EXPERIMENTAL STUDY AND CALCULATION METHOD ON MOMENT REDISTRUBUTION INDUCED BY TRANSFORMING SIMPLY SUPPORTED BEAMS INTO CONTINUOUS BEAMS

The technique to transform simply supported beams into continuous beams by prestressing in the negative moment zones was presented. Two T-shaped continuous beams and one control beam were tested to investigate the feasibility of the technique and to understand the moment redistribution. Variables considered in this experimental program included length of the steel strands, single and double supports. The test results show that the crack loads and ultimate loads increased. The mid-span moments decreased and support moments increased when the cracks appeared at mid-span. Thereafter, the support moments decreased and mid-span moments increased when the cracks appeared at the inner supports. Based on the test results, a simplified method to calculate the moment redistribution is presented. The calculated results show good agreement between the calculated and experimental results.