Quantification of bond performance of 18-mm prestressing steel

The use of 18-mm prestressing strands has extensive advantages in building and bridge construction. Strand bond is a critical factor that constitutes the strand behavior in pretensioned concrete girders and directly affects the applicability of existing bonding equations. This study systematically examines the bond performance of 18-mm strands. The bond strength of untensioned strands was evaluated using simple bond tests. Twelve pretensioned concrete beams were additionally cast using self-consolidating concrete to assess the bond-related parameters of transfer and development lengths. The experimental results indicate the bond performance of 18-mm strands complies with the current design codes of pretensioned concrete members.