concrete with stresses induced in it before use so as to counteract stresses that will be produced by load; often contains stretched steel bars or wires called tendons
Concrete reinforced by either pretensioning or posttensioning, allowing it to carry a greater load or span a greater distance than ordinary reinforced concrete. In pretensioning, lengths of steel wire or cables are laid in the empty mold and stretched. The concrete is placed and allowed to set, and the cables are released, placing the concrete into compression as the steel shrinks back to its original length. In posttensioning, the steel in the concrete is stretched after the curing process. Prestressing places a concrete member in compression; these compressive stresses counteract the tensile bending stresses of an applied load. The process was developed by the French engineer Eugène Fressinet in the early 20th century
To apply stress to structural components in order to produce a tension that counteracts the loads to which the component is subjected in its designed use
1. Introduce internal stresses into (as a structural beam) to counteract the stresses that will result from applied load (as in incorporating cables under tension in concrete) 2. the stresses introduced in prestressing 3. the process of prestressing 4. the condition of being prestressed