Investigation of load carrying capacity of externally prestressed concrete frame

Abstract

Prestressed concrete is a widely used construction material in various projects such as buildings, underground structures, offshore structures, power plants, and bridges such as cable-stayed bridges. The use as building components comprises prestressed concrete beams, post-tensioned slabs, and even truss structures. The application of prestressed concrete in frame structure is not well-known due to complexity and difficulties in design and construction. This study investigates the use of prestressed concrete in a frame structure on its behavior and determines whether its safety remains within acceptable limits. A case study is used as an example and modeled using the structural analysis program SAP2000. Results are analyzed at several stages : transfer, service, and ultimate stages, and the arrangement of live load is also taken into consideration.