Experimental Study on the Torsional Behaviour of Prestressed HSC Hollow Beams

Abstract

This article describes an experimental program developed to study the influence of longitudinal prestress on the behaviour of high-strength concrete hollow beams under pure torsion. The pre-cracking, the post-cracking and the ultimate behaviour are analysed. Three tests were carried out on large hollow high-strength concrete beams with similar concrete strength. The variable studied was the level of longitudinal uniform prestress. Some important conclusions on different aspects of the beams’ behaviour are presented. These conclusions, considered important for the design of box bridges, include the influence of the level of prestress in the cracking and ultimate behaviour.