Tests on Reinforced Partially Prestressed Concrete Tank Walls
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 126, Issue 6
Abstract
Current practice for structural design of environmental concrete structures such as water reservoirs and sewage treatment tanks follows one of two philosophies. The tanks are either fully prestressed or non-prestressed. In one case, the design philosophy is to prevent cracks by keeping the concrete in compression. In the other case, the design philosophy is to allow cracks but limit steel stresses to ensure that the cracks do not become too wide. This paper presents the results of the experimental phase of a research program that aims to investigate the concept of partial prestressing in liquid containment structures. Understanding the behavior of partially prestressed tanks is the key for providing rational solutions ranging from reinforced concrete at one end of the design spectrum to fully prestressed concrete at the other. In the experimental phase, a total of eight full-scale specimens, representing segments from typical tank walls, were subjected to load and leakage tests. The test specimens covered a range of prestressed and non-prestressed reinforcement ratios and were subjected to various combinations of axial tension and bending. Partially prestressed specimens clearly showed improved crack width and distribution under both pure flexure and pure tensile loadings. While the specimens were under load, leakage tests were conducted to obtain leakage rates through the cracks. The flexural compression zone prevented leakage in all specimens tested under flexure. In addition, through-cracks demonstrated autosealing provided the crack widths were below a certain limit. These two aspects are important design parameters that are not explicitly recognized in current design standards.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Alvarez, M., and Marti, P. (1996). “Versuche zum Verbundverhalten von Bewehrungsstahl Bei plastischen Verformungen.” IBK Bericht Nr. 222, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.
2.
Bennett, E. W., and Veerasubramanian, N. (1972). “Behaviour of nonrectangular beams with limited prestress after flexural cracking.” ACI J., September, 533–542.
3.
Harajli, M. H., and Naaman, A. E. ( 1989). “Cracking in partially prestressed beams under static and fatigue loading.” ACI Publication SP-113, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich., 29–56.
4.
Hassoun, M. N., and Sahebjam, K. ( 1989). “Cracking of partially prestressed concrete beams.” ACI Publication SP-113, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich., 57–78.
5.
Nawy, E. G., and Huang, P. T. (1977). “Crack and deflection control of pretensioned prestressed beams.” PCI J., May/June, 30–47.
6.
Nawy, E. G. ( 1989). “Cracking behavior of partially prestressed pretensioned and post tensioned beams—state of the art.” ACI Publication SP-113, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich., 1–28.
7.
Raju, N. K., Basavarajaiah, B. S., and Kutty, U. C. (1973). “Flexural behaviour of pretensioned concrete beams with limited prestress.” Build. Sci., 8, 179–185.
8.
Rao, S. V. K. M., and Dilger, W. H. (1992). “Control of flexural crack width in cracked prestressed concrete members.” ACI Struct. J., 89(2), 127–138.
9.
Rashed, A. A., Rogowsky, D., and Elwi, A. E. (1995). “Comparison of standards for the design of concrete tanks.” Proc., Ann. Conf. of the CSCE, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Ottawa, Canada, 2, 303–312.
10.
Rashed, A., Rogowsky, D. M., and Elwi, A. E. (1997). “Rational design of prestressed and reinforced concrete tanks.” Struct. Engrg. Rep. No. 220, Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
11.
Stevens, R. F. (1969). “Tests on prestressed concrete beams.” Concrete, 11, 457–462.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
History
Received: Sep 28, 1999
Published online: Jun 1, 2000
Published in print: Jun 2000
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.