Analysis of Four Types of Anchorage Devices for Prestressed Glulam Beam and Experimental Research

Abstract

An anchorage device is an integral part of the prestressed Glulam beams. Therefore, its rationality and practicability have significant effects on the mechanical performance of the prestressed beams. To investigate the impact of the anchorage devices on the bearing capacity and stiffness of the prestressed beams, this paper compared and analyzed four kinds of anchors in detail through the finite element software. The results showed that when the initial mid-span deflection was 5 mm, 10 mm, and 15 mm, the bearing capacity of prestressed beams with four anchorage devices was 80.37–177.24%, 93.56–182.51%, and 95.62–194.60% higher than that of ordinary Glulam beam, respectively. When the initial mid-span top prestresses were 1 MPa, 1.5 MPa, and 2 MPa, the bearing capacity of prestressed beams with four anchorage devices was 101.71–172.57%, 105.85–175.88%, and 109.64–180.87% higher than that of ordinary Glulam beam, respectively. In addition, based on the simulation results, the prestressed beam with the external anchorage had the highest bearing capacity and stiffness. The deformation capacity of the beam with boot anchorage was the largest. The stress distribution of the beam installed under beam anchorage was the most uniform, and the beam with slotted anchorage was easy to cause stress concentration at the notch. Finally, based on the outstanding performance of the external anchorage, it was selected to carry out one experiment, and the experimental result showed that the simulation could predict the damage model and load–deflection relationship of the prestressed beams well.