Analytical and experimental procedure for in situ stress measurements in prestressed concrete structures

A comprehensive understanding of in-situ stresses in prestressed concrete structures is essential for assessing their reliability. Special care must be given to deteriorated or corroded prestressed elements when determining their load-bearing capacity or designing retrofitting solutions. In prestressed components, such as beams, the stress distribution can vary along the span and height due to bending, shear, or eccentric prestressing, with variations depending on the distance from the section’s centroid. Current methods for stress investigation in concrete structures include the flat jack method, portion removal method, and direct and indirect core-drilling techniques. These evaluations are subject to various influencing factors and uncertainties. An extensive experimental study has led to the development of a robust analytical framework for an enhanced incremental core-drilling method.