Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruc

A residual strength model for deteriorating post-tensioned

concrete bridges
D.G. Cavell a,*,1, P. Waldron b
a
Mott MacDonald, 111 St. Mary's Road, Sheeld S2 4AP, UK
b
Centre for Cement and Concrete, University of Sheeld, Mappin Street, Sheeld S1 3JD, UK
Received 13 October 1999; accepted 27 May 2000

Abstract
Inspection of UKÕs entire stock of post-tensioned concrete bridges of the internally grouted duct type has revealed a
variety of defects. These include the presence of grout voids in incompletely grouted ducts, and chloride-induced tendon
corrosion ranging from slight surface pitting to extensive localised corrosion and fractures. These defects may have a
detrimental e€ect on the load carrying capacity of such bridges but, to date, there have been only limited attempts to
provide satisfactory analytical methods to assess their residual strength. The lack of appropriate analytical tools may
lead to unnecessary strengthening and repair, or even costly replacement.
This paper describes the development of an analytical model to assess the residual strength of deteriorating post-
tensioned bridges. The model is a useful tool in the investigation of the e€ects of tendon failure and regions of grout
voids. A non-linear method of analysis is proposed, based on the concept of strain compatibility, but suitably modi®ed
to accommodate the behaviour of unbonded tendons in regions of incomplete grouting in the ducts. Also incorporated
in the model is the contribution of failed tendons after re-anchoring into the grout. This uses the established phe-
nomenon of re-anchoring to estimate the distribution of residual prestress after tendon failure, where both the dis-
tribution of grout voids along the beam and the quality of the grout are considered. The provision of such an analytical
tool should be of considerable value to bridge engineers involved in the assessment of corrosion-damaged post-
tensioned bridges, and will assist in the development of strategies for extending the lives of such structures through
repair and strengthening. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Post-tensioned concrete; Bridges; Residual strength; Deteriorating

1. Introduction in localised loss of tendon area and fractures. In the UK,

The discovery of a variety of defects during the in-
spection of post-tensioned concrete bridges with inter-
nally grouted tendons has raised doubts over the
structural capacity of existing bridges of this type. The
defects include regions of incomplete grouting (voids)
within the tendon ducts, and tendon corrosion resulting
*
Corresponding author.
1
Previously from: Centre for Cement and Concrete, Uni-
versity of Sheeld, Mappin Street, Sheeld S1 3JD, UK.
concern over the durability of this type of bridge re-
sulted in a temporary ban on their construction (1992±
1996) by the Department of Transport.
The main cause of tendon corrosion is due to the
ingress of chlorides from de-icing salts through inade-
quately sealed ducts mainly at the anchorages. Localised
corrosion resulting in tendon failure is possible, partic-
ularly where the duct contains grout voids. The voids are
usually the result of improper grouting practice on site
when the air vents are prematurely shut o€ before en-
suring that the duct is completely ®lled with grout, or
due to the movement of entrapped air to the high points
often at the ends of the ducts.

0045-7949/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 5 - 7 9 4 9 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 5 0 - 4
362 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373
Nomenclature
Ac cross-sectional area of concrete
Aps cross-sectional area of the prestressing ten-
don
Aus cross-sectional area of the untensioned steel
C total concrete force
cy height to the centroid of the section
dps , dus depth of the prestressing steel, untensioned
steel
dt tendon diameter
eyt eccentricity of tendon group
fc stress in the concrete
fct tensile strength of concrete
fps , fus stress in the prestressing steel, untensioned
steel
fr residual prestress after corrosion
fse e€ective prestress
l length from the free end of the member
ln length of each beam segment
lr re-anchoring length of failed tendon
Ma applied bending moment
Mr moment of resistance of the section
m modular ratio
nt , nu number of tendons, untensioned steel bars
T total e€ective tendon force
Although the tendon corrosion problem has been
highlighted in many papers [1±3], most investigations of
deteriorating post-tensioned bridges have so far been
concerned with improving methods of inspection to
determine the extent of deterioration within the beams.
The current problem experienced by engineers dealing
with post-tensioned bridges is that there is very little
detailed guidance available on methods for determining
residual strength whilst accounting for the level of
damage that has been discovered during inspection.
Some advice is available in the Department of Trans-
port's advice note BA44/96 for modifying the assessment
rules in BD44/95 [4], but it still remains dicult to make
a complete and realistic assessment. For example, BA44/
96 acknowledges that fractured tendons can re-anchor
to become fully e€ective, and proposes a re-anchoring
length applicable only in good grout. For grout which is
too poor to allow tendon re-anchorage, it recommends
that the tendons should be treated as unbonded and
assessed accordingly. BD58/94 [5] for designing un-
bonded post-tensioned concrete is usually adopted in
such cases, but is not entirely appropriate for assessment
purposes. Moreover, the strains in unbonded tendons
are dicult to determine without appropriate analytical
tools.
Tps , Tus total force in prestressing steel, untensioned
steel
x neutral axis depth
zb , zt section modulus for bottom and top con-
crete ®bre
a1 factor for the bond characteristics of the
reinforcement
a2 factor accounting for sustained or repeated
loading
b proportion of original tendon force
ec concrete strain
ecen strain in the concrete at the centroid of the
section
ecf average concrete strain
eco pre-compressive strain in the concrete
ect , ecu top ®bre strain in concrete, ultimate con-
crete strain
epe e€ective prestrain in the tendon
eps , es strain in the prestressing steel, untensioned
steel
/ curvature
/f coecient of friction between steel and
concrete
lc , ls PoissonÕs ratio of concrete, steel
Due to the diculty in determining the e€ect of de-
terioration on the residual strength of existing post-
tensioned bridges, there is a risk that some of the bridges
found to be su€ering from corrosion will be repaired,
strengthened or replaced unnecessarily and at great cost.
This paper discusses the development of an analytical
model [6,7] to evaluate the residual strength of post-
tensioned concrete beams in which a number of tendons
have failed due to corrosion, and some are unbonded
over part of their length due to incomplete grouting
within the ducts.
2. Residual strength model
A computer program, which is written in F O R T R A N
code, predicts the moment±curvature response of a
damaged post-tensioned beam up to failure. The pro-
gram is currently limited to simply supported beams of
constant cross-section, symmetrical about the vertical
axis. In addition, although it is possible for biaxial
bending e€ects to arise as a result of lateral eccentricity
of force when tendons fracture, it is further assumed that
this e€ect is negligible. This is the case in beam and slab
decks, e.g., where lateral con®nement is normally pro-
 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373
vided by adjacent beams and the in situ slab. The pres-
tressing tendons and any untensioned reinforcement
may, therefore, be assumed to be positioned in the
model on the vertical symmetrical axis of the beam.
A basic analytical model was ®rst developed, based on
the method of strain compatibility to determine the ¯ex-
ural strength of undamaged sections. The general bend-
ing theory of reinforced and prestressed concrete beams
is well covered in the literature [8,9] and is not discussed
here. To determine the e€ective prestressing force, the
prestress losses to the post-tensioning system (before
additional losses due to corrosion) were ®rst estimated,
based on BS5400 for concrete bridges [10]. As described
later, the model was then modi®ed to accommodate
damage due to tendon failure as a result of corrosion,
and regions of incomplete grouting in the ducts.
The program adopts non-linear constitutive material
models based on Hognestad's model for concrete and
the trilinear and bilinear relationships for the prestress-
ing and unstressed steel recommended by BS8110 [11]. A
partial safety factor cm ˆ l has been used throughout to
de®ne the actual stress±strain behaviour of concrete, the
prestressing steel and any untensioned reinforcement. A
limiting strain of 0.0035 was adopted for the extreme
compression ®bre of the concrete at the ultimate con-
dition. For concrete in uniaxial tension, the stress±strain
response was assumed to be linear prior to cracking.
Both the tensile strength of concrete and tension
sti€ening e€ects are included as a user option. The e€ect
of tension sti€ening was estimated by the equation
proposed by Collins and Mitchell [12]:
a1 a2 fct
fc ˆ p : …1†
1 ‡ 500ecf
The equations currently available in design codes for
determining the shear strength of prestressed beams are
based essentially on empirical data from tests on pre-
stressed concrete beams with bonded reinforcement, and
may not be appropriate for a section with unbonded
tendons. The shear strength of prestressed concrete
beams with unbonded tendons was investigated by
Kordina et al. [13], whose experimental results indicated
that there was no signi®cant di€erence in shear cracking
behaviour for prestressed beams with and without bond,
and concluded that the shear strength of prestressed
beams with unbonded tendons can be determined with a
truss analogy model. Accordingly, the CEB-FIP [14]
shear model, based on the truss analogy was adopted for
the analytical model.
2.1. Re-anchoring of failed tendons
There is very little information available on the fail-
ure of bonded post-tensioned tendons due to corrosion.
However, previous work on the debonding behaviour of
363
tendons during controlled demolition of redundant post-
tensioned bridges has provided the basis of an under-
standing of the debonding of fractured tendons [15].
Also reported was the evidence that some of the failed
tendons re-anchored into the surrounding grout, the
extent of which depended on the magnitude of the
prestressing force released, the integrity of the grout and
the quantity of shear reinforcement con®ning the duct.
Bond between the tendon and the surrounding grout is,
therefore, important to provide frictional resistance and
limit tendon slippage to enable a failed tendon to re-
anchor [16].
The basic analytical model was further developed to
incorporate the contribution of failed tendons after re-
anchoring into the grout. To estimate the re-anchoring
length over which a failed post-tensioned tendon fully
re-anchors, an analogy was drawn with the transfer
length in pre-tensioned concrete, and in which the re-
quired prestress is developed mainly by friction and the
wedging action as the tendon attempts to return to its
original diameter. To estimate the distribution of resid-
ual prestress after tendon fracture, several established
equations for transfer length in pre-tensioned concrete
[11,17±19] were investigated from which two re-
anchoring models (Fig. 1) were developed for di€erent
situations:
(1) For well grouted ducts, the linear equation pro-
posed by the ACI code for transfer length (in mm) of
pre-tensioned tendons [17] was adopted:
1 fse
lr ˆ dt : …2†
7 3
(2) For partially or poorly grouted ducts, the expo-
nential equation (based on the frictional bonding phe-
nomena) proposed by Janney [19] for the distribution of
prestress transfer of plain wires in pre-tensioned con-
crete was used. Since the re-anchoring of failed tendons
depend on friction between the tendon and the grout/
concrete, and the wedging action of the tendon due to
PoissonÕs e€ect, an equation which accounts for these
two parameters was adopted, as de®ned by
 
ÿ4/f ls l
fr ˆ fse ÿ fse exp : …3†
dt …1 ‡ …1 ‡ lc †m†
It can be seen that the residual prestress varies in-
versely with the coecient of friction between the ten-
don and the grout/concrete. A smaller coecient of
friction can thus be used to represent poorer quality
grout, which leads to a longer re-anchoring length over
which a failed tendon fully re-anchors.
2.1.1. Tendon stress re-distribution after tendon failure
Fig. 2 shows a concrete section with a number of
undamaged fully bonded tendons. The centre of force of
the tendon group is computed by
364 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373

Fig. 1. Estimation of residual prestress.

Fig. 2. Strain and stress distributions before loss of tendon area.

Pnt i i i
iˆ1 fps Aps yps failure occurs, it is to be expected that prestress force is
cft ˆ Pnt i i ; …4† lost over a ®nite length. As a ®rst estimate, it is assumed
iˆ1 fps Aps
that the loss of total tendon force is directly propor-
where i designates a typical tendon. The eccentricity of tional to the loss of total tendon area. A number of it-
the tendon group is then eyt ˆ cy ÿ cft . erations are performed, as described below, until force
Before concrete decompression, the original stress in and moment equilibrium is achieved. Denoting the re-
the concrete at the extreme top and bottom ®bres (as- sidual force as bT0 , the extreme ®bre stresses at the jth
suming no corrosion) are, respectively, de®ned by iteration are
T0 T0 eyt;0 Ma j j
rct;0 ˆ ÿ ‡ ; …5a† bj T0 b T0 eyt Ma
Ac zt zt rct ˆ ÿ ‡ ; …6a†
Ac zt zt
T0 T0 eyt;0 Ma
rcb;0 ˆ ‡ ÿ : …5b†
Ac zb zb j j
bj T0 b T0 eyt Ma
rcb ˆ ‡ ÿ : …6b†
The contribution from any untensioned reinforce- Ac zb zb
ment is ignored at this stage since the force provided by
untensioned reinforcement is negligible compared to From Fig. 3, the concrete strain adjacent to tendon
that provided by the prestressing tendons. If tendon level i is given by
 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373
Fig. 3. Strain and stress distribution after the loss of tendon area.
eic ˆ ecen ÿ /y i :
The change in strain in the concrete adjacent to this
tendon as a result of loss of tendon area is then
Deic ˆ eic;0 ÿ eic ;
where the subscript Ô0Õ represents conditions before
corrosion.
To maintain compatibility of strain,
Deips ˆ Deic :
The tendon strain is then computed from
eips ˆ eipe ‡ Deips : …
The stress fpsi corresponding to the strain eips is ob-
tained from the stress±strain curve for the prestressing
tendon. The total tensile force T can then be computed
from
X
nt
T ˆ fpsi Aips ; …
iˆ1
and the total compressive force C is given by
Z
Cˆ fc dAc : …
Ac
The force equilibrium condition …C ˆ T † is checked
and if this is not satis®ed, the above procedure is re-
peated for another estimate of b. The iteration is ter-
minated when C ˆ T within an acceptable error, and
Deips ˆ Deic is also satis®ed for every tendon layer.
The distributions of strain and stress (Fig. 3) now
indicate an expansion in the concrete (less compressive
stress in the concrete at the tendon level). The original
lever arm ao and curvature of the section have increased
in order to maintain the same moment of resistance of
the section. From Eq. (4), it can also be deduced that the
centre of force of the tendon group and tendon eccen-
tricity change slightly due to loss of tendon area. Al-
365
…7† though the failed tendon cannot contribute to the total
force at the section, the remaining tendons carry more
load to compensate for some of the force which was lost
in the failed tendon. In other words, the stresses in the
…8† other tendons are enhanced when compared to the non-
corrosion situation.
2.1.2. Re-distribution along the length of the beam
The program requires that the beam to be analysed is
…9† discretised into a number of segments to enable analysis
at the respective nodal sections to be performed. Fig. 4
shows an idealised resultant distribution of residual
prestress after failure of a single tendon at a number of
10† locations along its length. It illustrates that the residual
prestress distribution at one position may be modi®ed
by the re-anchoring of the same tendon at a neigh-
bouring position. Clearly, when there are other tendons
which have failed due to corrosion, a similar approach is
taken to estimate the resultant prestress distribution in
the a€ected tendons. This then forms the basis for
11†
analysis at the respective nodal sections, where the ten-
don stress re-distribution at a section is determined.
2.2. Regions of ungrouted tendons
12†
An essential feature built into the program was the
modelling of regions of unbonded tendon behaviour due
to the presence of grout voids in the ducts. This provi-
sion was necessary to study the e€ect of incomplete
grouting on the ability of failed tendons to re-anchor.
The approach is based on the method of analysis for
internal unbonded post-tensioned beams proposed by
Harajli [20]. The method is similar to that for bonded
prestressed beams, but the stress in the unbonded ten-
don cannot be evaluated from moment equilibrium and
strain compatibility alone, since the assumption of per-
fect bond between the tendon and the concrete is no
longer valid along the unbonded regions. Instead, the
change in stress in the unbonded tendon for any given
366 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373

Fig. 4. Distribution of residual prestress along the beam after corrosion at a number of locations.

loading depends on the average change in stress in the
adjacent concrete over the unbonded length of the ten-
don. This means that the stress in the tendon is member
dependent rather than section dependent, and both the
lengths and distribution of grout voids need to be con-
sidered.
In the model, the unbonded theory is only used where
voids are present. This is because the tendons are not all
likely to be unbonded (as in unbonded post-tensioned
beams) but instead, consist of a combination of fully
grouted, partially grouted and totally ungrouted ten-
dons. The analysis is complex and involves (i) analysis of
the e€ect of tendon failure using bonded beam theory,
and (ii) where voids are present, analysis of the addi-
tional e€ect of these voids using unbonded beam theory.
Some simplifying assumptions were therefore required.
Perfect bond was assumed in fully grouted conditions
and, where voids are present, the tendons were assumed
to be totally unbonded over the void length. This covers
the two extreme conditions likely to be present. It was
also assumed that the stress in the tendon at any given
loading is constant along the unbonded length, meaning
that the frictional forces that could develop between the
tendon and surrounding duct are neglected.
Fig. 5 shows a length of a post-tensioned beam with
three layers of tendons. Due to the presence of a void in
the grout, tendon level 2 is e€ectively unbonded over a
length lu2 . The behaviour of the tendon over this length
is assumed to be similar to that of an internal unbonded
tendon. However, tendons at levels 1 and 3 behave as
perfectly bonded tendons over their full length. Strain
compatibility is maintained at tendon levels 1 and 3, but
the strain in tendon level 2 is not compatible with the
adjacent concrete over the length lu2 . In this case, the
average strain increase in the prestressing steel over this
unbonded length is obtained by integrating the concrete
strain increase at the respective sections as explained
below for a section at the ultimate condition.
If tendon level 2 is unbonded over N number of
segments, then at each section (Fig. 6), the increase in
concrete strain above decompression at the level of the
unbonded tendon is given by
De2 ˆ /e2 ; …13†

Fig. 5. Length of beam showing tendon level 2 unbonded over length lu2 .
 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373
Fig. 6. Typical strain distribution at ultimate due to the middle tendon being unbonded.
where / ˆ ecu =x and e2 is the eccentricity of tendon 2. In
the ®gure, epa is the actual increase in strain in the
unbonded tendon above the initial prestress level at the
decompression of the concrete.
The total tendon elongation Dlps between the ends of
the void is given by
X
N nodal sections along the whole length of the void must
Dlps ˆ …De2 ‡ eco;2 †ln ; …
iˆ1
where the subscript 2 refers to tendon level 2.
The average increase in strain in this tendon (above
e€ective value), over its unbonded length, is then
Dlps
Deps;2 ˆ …
lu2
from which the total strain eps;2 is determined by
eps;2 ˆ epe;2 ‡ Deps;2 ; …
where epe;2 is the e€ective prestrain in the unbonded
tendon.
The corresponding stress in the unbonded tendon is
obtained from the appropriate stress±strain curve,
whereas the stresses in the bonded tendons 1 and 3 are
found by the conventional strain compatibility method.
Since the beam deformation changes as a result of the
ÔunbondedÕ tendon, the distribution of stress in the
bonded tendons will also have altered due to the re-
distribution among the tendon layers. When the stresses
in both the bonded and unbonded tendons have been
determined, the total tensile force is determined and
force equilibrium …C ˆ T † is checked. If this is not sat-
is®ed, then the neutral axis depth is adjusted and the
procedure is repeated. Once force equilibrium is
achieved, the section is checked for moment equilibrium:
Mr ˆ Ma : …
367
If this is not satis®ed, the top ®bre strain ect is re-
estimated and the above procedure is repeated until
moment equilibrium is achieved.
The solution for analysis of regions of unbonded
tendons involves a highly iterative procedure, and can be
time consuming. This is because the curvatures at all
14† be calculated at each iteration until a state of force and
moment equilibrium is achieved. The analysis of un-
bonded tendons was also found to be susceptible to
convergence problems and some considerable e€ort was
spent in developing program methodologies to provide
ecient solutions.
It should also be noted that in practice, voids are
15† normally detected by drilling into the ducts which are
then pressure tested to obtain the void volume. This
does not actually locate the void nor determine the void
16† length, as required for input into the model. This re-
quirement is dicult to achieve in practice due to the
limitations of the current inspections methods. The
practical use of the analytical model, therefore, requires
engineering judgement based on experience and knowl-
edge of the likelihood of void locations. It is also ex-
pected that the more promising non-destructive test
methods will soon be suciently developed to detect the
presence and extent of grout voids more reliably.
The discussion so far has considered only one void in
the beam, requiring only one layer of tendons to be
considered as unbonded in the analysis. When there are
a number of voids along a tendon, and at a number of
tendon layers as well, the situation becomes very com-
plex. At a section, there may be more than one layer of
ÔunbondedÕ tendons and, since the analysis of unbonded
tendons is member dependent (i.e. depends on unbonded
length), the lengths of the voids also have to be con-
sidered. For a tendon with a particular void length, there
17† may be ÔoverlappingÕ voids from other tendon layers
368 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373

Fig. 7. ÔOverlappingÕ voids extending the region of unbonded tendon behaviour.

which extends the region of unbonded tendon behaviour
in the beam. Fig. 7 shows an example, where segments A
to B require analysis for unbonded tendon behaviour.
2.2.1. Regions of unbonded tendons a€ecting re-anchoring
length
To estimate the re-anchoring length of a failed ten-
don, the user may choose to employ either the linear re-
anchoring model if the condition of the grout is good, or
the exponential re-anchoring model for less ecient
tendon re-anchoring within poorer quality grout. How-
ever, if limited voids are present within this re-anchoring
length, the tendon is assumed to be unbonded over the
void length, and this will increase the re-anchoring
length of the failed tendon. Two main situations are
possible: (i) a void coincides with the position of tendon
failure, or (ii) limited voids are present within the range
of the re-anchoring length.
In the ®rst case (Fig. 8a), it is assumed that, as long as
a void exists, the tendon cannot start re-anchoring until
the end of the void is reached.
In the second case, some tendon re-anchorage has
already occurred before the region of void is encoun-
tered (Fig. 8b). The re-anchoring length assuming full
bond is ®rst estimated and, when a void is encountered
within this re-anchoring length, it is assumed that no
further tendon re-anchoring is possible until the end of
the void. The additional length required for the tendon
to fully re-anchor is then estimated. It is also possible for
a combination of cases (i) and (ii) to occur, where a void
exists at the tendon failure location, with additional
limited voids present within the re-anchoring length as
well.

Fig. 8. Re-anchoring length being a€ected by regions of grout voids.

 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373
2.3. Analysis with the residual strength model
The program requires data describing the beam
cross-section and tendon location, material, loading,
location of tendon failure, and extent of grout voids to
be input. The choice of the number of segments at which
the sectional analysis is to be undertaken is left to the
user. A larger number clearly allows a more accurate
location of tendon failure and grout voids to be deter-
mined, although with a considerable increase in com-
putational time.
Starting with the permanent load, the program ®rst
considers the case where there is no loss of tendon area
and all tendons are perfectly bonded to the concrete.
This is the control situation against which other analyses
are compared. The program then inputs additional data
describing tendon failure locations and the location and
length of any grout voids. Along the segments, where a
failed tendon has not fully re-anchored, the a€ected
nodal sections will be ¯agged to indicate sections with
corroded tendons, where the appropriate subroutines
are required to determine the tendon stress re-distribu-
tion after tendon failure. At all other locations, the
normal sectional analysis of bonded post-tensioned
beams is undertaken. Where there are grout voids, the
program sets another ¯ag on the nodal sections a€ected
for the appropriate subroutine to handle the analysis of
unbonded tendons.
Where a tendon has failed, the re-anchoring length
and distribution of residual prestress is ®rst estimated
for a bonded tendon. If a void is present within this
length, its e€ect in modifying the residual prestress in the
tendons is considered. Determination of the tendon
stresses due to the combined e€ects of tendon failure and
regions of ungrouted tendons require a number of iter-
ations and use of the appropriate subroutine to analyse
each case. The load is then incrementally increased, and
the loads to cause decompression in the concrete and
Fig. 9. Determining sectional forces using layer-by-layer evaluation.
369
cracking are noted. At each stage of loading, the applied
bending moment, the stresses and strains in both the
concrete and the tendons together with the decompres-
sion and cracking moments are all calculated.
When the section has cracked, a non-linear analysis is
required to determine the moment of resistance, and this
is done by solving for the neutral axis as described be-
low. In bonded sections, this is relatively straight for-
ward, but for bonded sections containing regions of
unbonded tendons, a further level of iteration is re-
quired. At each iteration, the analysis must be carried
out at every nodal section a€ected by the unbonded
tendon(s) behaviour whilst ensuring force and moment
equilibrium. This may involve analysis of both un-
cracked and cracked sections. It is only when all a€ected
sections have been analysed that the stress in the un-
bonded part of the tendon can be determined (since the
stress is member dependent).
2.3.1. Post-cracking analysis
When the section has cracked, the contribution of
uncracked concrete is estimated by discretising the sec-
tion into layers to estimate the total compressive force.
The strain distribution in the section is assumed to re-
main linear up to failure. At a distance y from the top of
the beam (Fig. 9), the strain in the concrete ec is given by
ec ˆ …x ÿ y†/; …18†
where / ˆ ect =x:
The strain in tendon i is given by
eips ˆ …dps
i
ÿ x†/ ‡ eips;dec …19†
and in the untensioned steel bar j by
ejs ˆ …dus
j
ÿ x†/; …20†
where eps;dec is the prestressing steel strain at concrete
decompression.
370 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373

The total tensile force in the steel T is then obtained 3. Substitute x into the compatibility equation to obtain
from the strain in the concrete and the strain in each steel
layer in the section.
X
nt X
nu
4. Determine the concrete and steel stresses from the rel-
T ˆ fpsi Aips ‡ fusj Ajus …21†
iˆ1 jˆ1
evant stress±strain curves.
5. Calculate the net compressive (C) and tensile (T)
and the total compressive force C in the concrete is given forces at the section and check for force equilibrium
by (C ˆ T ). If these are not equal to within reasonable
accuracy, repeat steps 2±5.
Z
6. Determine the moment of resistance Mr . If the mo-
Cˆ fc dAc : …22† ment of resistance is not equal to the applied bending
Ac
moment (within a speci®ed tolerance), then repeat
The integral is evaluated by idealising the cross-sec- steps 1±6.
tion as a number of layers, and assuming that the strain Determination of the full Ma ±/ relationship, thus,
in each layer is uniform and equal to the strain at the requires a large number of calculations. The ultimate
centre of the layer. This means that the concrete stress is condition is reached when either the concrete crushes in
also assumed to be uniform over the layer. The total compression, or the steel yields or fails before failure of
compressive force C is obtained by summing the force in the concrete.
each layer for n number of uncracked concrete layers,
X
n
Cˆ fck Ak ; …23†
kˆ1 3. Numerical example

where fck is the stress in the kth layer and Ak is the ap- Once a working model was established, it was used to
propriate area. investigate the e€ect of tendon failure and regions of
For a given value of ect , the neutral axis x depth is grout voids on the residual strength of an 18 m span
solved by the bisection method, where the interval be- simply-supported beam. This beam represents a typical
tween the upper and lower limits for the solution is post-tensioned beam from the Botley bridge, Oxford,
halved after each iteration. For a calculated value of x, UK which was replaced after tendon corrosion problems
the corresponding moment of resistance Mr is deter- were discovered [3]. The beam was stressed by ®ve ten-
mined by dons, each comprising 12 no. 7 mm wires. Fig. 10 shows
Z X nt the actual section at midspan of the beam, and the sec-
Mr ˆ fc …x ÿ y† dAc ‡ Tpsi …dps
i
ÿ x† tion idealised in the analysis.
Ac iˆ1
To determine an appropriate number of segments to
X
nu
enable a time-ecient analysis to be undertaken without
‡ Tusj …dus
j
ÿ x†: …24†
jˆ1
compromising the accuracy of solution produced by the
model, an analysis was carried out with the beam di-
The iterative procedure for a cracked section analysis vided into 20, 40, 80 and 160 segments. In each case, the
can be summarised as follows: accuracy of solution achieved and the time taken by a
1. Assume a top ®bre strain in the concrete, ect . PC with a 486 DX2-66 processor to complete the anal-
2. Assume a neutral axis depth, x. ysis was monitored. It was found that sucient accuracy

Fig. 10. Cross-section at midspan of Botley beam.

 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373 371

was achieved with 80 segments for a beam of this span
and con®guration (Table 1), and this was adopted in
further parametric study.
Fig. 11 illustrates the tendon stress distribution at the
ultimate condition when the model was used to analyse
the beam for the deterioration case of failure of the
middle tendon (Tendon C) at the anchorage, with a void
extending from the anchorage to midspan. The ®gure
shows that the stresses in the remaining tendons in-
creased signi®cantly in regions containing the failed
tendon, compared to regions where the tendon had re-
anchored. It also indicates that where a void exists
within the re-anchoring length of a failed tendon, the
tendon is assumed to be totally unbonded over the

Table 1
Analysis time taken and results obtained
Number of seg- Time Ultimate moment (kN m) Midspan curvature (10ÿ6 rad/ Midspan de¯ection
ments (min) mm) (mm)
20 2 1247.1 10.38 310.0
40 4 1247.1 10.37 305.8
80 7 1247.8 10.09 302.2
160 14 1247.8 10.9 302.2

Fig. 11. Tendon stress distribution at the ultimate condition for failure of Tendon C at the anchorage, with the presence of voids in the
grout.

Fig. 12. Moment±curvature diagram for failure of Tendon C and Tendons (D ‡ E) at the anchorage, with the presence of voids in the
grout.
372 D.G. Cavell, P. Waldron / Computers and Structures 79 (2001) 361±373
Fig. 13. Moment±de¯ection diagram for failure of Tendon C and Tendons (D ‡ E) at the anchorage, with the presence of voids in the
grout.
length of the void, and does not re-anchor until sound
grouting conditions are re-established.
Fig. 12 shows the resulting moment±curvature rela-
tionship corresponding to this case of failure of Tendon
C at the anchorage in the presence of voids. This is
compared with the case of failure of the two bottom
tendons (D ‡ E) at the anchorage. Although the tendons
failed at the anchorage in both cases, the tendons could
not re-anchor within the long length of void, so the
capacity at midspan was compromised, as if the tendon
failed at midspan itself. Fig. 13 illustrates the corre-
sponding moment±de¯ection curve, indicating an ap-
preciable increase in de¯ection due to the loss of tendon
prestressing force over a signi®cant distance as a result
of incomplete grouting.
The results of a parametric study with this model to
investigate the e€ects of tendon failure due to corrosion
and regions of ungrouted tendons on the residual
strength of post-tensioned bridges is discussed in more
detail elsewhere [7,21].
4. Conclusions
1. In this paper, the development of a sophisticated
non-linear analytical model to assess the residual
strength of deteriorating post-tensioned concrete bridges
has been described. The damage mechanisms considered
are those due to failure of prestressing tendons as a re-
sult of corrosion, and the presence of grout voids within
the ducts.
2. The non-linear model is based on the strain com-
patibility method, but modi®ed to incorporate un-
bonded tendon behaviour due to regions of incomplete
grouting in the ducts.
3. The phenomenon of tendon re-anchoring of failed
tendons has also been incorporated into the model to
estimate the distribution of residual prestress after ten-
don failure. Both linear and exponential expressions to
describe the re-anchoring behaviour have been consid-
ered. This has then enabled the re-distribution of tendon
stresses within a tendon group as a result of tendon
failure at a section to be evaluated.
4. The in¯uence of the presence of limited voids
within the ducts on the re-anchoring ability of failed
tendons has been considered. This includes the presence
of a complete void at the position of tendon failure and,
of secondary importance, the presence of limited grout
voids within the re-anchoring length of the failed ten-
don.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the ®nancial
support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Re-
search Council, UK.
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