A Practical Approach to Serviceability Design: Charts for Partially Prestressed High-Strength Concrete Girders

Volume Title: ICASGE2025

Paper ID : 1014-ICASGE-FULL

¹Civil Engineering Department, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt

²Ain Shams University

³Structural Engineering Department, Ain Shams University

This paper presents the development of serviceability-based design charts for partially prestressed high-strength concrete (HSC) girders, focusing on cracking and deflection performance. Partially prestressed girders, which serve as an intermediate design between fully prestressed and conventionally reinforced concrete, offer both structural efficiency and economic benefits. However, there is a notable gap in research regarding specific serviceability guidelines, particularly for controlling cracking and deflection in these girders. Addressing this gap, the study utilizes validated finite element models to investigate key variables, including concrete compressive strength, prestressing forces, and non-prestressed reinforcement ratios. The parametric investigation provides insights into the impact of these factors on girder behavior under service loads, leading to the development of practical design charts. These charts allow for quick estimation of optimal prestressing and reinforcement ratios that meet predefined serviceability limits, simplifying the design process for engineers. The proposed charts offer an accessible, efficient tool for optimizing material usage while ensuring compliance with serviceability criteria, making them highly valuable for the design of HSC girders in bridges and other infrastructure. Ultimately, the research enhances the usability of partially prestressed HSC girders, promoting more effective and economical designs in structural engineering practice.

Serviceability design charts; Partially prestressed concrete; High-strength concrete; Cracking performance; Deflection control

Reinforced Concrete Structures (RCS)