Ultimate Capacity of Biaxially Prestressed Members

Abstract

An approximate one‐dimensional analysis is developed to determine the ultimate bending capacity of longitudinally and transversely prestressed members. The effect of transverse prestress is incorporated by using biaxial stress‐strain relations in a strain compatibility analysis. By selecting appropriate biaxial parameters, a lower‐bound estimate of the increase in moment capacity due to transverse prestress can be obtained. The calculation of biaxial parameters is illustrated and results of parametric studies showing the effect of variation in the magnitude of transverse prestress on the ultimate capacity are presented and discussed.