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Bridge Engineering

Why is spalling reinforcement needed for prestressing works in anchor blocks?

Reinforcement of anchor blocks in prestressing works generally consists of bursting reinforcement, equilibrium reinforcement and spalling reinforcement. Bursting reinforcement is used where tensile stresses are induced during prestressing operation and the maximum bursting stress occurs where the stress trajectories are concave towards the line of action of the load. Reinforcement is needed to resist these lateral tensile forces. For equilibrium reinforcement, it is required where there are several anchorages in which prestressing loads are applied sequentially.

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What are the three major types of reinforcement used in prestressing?

(i) Spalling reinforcement
Spalling stresses are established behind the loaded area of anchor blocks and this causes breaking away of surface concrete. These stresses are induced by strain incompatibility with Poisson’s effects or by the shape of stress trajectories.

(ii) Equilibrium reinforcement
Equilibrium reinforcement is required where there are several anchorages in which prestressing loads are applied sequentially.

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Under what situation shall engineers use jacking at one end only and from both ends in prestressing work?

During prestressing operation at one end, frictional losses will occur and the prestressing force decreases along the length of tendon until reaching the other end. These frictional losses include the friction induced due to a change of curvature of tendon duct and also the wobble effect due to deviation of duct alignment from the centerline. Therefore, the prestress force in the mid-span or at the other end will be greatly reduced in case the frictional loss is high. Consequently, prestressing, from both ends for a single span i.e. prestressing one-half of total tendons at one end and the remaining half at the other end is carried out to enable a even distribution and to provide symmetry of prestress force along the structure.

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What are parasitic forces for prestressing?

In statically determinate structures, prestressing forces would cause the concrete structures to bend upwards. Hence, precambering is normally carried out to counteract such effect and make it more pleasant in appearance.

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In wind tunnel test, why are similarity of Reynolds Number between real bridge and model is often neglected?

Wind tunnel test is often conducted to check aerodynamic stability of long-span bridges. To properly conduct wind tunnel test, aerodynamic similarity conditions should be made equal between the proposed bridge and the model. Reynolds Number is one of these conditions and is defined as ratio of inertial force to viscous force of wind fluid. With equality of Froude Number, it is difficult to achieve equality in Reynolds Number.

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