COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION WITH PRECAST PRESTRESSED CONCRETE BEAMS

Abstract

The term composite construction, applied to prestressed concrete, usually refers to a construction in which a precast' prestressed concrete member acts in combination With cast in place concrete, poured at a later stage and bonded to it. The essential feature of this type of construction is complete cooperation between precast member and added concrete so that their behaviour resembles to that of a monolithiC Material. The methods of construction, namely, cast in situ and prefabricated construction have their own advantages and -as-adventages respectively. Composite construction is a tool, which optimizes the construction, by combining both of the methods and thus minimizing disadvantages. The advantages, illustrated below,: surpass the limitations. 1. It offers the advantages of precasting, including factory prefabrication of standardized sections, reuse of forms, long line tensioning of strands and excellent quality control. 2. Total construction time is substantially reduced when precast concrete elements are used, 3. Appreciable saving in the cost of steel in a composite member compared to a reinforced or prestressed concrete, member. 4. Size of the precast prestressed units can be reduced due . to the effect of composite action