Prestressed Precast Concrete

Prestressed concrete is concrete subjected to compressive stresses by inducing tensile stresses in the reinforcement. The purpose of prestressing is to counteract tensile stresses in the concrete caused by external loads before the external loads are applied. Prestressing is achieved by either pretensioning or post-tensioning. The major advantage of prestressed concrete is its ability to span longer distances with much thinner sections while carrying heavier loads. Span and load requirements determine the member thickness and the amount of prestressing force