partially
prestressed beams are cracked, al-
though generally both concrete and
steel stresses remain within the elastic
range. While service load stresses at a
cracked cross section are of secondary
importance, compared with the
strength and safety of the member
should it be overloaded, calculation of
such stresses may be necessary for sev-
eral reasons:
1. For prestressed members, crack
widths at service load are related to the
increase in steel stress past the stage of
concrete decompression; consequently,
the service load steel stress must be
known, as well as the stress at decom-
pression.
2. An accurate calculation of both
elastic and creep deflection at service
load requires that curvatures be based
73
P

y Ci 3
untracked
dP conc. centroid 2 -
ds J e c2 cracked r
neutral axis
S A P- -

PQ alone "'^EPEP2EPt - EPe-1t'I

Decompression ^Cs3+'ES2_^^ 0
Q
3 Pe + service load 0

(a)Cracked cross section(b) Concrete and steel strains

R
^ e y
c
untracked
conc. centroid t dP
cl e ds cracked

L
neutral axis
F F
AP fP
A s fs
(d) Forces on
(c) Decompression (e) Resulting stresses
forcecracked section

Fig. 1. Basis for analysis of cracked cross section.

on actual, not nominal, stress and strain
distributions.
3. If fatigue is a factor in the design,
it is necessary to determine actual stress
ranges in both concrete and steel.
4. Finally, it may be necessary to
compute stresses in the cracked section
to demonstrate compliance with design
codes.
For an ordinary reinforced concrete
beam, calculation of stresses at a
cracked section is a simple matter. The
transformed section concept permits
use of the familiar equations of
mechanics for homogeneous elastic
beams to locate neutral axis, determine
section properties, and calculate
stresses. Alternately, explicit equations
may be derived for nonhomogeneous
reinforced concrete sections.5
For cracked prestressed concrete
beams, matters are more complicated.
The neutral axis location and effec-
tive section properties depend not only
on the geometry of the cross section
and the material properties, as for rein-
forced concrete beams, but also on the
axial prestressing force and the loading.
The axial force is not constant after
cracking, but depends on the loading
and on the section properties.
The effective cross section of a typi-
cal partially prestressed beam at ser-
vice load is shown in Fig. 1(a). The
member shown includes both prestress-
ing steel of area AP and nonprestressing
steel bar reinforcement of area A, as
is commonly the case. It is assumed that
the member has cracked, that both
concrete and steel are stressed only

74

within their elastic ranges, and that the
contribution of the tensile concrete can
be disregarded.
The strains and stresses in the con-
crete and steel will be considered at
several load stages, certain of which are
not actually experienced by the mem-
ber, but are considered only as a com-
putational convenience.2
Load Stage (1), Fig. 1(b), corre-
sponds to application of effective pre-
stress Pe alone. At this stage, the stress
in the tendon is
fpi = fpe = Pe/Ap (2)
The compressive strain in the bar
reinforcement at this stage, assuming
perfect bond between the two mate-
rials, is the same as that in the con-
crete at the same level. Consequently,
the bar reinforcement is initially sub-
jected to a compressive stress:
f8l = E,E B (3)
Next, it is useful to consider a ficti-
tious Load Stage (2) corresponding to
complete decompression of the con-
crete, at which there is zero concrete
strain through the entire depth as
shown in Fig. 1(b).
Compatibility of deformation of the
concrete and steel requires that the
changes of stress in the tendon and the
bar reinforcement as the beam passes
from Stage (1) to Stage (2) are, re-
spectively:
fp2 = EpEp2 (4)
fs2 = 8
E Es2 (5)
At this hypothetical load stage, the
stress in the bar reinforcement, neglect-
ing the effects of shrinkage and creep,
is
fs = Es (Es2 + E82) = 0 (6)
The change in strain in the tendon is
the same as that in the concrete at that
level, and can be calculated on the ba-
sis of the uncracked concrete section
properties:
PCI JOURNAL/July-August 1976
Ep2 = A,EO / z
I 1 + 2r (7)
after which f2 can be found from
Eq. (4).
The bar reinforcement is unstressed
at Stage (2), as noted, but in order to
produce the zero stress states in the
concrete, the tendon must be pulled
with a ficticious external force:
F A p (fp1 + fp2) (8)
as shown in Fig. 1(c).
The effect of this fictitious decom-
pressing force is now cancelled by ap-
plying an equal and opposite force F
as shown in Fig. 1(d). This force, to-
gether with the external moment Mt
due to self-weight and superimposed
loads, can be represented by a resultant
force R applied with eccentricity e
above the uncracked concrete centroid,
where R = F and
e = (Mt Fe)/R (9)
The beam can now be analyzed as
an ordinary reinforced concrete mem-
ber subjected to an eccentric compres-
sion force. The resulting strain distri-
bution (3) in the concrete is shown in
Fig. 1(b). The incremental strains in
the tendon and bar reinforcement,
Ep3 and Es3, respectively, together with
their corresponding stresses fp3 and
fs3, are superimposed on the strains
and stresses already present in the ten-
don and bar.
These incremental steel stresses, as
well as the stress in the concrete, can
be found using the transformed section
concept. 5 The tendon is replaced by an
equivalent area of tensile concrete
npA p and the bar reinforcement is re-
placed by the area n8A,, where np =
Ep/Ee and n8 = E3/E0, as shown in
Fig. 2(a).
The neutral axis for the equivalent
homogeneous transformed section, a
distance y from the top surface, can be
found from the equilibrium condition
75
 * R
*
centroid ee
e I - " fc3 ''1
cracked
^1
_ _ concrete

P uncracke

.
._._.._.
s__ __
ds concrete

N
C2
neutral axis=*
ng As.
^--

(a) Transformed cracked (b) Stresses

cross section

Fig. 2. Transformed cracked cross section and stress diagram of partially

prestressed beam.

that the moment of all internal forces
about the line of action of R must be
zero. These internal forces are based on
the concrete stresses and the stresses
acting on the transformed steel areas
as shown in Fig. 2(b).
The moment equation for the inter-
nal forces about the external resultant
R results in . a cubic equation for y
which can be solved by successive
trials. Once y is known, the effective
transformed area Apt and moment of
inertia 'at of the cracked section, about
its own centroid c l from the top sur-
face, can be found. The incremental
stresses sought, as loading passes from
Stage (2) to Stage (3) are
R Re*ci*
fc3 T"
Ict 2. Find f,2, the increase in stress in
fp3 = y (11
At lot cl#) -1
Rc + Re (d,
n R + Re *(dt,B cl) (12
s3 a
f [ - A ct Ict )
where geometric terms are as defined
in Fig. 2.
The final stress in the tendon is now
found by superimposing the stresses of
Eqs. (2), (4), and (11). That in the bar
reinforcement is given by Eq. (12).
The concrete stress- at the top surface of
the beam is given by Eq. (10). Specific-
ally:
fp = fp1 + fp2 +f53. (13)
f8 = f83 (14)
10=103 (15)
Summary of Stress
Review Procedure
The procedure for calculating elastic
stresses in cracked prestressed concrete
beams is- summarized briefly as follows:
1. Calculate the effective stress in the
tendon after losses, fpl = fie, using
Eq. (2).
(10)
the tendon as the member passes to a
hypothetical decompression stage, with
) the aid of Eq. (7) and Eq. (4).
3. Use Eq. (8) to determine the fic-
titious force F needed to produce the
decompression stage.
4. Apply an equal and opposite force
F to the member, in combination with
the moments due to dead and live
loads. The resultant force R = F has
an equivalent eccentricity given by
Eq. (9). Find the neutral axis of the

76
cracked section and the section prop- S1 = 1664 in.3 c2 = 16.9 in.
erties by the usual methods of me-
S2 = 1290 in. r2 = 103 in .2
chanics.
5. Determine 10 = f C3, the maximum Then using Eq. (1):
compression in the concrete at service
load using Eq. (10), the service load Pc( F eG
f2=A`1 22 S
J {Mt
2)
tension in the nonprestressing steel re-
inforcement, f8 = fs3, from Eq. (12),
and the incremental tensile stress fp3 _ _ 123,000 11.9 x 16.9
in the tendon from Eq. (11). The total 212 ( 1+ 103 +
tension f, in the tendon is given by
312,000 X 12
Eq. (13).
1290
+1186 psi
Design Example
This stress greatly exceeds the modu-
Data lus of rupture, indicating that the sec-
tion has indeed cracked. Analysis will
The partially prestressed T-beam proceed according to the method de-
shown in cross section in Fig. 3(a) is scribed above.
subjected to superimposed dead and From Eq. (2), the effective stress in
service live load moments of 38 and the tendon when Pe acts alone is
191 'ft-kips (52 and 259 kN m) in addi-
tion to a moment of 83 ft-kips (113 fpl = Jpe = Pe/`gyp
kNm) due to its own weight. = 123,000/0.863
An effective prestressing force of 123
kips (547 kN) is applied using six = 143,000 psi
Grade 250 I/2 -in. (12.7 mm) diameter Then, with reference to Fig. 1(b)
strands. Two nonprestressing steel and using Eq. (7) the change in strain
Grade 60 No. 8 bars are located close in the tendon as the section is decom-
to the tension face of the beam. pressed is
The elastic moduli for the concrete,
tendon steel, and bar steel are, respec- Pe e2
ep2 A\1 + r2
tively, 3.61 x 10 6, 27 x 106 , and 29 x e
10 6 psi (24,900, 186,000, and 200,000 _ 123,00011.92
N/mm2). The modulus of rupture of
212x3.61x10 6 (1+ 103
the concrete is 500 psi (3.5 N/mm2).
= 0.0004
Required
Thus, the corresponding increase in
Find the stresses in the concrete, pre- stress in the tendon is found from Eq.
stressing steel, and bar reinforcement (4) to be
at the full service load.
/p2 = EPEp2
Solution
= 27 x 106 x 0.0004
'First, the tensile stress in the concrete
at the bottom of the beam will be = 10,800 psi
checked, assuming the member is un- To obtain decompression of the con-
cracked. The properties of the un- crete, the fictitious external tension
cracked cross section are given by Eq. (8):
Ae =212in2 c1 = 13.1 in. F = AA(fpl + fp2)
PCI JOURNAL /July-August 1976 77


r4T1
^ 5
13.1

f r111.9
16.9 j 1
uncracked
17 30 conc. centroid

5 3 Ap = 0.863 in2
A5= 1.57 in2

I^-8
(a) Member cross section

1
R
r'4_:--j 3.15 fc3
5 7.62 10.77
L_ y= 13.4 cracked
ro _
- conc. centroid
25 crack e d .
neutral axis

f(25)
^= np Ap=6.46 in 2c3 y
n s As= 12.61 in2
fc3(2y )

(b) Transformed cracked (c) Concrete stresses

cross section

Fig. 3. T-beam design example using cracked section analysis.

= 0.863(143 + 10.8) With n,= 27/3.61 = 7.48 and ns

= 133 kips
must have been applied to the tendon.
This is now cancelled by applying an
equal and opposite force F. This force,
acting together with the total moment
of 312 ft-kips, is equivalent to a com-
pressive force R = 139 kips applied
with eccentricity [Eq. (9) 1:
e = (M t Fe)/R
= (312 x 12 133 x 11.9)/133
= 16.25 in.
above the centroid of the uncracked
concrete, or 3.15 in. above the top sur-
face of the member as shown in Fig. 3.
= 29/3.61 = 8.03 the transformed
areas of the tendon and the bars are,
respectively, 6.46 and 12.61 in. 2 The
effective cross section of the cracked
beam, wire neutral axis dimension y
still unknown, is shown in Fig. 3(b).
The stresses in the concrete and
transformed steel, as the loads pass
from Stage (2) to Stage (3), are shown
in Fig. 3(c). Taking moments of the re-
sulting forces about the force R gives a
cubic equation in y which is solved by
successive trials to obtain y = 13.4 in.
as shown.
With y known, the location of the
centroid of the cracked transformed
section is a routine matter. Taking mo-

78
ments of the partial areas about the top fp = fp1 + fp2 1p3
surface locates the centroid c 1 = 7.62
= 143,000 + 10,800 + 12,700
in. from the top of the section. Section
properties are = 166,500 psi (1148 N/mm2)
A0t = 133 in.2 ICt = 9232 in .4
while the stress in the bar reinforce-
orce-
The eccentricity of the force R with ment
ment is
respect to the centroid of the cracked
transformed section is I8 = f83 = 16,100 psi (111 N/mm2)
and that at the top surface of the con-
e=16.25-13.1-}-7.62
crete is
= 10.77 in.
fc = fc3 = 2180 psi (-15 N/mm2)
Now the incremental stress in the
concrete and steel can be found from
Eqs. (10), (11), and (12):
Additional Comments
R Re"ci
fc3 = 1. The stress increase in the tendon
A et lot
as the beam is brought to full service
_ 133,000 _
load is about 17 percent of the effec-
133 tive prestressing force. In calculating
133,000xlO.77x7.62 service load stresses in partially pre-
9232 stressed beams, this increase clearly
cannot be neglected.
= 2180 psi
2. The service load stress of only
R Re(dp cl 16,100 psi (111 N/mm2) in the bar
n r *)
fp3 L Act + jet l reinforcement indicates that require-
ments of strength, not service load
=7.48[-131330+ stress, probably controlled the choice
of bar area.
133, 000x 10.77x 17.38]
9232 3. Although the allowable concrete
stress was not given, the stress of 2180
= 12,700 psi psi (15 N/mm2) appears reasonable for
concrete having a compressive strength
of about 5 ksi (35 N/mm2).
n R -f- Re'(d$ ci*) J
Aot jot
4. The strain and stress information
= 8.03 r 133,000 developed provides a rational basis for
133 + judging the serviceability of the beam.
For example, an estimate of crack
133,000x10.77x19.38]
width could be made based on the
9232 stress in the bar reinforcement, using
= 16,100 psi standard methods, or could be based
on the increase in stress in the tendon
The final stress in the tendon at full as the . member passes from the de-
service load is found by summing the compression stage to the full service
three parts: load stage.

PCI JOURNAL/July-August 1976 79

 Conclusion
Nominal concrete tensile stresses may
be calculated in partially prestressed
beams based on the properties of the
uncracked cross section. According to
present American practice, dimension-
ing of the section may proceed on the
basis of such nominal stresses even
though they may exceed the modulus of
rupture.
Circumstances may exist, however, in
which it is necessary to obtain a more
Notation
AG = area of concrete cross section,
in.2
A8t = area of transformed cracked con-
crete section, in.2
Ar = area of prestressing steel, in.2
A, = area of nonprestressing steel re-
inforcement, in.2
of = distance to centroid of cracked
transformed concrete section
from top of concrete, in.
C2 = distance to bottom of member
from centroid of uncracked con-
crete section in.
E8 = modulus of elasticity of con-
crete, psi.
EP = modulus of elasticity of pre-
stressing tendon, psi
E3 = modulus of elasticity of non-
prestressing steel reinforcement,
psi
= eccentricity of prestressing force
with respect to centroid of un-
cracked concrete section, in.
= eccentricity of force R with ref-
erence to centroid of uncracked
concrete member, in.
IC
= stress in concrete, psi
fo = compressive strength of con-
crete, psi
fp = stress in prestressing steel rein-
forcement, psi
fpe = effective prestressing force in
80
realistic appraisal of service load con-
ditions. Specific reference is made to
consideration of cracking, deflection,
and fatigue, as well as satisfaction of
specified limits on stresses.
A method is given for the calculation
of stresses in the concrete, prestressing
steel, and bar reinforcement in partially
prestressed beams after cracking, per-
mitting a more satisfactory assessment
of serviceability.
tendons, psi
fk= stress in nonprestressing steel
reinforcement, psi
fyl, f12, f13 = incremental stresses in pre-
stressing steel reinforcement, psi
fsr, f8 2, fu = incremental stresses in non-
prestressing steel reinforcement,
psi
12 = stress in concrete at bottom of
member, psi
F = fictitious decompressing force,
lb
I, t = moment of inertia of trans-
formed cracked concrete section,
in.4
M t = total moment due to superim-
posed loads, in-lb
n. = modular ratio EP/EC
ns = modular ratio ES/EC
Pe = effective prestress force after
losses, lb
R = resultant eccentric force on con-
crete, lb
r = radius of gyration of concrete
section, in.
S 2 = section modulus of concrete
section with reference to bottom
surface, in.3
Epl , Ep2, Ep3 = incremental strains in
prestressing steel reinforcement
E, 1 , e,2, e83 , = incremental strains in non-
prestressing steel reinforcement
 References

1. Abeles, P. W., Introduction to Pre- 19, No. 5, September-October 1974,

stressed Concrete, V. I and II, Con-
crete Publications Ltd., London, En-
gland, 1964 and 1966.
2. Thurlimann, B., "A Case for Partial
Prestressing," Structural Concrete
Symposium Proceedings, University
of Toronto, May 1971, pp. 253-301.
3. Leonhardt, F., "To New Frontiers
for Prestressed Concrete Design and
Construction," PCI JOURNAL, V.
pp. 54-69.
4. ACI Committee 318, `Building
Code Requirements for Reinforced
Concrete (ACI 318-71)," American
Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1971.
5. Winter, G., and Nilson, A. H., De-
sign of Concrete Structures, 8th Edi-
tion, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New
York, 1972.

Discussion of this paper is invited.

Please forward your discussion to
PCI Headquarters by December 31,
1976.

PCI JOURNAL/July-August 1976 81