The end regions of precast, prestressed concrete beams are unique. When the tension in prestressing steel is transferred to the concrete member at detensioning, the steel strands expand near the ends of the beam due to the effects of Poisson’s Ratio. This causes bursting forces in the concrete. In addition, prestressing strands are concentrated in the bottom flange and often high in the web when harping methods are used. The effects of these two localized centers of force creates tensile stresses in the web. All of these special issues are presented in this course with sample calculations and the design of reinforcement.

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

• Distinguish between transfer and development length and explain how they are used in design
• Calculate transfer and development lengths
• Identify the effect of transfer on the end zone
• Calculate bursting forces
• Design end zone reinforcement