Prestressed Concrete Members in Direct Tension

At first glance the notion of using prestressed concrete in tension members is something of an enigma. Yet prestressed concrete can be used to take advantage of the strength of high tensile steel and produce members having any desired stiffness. Examples of applications are considered. The experimental investigation examined the load-elongation and cracking behavior of prestressed concrete members loaded in direct tension. The influence of prestress level and the effect of different amounts of bonded and unbonded wires were examined. Different combinations of high tensile and mild steel wires were used with some of the high tensile steel being either tensioned or untensioned.