Tension Stiffening in Prestressed Concrete Beams Using Moment-Curvature Relationship

Abstract

Tension stiffening phenomenon plays a vital role in serviceability of nonprestressed reinforced concrete (RC) beams as it enhances the postcracking flexural stiffness leading to a smaller deflection, accordingly. However, this paper’s findings indicate that in contrast to RC sections, the effect of tension stiffening is negligible for fully prestressed concrete sections. This study presents a closed form equation of moment-curvature for prestressed concrete sections under service load, where the tensile strength of the concrete is taken into account. This equation is verified by experimental test data and numerical analysis, thereby proving the negligible effect of tension stiffening on fully prestressed concrete sections.