Structural Modeling of Posttensioned Members

This state-of-the-art paper offers a comprehensive overview of the modeling techniques used for the analysis of posttensioned structures. The merits and limitations of each of the modeling schemes are discussed within a consistent and comparative framework. Several numerical examples are used to illustrate the tacit features of the models. The balanced loading, primary actions, hyperstatic (secondary) actions, and prestressing moment concepts commonly used in the analysis of prestressed structures are revisited and clarified. The work concludes with an example of the most recent modeling technology—the discrete modeling of tendons. The example illustrates the calculation of long-term prestress losses as an integral part of the analysis as opposed to the traditional approach where long-term losses are computed independently from the solution.