What Does a Concrete Service Mean by Prestressed Concrete
If you have ever wondered at the loft heights of some buildings, and wonder how a concrete service managed to achieve this, read our blog post today for further details.
Prestressed concrete is a mixture of high strength concrete and steel strands. This makes a strong structural material, which is used to build roof slabs, railroad ties, bridge girders, and a great deal more. Prestressed concrete was invented and patented by Henry Jackson in 1886. This kind of concrete became popular in Europe after World War II, mostly due to the shortage of steel.
A bog-standard concrete beam, even without a load, will find it difficult to carry its own weight. When service loads are added, it will start to develop hairline cracks. As time goes by, these cracks will become larger and eventually will end up crumbling. Thin concrete pads will bow when weight is added, resulting in the shifting of a building. These changes are why prestressed concrete was first created.
Prestressed concrete can be created using 2 different methods, which are pretension and post-tension. The former is stretching high tensile steel between abutments that are placed at both ends of the concrete casting. Once these are made taught, concrete will then be poured into the beds, and adhere to the strands. Once cured, it will have bonded with the steel strands. After the concrete has obtained the desired strength, only then will the strands be released.
There are numerous reasons to use this kind of concrete. Beams that are made of prestressed concrete can resist stress without cracking. A pile is prestressed so it does not crumble with the forces when being transported.