Transfer Length of Fully Bonded and Partially Bonded Prestressing Strands by Finite Element Method

The objective of this study is to determine the transfer length of fully bonded and partially bonded prestressing strands in pretensioned I-shaped concrete beams by using 3D nonlinear finite element method. Location, bonding condition and percentage of debonding of prestressing strands, dimensions of prestressed concrete beam and material properties were obtained from an experimental study performed at Texas Tech University, and 3D nonlinear FE model was created based on these parameters. SOLID65, SOLID45, LINK8 and CONTA174 finite elements in ANSYS software were used to model short-term and long-term transfer lengths of prestressed concrete beams. Results showed that 3D nonlinear FE model captured actual strain behavior obtained experimentally. Also, transfer lengths obtained by 3D nonlinear FE model were very close to transfer lengths obtained by experimental study compared to current codes and proposed equations.