“FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE BEAMS”

Abstract

Concrete structural components exist in buildings and bridges in different forms. Understanding the response of these components during loading is crucial to the development of an overall efficient and safe structure.Different methods have been utilized to study the response of structural components. Experimental based testing has been widely used as a means to analyse individual elements and the effects of concrete strength under loading. While this is a method that produces real life response, it is extremely time consuming, and the use of materials can be quite costly. The use of finite element analysis to study these components has also been used. Unfortunately, early attempts to accomplish this were also very time consuming and infeasible using existing software and hardware. In recent years, however, the use of finite element analysis has increased due to progressing knowledge and capabilities of computer software and hardware. It has now become the choice method to analyze concrete structural components. The use of computer software to model these elements is much faster, and extremely cost-effective. To fully understand the capabilities of finite element computer software, one must look back to experimental data and simple analysis. Data obtained from a finite element analysis package is not useful unless the necessary steps are taken to understand what is happening within the model that is created using the software. Also, executing the necessary checks along the way, is key to make sure that what is being output by the computer software is valid. By understanding the use of finite element packages, more efficient and better analyses can be made to fully understand the response of individual structural components and their contribution to a structure as a whole. This paper is a study of prestressed concrete beams using finite element analysis to understand the response of prestressed concrete beams due to transverse loading.