Nonlinear analysis of prestressed concrete structures considering slip behavior of tendons

Abstract

A tendon model that can effectively be used in finite element analyses of prestressed concrete (PSC) structures with bonded tendons is proposed on the basis of the bond characteristics between a tendon and its surrounding concrete. Since tensile forces between adjacent cracks are transmitted from a tendon to concrete by bond forces, the constitutive law of a bonded tendon stiffened by grouting is different from that of a bare tendon. Accordingly, the apparent yield stress of an embedded tendon is determined from the bond-slip relationship. The definition of the multi-linear average stress-strain relationship is then obtained through a linear interpolation of the stress difference at the post-yielding stage. Unlike in the case of a bonded tendon, on the other hand, a stress increase beyond the effective prestress in an unbonded tendon is not section-dependent but member-dependent. The tendon stress unequivocally represents a uniform distribution along the length when the friction loss is excluded. Thus, using a strain reduction factor, the modified stress-strain curve of an unbonded tendon is derived by successive iterations. The validity of the proposed two tendon models is verified through correlation studies between analytical and experimental results for PSC beams and slabs.