Reliability of Cracked, Prestressed Girders

by Verne A. Geidl, Univ of Idaho, United States,
Bassem K. Khafagi, Univ of Idaho, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Probabilistic Methods in Civil Engineering

Abstract:

For prestressed concrete structures in non-aggressive environments or where corrosion-protected prestressing strands are used, it may be possible to allow flexural cracking into the precompressed tensile zone of girders while maintaining a satisfactory level of safety. For structures in aggressive environments but without corrosion-protected prestressing, occasional cracking or crack openings may also occur. In such cases, the extent of crack propagation is of importance to structural safety. This paper examines flexural cracking in a prestressed concrete girder and studies the effect of crack depth on the statistics of the flexural resistance of the girder. It also presents the effect of girder crack depth on reliability against crack propagation. The effect of girder dimensions such as depth and span on reliability of the cracked section are also presented.

Subject Headings: Cracking | Girders | Prestressing | Structural safety | Structural reliability | Flexural strength | Prestressed concrete

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