KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering (0000) 00(0):1-10 Structural Engineering

Copyright ⓒ2018 Korean Society of Civil Engineers

DOI 10.1007/s12205-018-1811-y pISSN 1226-7988, eISSN 1976-3808
www.springer.com/12205
TECHNICAL NOTE

Study on the Flexural Performance of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile

Zhijian Yang*, Guochang Li**, Wenjin Wang***, and Yajun Lv****
Received December 12, 2017/Revised 1st: January 11, 2018, 2nd: February 20, 2018/Accepted February 21, 2018/Published Online July 17, 2018

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Abstract

Four prestressed high strength concrete (PHC) piles under low-cycle loading and two piles under monotonic flexural loading
were tested to study the test phenomena, failure modes, hysteretic performance, ductility and bearing capacity. It was indicated
that PHC piles failed suddenly and the bearing capacity decreased because of the tensile rupturing of prestressing tendons from
the results, and the hysteretic curves pinched. Nonlinear finite element models were established to analyze the mechanical
properties of PHC piles using ABAQUS and OpenSees. The results obtained from the numerical analysis compared well with the
experimental results. In addition, nonlinear finite element models were used to study influence of the position, pattern, number
and diameter of deformed bars to the PHC piles reinforced with deformed bars (PRC piles). The analysis results showed that the
deformed bars should be arranged evenly in circle direction, and the bearing capacity of PRC increased with the number and
diameter of deformed bars.
Keywords: prestressed high strength concrete piles, deformed bars, flexural capacity, finite element analysis
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1. Introduction (ICP) pile reinforced with infilled concrete, transverse and

The prestressed high strength concrete (PHC) piles are applied
in foundation engineering, which not only undertake the vertical
load brought by the upper structure, but also require sufficient
flexural bearing capacity to resist the earthquake or horizontal
force caused by other effects. The investigation of previous
earthquakes in Japan showed that the PHC pile damaged in
earthquake, and the main failure mode is flexural destruction
(Hideaki and Hanazato, 1980; Sugimura and Karkee, 2003;
Masatoshi et al., 2012). In order to improve the horizontal
bearing capacity and seismic performance of PHC pile, Japanese
researchers conducted some researches on it monotonic
flexural and cyclic shear performance (Ikeda et al., 1982;
Muguruma et al., 1987; Akiyama et al., 2012). Ikeda et al.
(1982) showed that the nonprestressing longitudinal steel could
provide additional ductile behavior even after rupture of the
prestressing tendons. Muguruma et al. (1987) presented that
the flexural capacity of PHC piles can be enhanced by the use
of high-uniform-elongation prestressing steel. Akiyama et al.
(2012) demonstrated that the proposed prestressed reinforced
concrete pile with carbon-fiber sheets and concrete infilling
had a much higher flexural capacity than conventional precast
concrete pile. Bang et al. (2013) found that the maximum
bending moment of the concrete infilled composite PHC
longitudinal reinforcement was approximately 45% higher than
PHC pile.
The collapse accident of a 13-floor building in Shanghai in
2009 (as shown in Fig. 1) caused the worry about the deficiency
of horizontal bearing capacity of PHC pile in China. Many
researches have been conducted to study the mechanical
performance and design method under monotonic load (Zeng et
al., 2010a, 2010b; Liu et al., 2011; Wu et al., 2012, Zheng et al.,
2014; Zhang et al., 2011a, 2011b; Wang et al., 2012) but only
few studies focused on the seismic performance of PHC pile
(Wang et al., 013, 2014a, 2014b, 2015). Zeng et al. (2010a,
2010b) proposed a revised calculation formula for cracking
moment and ultimate moment of PHC piles according to the
experimental results. Liu et al. (2011), Wu et al. (2012), Zheng
et al. (2014) studied the shear capacity of PHC piles considering
influence of shear span-effective depth ratio, axial loading and
reinforced concrete core. Zhang et al. (2011a, 2011b), Wang et
al. (2012) studied the performance of PHC pile reinforced with
deformed bars, which showed that the flexural bearing capacity
of PHC pile could be improved. Wang et al. (2013, 2014a,
2014b, 2015) studied the behavior of PHC piles under cyclic
loading, the test results showed the hysteretic loops of PHC
pile pinched, which had a minimal energy-absorbing hysteretic
behavior. The seismic performance of PHC pile could be

*Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, China (E-mail: faemail@163.com)
**Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, China (E-mail: liguochang0604@sina.com)
***Post-doctoral, China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation, Langfang, China (E-mail: wwj_tumu@163.com)
****Associate Professor, School of Architecture North China University of Water Conservancy and Hydropower (Corresponding Author, E-mail:
lvyajun1978@163.com)

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 Zhijian Yang, Guochang Li, Wenjin Wang, and Yajun Lv

Fig. 1. The Collapse of 13-floor Building in Shanghai

effectively improved by configuring deformed bars. The main

objective of this research is to study seismic performance of
PHC pile by test and finite element analysis.

2. Test Under Monotonic Loading

2.1 Test Specimens

Two PHC piles under monotonic flexural loading were constructed
and tested. The length of the pile was 5 m. The PHC piles were
fabricated with centrifugation, steam and autoclave curing at
factories. To determine the compressive strength of concrete, six
150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm cubes were cast in accordance
with the provisions of GB/T 50081-2002 (2003) and cured in Fig. 3. Test Setup Under Monotonic Loading
conditions similar to the related specimens. Concrete cubes
were tested at test days. The cubic compressive strength was 80 load when approaching failure load. Each load interval was
MPa, and the tension control stress of prestressing tendon was maintained for about 5 min.
994 MPa. Fig. 2 and Table 1 summarizes the details of the
piles. 2.3 Test Results and Analysis

2.2 Test Setup and Loading Schedule 2.3.1 Test Phenomenon

A concentrated force was applied at mid-span of the
specimen, as shown in Fig. 3. The deflection transducers were
arranged at mid-span and 1/4 point of pile to measure its
deflection.
The loading schedule was classified by 1/15 ~ 1/10 of ultimate
bearing capacity, and the load was reduced to 1/3 ~ 1/2 of original
As the load was 250 kN, an initial crack appeared at the mid-span
of specimen P601, and the deflection was 2.73 mm. When the load
was 470 kN, and the deflection was 25 mm. One of the prestressing
tendons was tensioned to be ruptured, the width of the maximum
crack in the mid-span was 10 mm, and the load declined suddenly.
As the test continued, the prestressing tendons were tensioned to be

Table 1. Details of Specimens Under Monotonic Loading

D t Prestressing Stirrup σc fpt fsu
Specimen Pile type
(mm) (mm) tendon (mm) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
P601 AB 600 110 13A10.7 A b5@80 6.26 1484 600
P602 A 600 110 13A9.0 A b5@80 4.6 1459 600
Note: D is the diameter of pile, t is the wall thickness of pile, σc is effective prestress, fpt is the ultimate tensile strength of prestressing tendon, and fsu is
ultimate tensile strength of stirrup. Ab5@80: Ab means that the stirrup is made by low carbon steel wire, the diameter and distance of stirrup are 5 mm
and 80 mm, respectively.

Fig. 2. Details of Piles

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 Study on the Flexural Performance of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile

Fig. 4. The Crack Distribution of Specimen P602

Fig. 6. Test Setup Under Cyclic Loading

Fig. 5. Load-deflection Curve of Specimens: (a) P601, (b) P602

ruptured successively, and the pile took place brittle failure. A small
number of diagonal cracks appeared on the pile, but the pile failed in
flexure at last. The failure mode of P602 was similar to that of P601,
the load was 353 kN when the prestressing tendon was fractured,
and the deflection was 19.26 mm. The crack distribution of
specimen P602 is shown in Fig. 4. The quantity of crack is small,
and it is within the 1.5D range of mid-span.

2.3.2 Load-deflection Curve
The load-deflection curves of specimens are shown in Fig. 5. It
can be seen from Fig. 5 that the load increases with the increase
of deflection, the prestressing tendon ruptured as reaching the
ultimate bearing capacity, the load declined suddenly, and the
specimen damaged.
3. Test Under Cyclic Loading
3.1 Test Specimens
Four specimens were designed, Table 2 shows the details. The
pile length was 5 m, 4.4 m in span. The varied parameters
studied were the diameter of piles and steel ratio.
3.2 Test Setup
The two ends of specimens were hinged, and the test setup is
shown in Fig. 6. The cyclic load was applied by a hydraulic jack
with capacity of 1000 kN. The test specimen was restrained by
the curved support with a radian of 100° and width of 100 mm
on top and bottom. Deflection transducers were arranged in 1/4
and mid-span of specimen to flexural deformation.
Fig. 7. Load Program Under the Cyclic Loading
3.3 Loading Schedule
The test was performed with load-displacement mix control
according to the Specification for seismic test of buildings JGJ/
T101-2015 (2015), the load program is shown in Fig. 7. One
cycle was applied at each of the elastic load before the yield
of specimen. The subsequent load cycles were displacement
controlled and consisted of three cycles after the specimen
yielded. Testing was terminated due to large deformation or
the bearing capacity of specimens had deteriorated to 85% of
the ultimate bearing capacity. Each load interval was maintained
for about 5 min.
3.4 Test Results and Analysis
3.4.1 Test Phenomenon
The failure procedure can be divided into three stages. Initial
crack appeared at mid-span of the specimen where bending
moment was largest. After the yielding of specimens, the amount

Table 2. Details of Specimens Under Cyclic Loading

D t Prestressing Reinforcement Stirrup fpt fsu
Specimen Type
(mm) (mm) tendon ratios (%) (mm) (MPa) (MPa)
P401 AB 400 80 7A10.7 0.78 Ab4@80 1484 600
P402 A 400 80 7A9.0 0.56 Ab4@80 1459 600
P501 AB 500 100 11A10.7 0.79 Ab5@80 1484 600
P502 A 500 100 11A9.0 0.56 Ab5@80 1459 600

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 Zhijian Yang, Guochang Li, Wenjin Wang, and Yajun Lv

Fig. 8. Failure Modes of Specimens Under Cyclic Loading: (a)

Specimen P401, (b) Specimen P402, (c) Specimen P501, Fig. 9. Hysteretic Curves for Test Pieces P401 ~ P502: (a) P401,
(d) Specimen P502 (b) P402, (c) P501, (d) P502

Table 3. Test Results Under Cyclic Loading

Mcr (kN.m) Mu (kN.m) MABA (kN.m) MOS (kN.m)
Specimen
Push Pull Push Pull Push Pull Push Pull
P401 88 -79 187 -237 163 -163 180 -172
P402 84 -61 130 -143 129 -129 133 -132
P501 158 -175 328 -350 315 -315 370 -350
P502 145 -144 241 -276 258 -258 267 -256
Note: Mcr is the cracking moment, Mu is the ultimate bending moment,
MABA and MOS is the ultimate bending moment calculated by ABAQUS
and OpenSees. Push means “forward direction”, and pull mean “reverse
direction”.
Fig. 10. Displacement Ductility Parameters
of crack no longer changed, but the length and width increased
continuously. The failure mode of the specimen was flexural Table 4. Displacement Ductility Factor of Specimens
damage when a main crack appeared at mid-span and prestressing
P401 P402 P501 P502
tendon was fractured. The failure modes of specimen are shown Specimen
Push Pull Push Pull Push Pull Push Pull
in Fig. 8. Δy 13.4 -23.5 8.3 -10.5 13.5 13.2 7.4 8.7
Δu 43.5 -40.2 22.9 22.1 37.4 36.5 21.2 17.7
3.4.2 Load-deflection Hysteretic Curve μ 3.25 1.71 2.76 2.11 2.77 2.77 2.86 2.04
The load-deflection hysteretic curves of specimen P401 ~
P502 are shown in Fig. 9. It can be seen from Fig. 9 that the load
increased continuously during the loading process, and declined 3.4.3 Ductility
suddenly until the specimen was damaged by the fracture of Displacement ductility factor μ (μ = Δu/Δy) was used to
prestressing tendons. The load-deflection hysteresis hoops pinching evaluate the ductility of specimens. Δy is the yield deflection that
are observed in all of the specimens, showing poor ductility and is determined according to energy method as shown in Fig. 10,
energy dissipation. Δu is the deflection when the load attains ultimate bearing capacity.
The cracking moment and ultimate bending moment of specimens The displacement ductility factors of four specimens are listed
are shown in Table 3. It can be seen from Table 3 that the in Table 4. The average value of displacement ductility factor is
cracking moment and ultimate bending moment of P401 are respectively 2.60 in push direction and 2.4 in pull direction. The
larger than specimen P402, which shows that the bearing displacement ductility factor of type AB pile is larger than type
capacity of type AB PHC pile is higher than that of type A PHC A pile, which shows that the increase of reinforcement ratio can
pile. Moreover, the hysteretic curve of specimen P401 is plumper, increase its bearing capacity and improve its ductility.
and its dissipation capacity and ductility are better than specimen
P402. The energy-absorbing behavior of the type AB pile is 3.4.4 Energy Dissipation
better than the type A pile. The load versus deflection relationship can be described as

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 Study on the Flexural Performance of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile
Fig. 11. Idealized P-Δ Hysteretic Relationship
Fig. 10. Eq. (1) can be used to calculate the equivalent damping
coefficient according to the Specification for seismic test of
buildings JGJ/T101-2015 (2015). Hereinto, SABC and SCDA are
areas under curves ABC and CDA, and SOBE and SODF are areas
within triangles OBE and ODF shown in Fig. 11, respectively.
1 S ABC + S ADC
he = . (1)
2π S ΔOBE + S ΔODF
Figure 12 demonstrates that the cumulative equivalent damping
coefficient (he) of piles increases greatly with increasing deflection.
Equivalent damping coefficients of P401 and P501 were larger
than P402 and P502 respectively.
4. Finite Element Analysis Under Monotonic Load-
ing
4.1 Finite Element Model
Finite element analysis software ABAQUS was used to simulate
the piles under monotonic loading.
The constitutive model proposed by Guo (2003) was adopted
for concrete, without consideration of the restrained effect of
spiral stirrup on the concrete. The bilinear constitutive model of
Fig. 12. he Versus Δ Relationship: (a) P401 ~ P402, (b) P501 ~ P502
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Fig. 13. Finite Element Model
steel was used to simulate the steel. The stress-strain relationship
of prestressing tendon and stirrup can be simplified to two linear
segments, shown as follow:
⎧E s ε (σ ≤ f y )
σ =⎨ (2)
⎩0.01E s (σ > f y )
A 2-node liner 3-dimensional truss element (T3D2) was selected
for prestressing tendon and stirrup. A 20-node quadratic solid
element with reduced integration (C3D20R) was chosen for
concrete. The saddle and pile was tied to together.
The prestressing tendon and stirrup were embedded into the
concrete, without considering the slip between concrete and bars.
The prestress was applied with decreasing temperature method.
Boundary conditions and mesh of the finite element analysis
model are shown in Fig. 13.
4.2 Model Verification
The finite element analysis results are shown in Fig. 5. It can
be seen from Fig. 5 that the load-deflection curves of simulation
agreed well with the test before the rupture of prestressing
tendons.
The longitudinal stress and strain distribution of pile along the
length for specimen 602 is shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 14(a) shows
that the initial stress is 4.34 MPa ~ 4.74 MPa, which is close to
the effective prestress 4.6 MPa. Fig. 14(b) is the stress distribution of
pile when the concrete cracked, it shows that the crack area is
about 2D width. Fig. 14(c) and 14(d) are the stress and strain
distribution of pile respectively when load reached the ultimate
bearing capacity. Compared with Fig. 14(b), the tension area
expands continuously, the number and width of the cracks
increase. The height is about 150 mm from the neutral axis to the
 Zhijian Yang, Guochang Li, Wenjin Wang, and Yajun Lv

Fig. 14. Longitudinal Stress and Strain Distribution of Pile Along the Length for Specimen 602: (a) Initial Stress, (b) Concrete Crack Stress,
(c) Stress at Ultimate State, (d) Strain at Ultimate State

outer compressive fiber, which is agreed to the crack distribution

of test result (as shown in Fig. 4). The maximum compressive
stress is 67.6 MPa, the concrete was not crushed, which is similar
to the test phenomenon.
Finite element analysis was also performed for PHC pile
reinforced with deformed bars (PRC pile) in Zhang et al. (2011a)
and Wang et al. (2012). Fig. 15 and Table 5 show that the
calculated ultimate bearing capacity is in good agreement with
the test result.

Fig. 15. Comparisons of ABAQUS Analysis Results Versus Test 4.3 Parameters Analysis
Results Wang (2014) investigated the improved effects on the seismic

Table 5. Comparisons of ABAQUS Analysis Results Versus Test Results

D t Mu MABA MOS
Speciemn Reinforcement MABA/ME MOS/Mu Data
(mm) (mm) (kN.m) (kN.m) (kN.m)
P601 600 110 13A10.7 528.9 525.5 530.2 0.99 1.00
This paper
P602 600 110 13A9.0 389.1 380.6 401.5 0.98 1.03
1# 600 130 15A9.0 369 353.4 428 0.96 1.16
2# 600 130 15A10.7 527 514.6 561.1 0.98 1.06 Zhang et al.
3# 600 130 15A9.0+7B16 539 542.5 564 1.01 1.05 (2011a)
4# 600 130 15A10.7+7B16 698 620 676 0.89 0.97
PRC-1 500 100 12A10.7+8C12 352.3 356.6 377.2 1.01 1.07
PRC-1A 500 100 12A10.7+8C12 364.4 356.6 377.2 0.98 1.04
PRC-2 500 100 14A10.7+8C12 402.1 388 415.2 0.96 1.03
PRC-2A 500 100 14A10.7+8C12 417.2 388 415.2 0.93 1.00
PRC-3 500 100 16A10.7+8C12 435.7 417.4 443.8 0.96 1.02
PRC-3A 500 100 16A10.7+8C12 459.6 417.4 443.8 0.91 0.97 Wang et al.
PRC-4 600 100 16A10.7+8C12 588.4 591 593.7 1.00 1.01 (2012)
PRC-4A 600 100 16A10.7+8C12 588.4 591 593.7 1.00 1.01
PRC-5 600 100 18A10.7+10C12 629.3 654.6 644 1.04 1.02
PRC-5A 600 100 18A10.7+10C12 621.9 654.6 644 1.05 1.04
PC-1 500 100 16A10.7 365.6 353.8 346.5 0.97 0.95
PC-2 600 100 16A10.7 512.3 497.9 464.9 0.97 0.91
Note: D is the diameter of pile, t is the wall thickness of pile, ME is the ultimate bending moment, MABA and MOS is the ultimate bending moment cal-
culated by ABAQUS and OpenSees.

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 Study on the Flexural Performance of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile

Fig. 16. Loading Direction and Reinforcement Arrangement of PRC Pile: (a) Asymmetrical Arrangement, (b) Equal Angel Arrangement,
(c) Twin Bars Arrangement of Equal Number, (d) Interval Bars Arrangement of Equal Number

Table 6. Details of the Model

D t Cross MOS(kN.m) MABA MC
Specimen Reinforcement Stirrup
(mm) (mm) section Push Pull (kN.m) (kN.m)
P1 500 100 11A9.0 A5@80 Fig. 1 260 -252 265 243
P2-A 500 100 11A9.0+6C12 A5@80 Fig.16(a) 332 -307 320 290
P2-B 500 100 11A9.0+6C12 A5@80 Fig.16(a) 309 -303 300 290
P3 500 100 11A9.0+6C12 A5@80 Fig.16(b) 323 -296 312 290
P4 500 100 11A9.0+11C12 A5@80 Fig.16(c) 355 -325 353 328
P5 500 100 11A9.0+11C12 A5@80 Fig.16(d) 377 -336 353 328
P6 500 100 11A9.0+11C14 A5@80 Fig.16(d) 416 -393 403 357
P7 500 100 11A9.0+11C16 A5@80 Fig.16(d) 447 -415 427 388
Note: Mc is the ultimate bending moment calculated by Eq. (3).

performance of PHC piles of different measures, and the result

showed that the PHC pile reinforced with deformed bars is the
best way to improve the poor behaviour of PHC pile. In order to
investigate the effects of various parameters on mechanical
performance of PRC piles under monotonic loading, the influence
of location, number and ratio of deformed bars were considered.
Fig. 16 and Table 6 show the details of the models.

4.3.1 Arrangement Location of Deformed Bars

Deformed bars are arranged interval at compressive and
tension side in PRC pile, as shown in Fig. 16(a). The load-
deflection curves at different loading positions calculated by
ABAQUS are shown in Fig. 17(a). It can be seen from Fig. 17(a)
that the bearing capacities are different due to different loading
positions, and the ultimate bearing capacity of model P2-A is
larger than that of model P2-B. In addition, the finite element
analysis results show that the stresses of deformed bars are Fig. 17. The Load-deflection Curves of PRC Pile: (a) Arrangement
respectively 507 MPa and 479 MPa when model P2-A and P2-B Position, (b) Arrangement Form, (c) Quantity of Deformed
reaches the maximum load. It also shows that the effect of Bars, (d) Diameter of Deformed Bars
deformed bars has not been fully played when the load is in the
P2-B position. can be seen from the Fig. 17(b) that the bearing capacity and
deformation of twin bars arrangement and interval arrangement are
4.3.2 Arrangement form of Deformed Bars basically consistent, which show that the influence of such two
The arrangement form for deformed bars in PRC pile includes kinds of arrangement forms on the bearing capacity of PRC pile
twin bars arrangement (Fig. 16(c)) and interval arrangement is not obvious. Otherwise, the prestress of PRC pile is imposed
(Fig. 16(d)). The load-deflection curves of PRC piles with different by pre-tensioned method, and it is realized mainly by the
arrangement forms of deformed bars are shown in Fig. 17(b). It cohesive stress between prestressing tendons and concrete, so

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 Zhijian Yang, Guochang Li, Wenjin Wang, and Yajun Lv
Fig. 18. The Stress Distribution of Piles with Different Quantity of Deformed Bars: (a) P1, (b) P2A, (c) P5
twin bars arrangement may reduce the cohesive stress. Therefore, it
is suggested to arrange the deformed interval and equal angel along
the periphery, which will make the distribution more reasonable.
4.3.3 Quantity of Deformed Bars
The load-deflection curves of piles with different quantity of
deformed bars are shown in Fig. 17(c). It can be seen that the
bearing capacity of pile increases with the increase of quantity of
deformed bars. Fig. 18 is the stress distribution of piles with
different quantity of deformed bars. It shows that the compressive
area and stress increase with the quantity of deformed bars, the
concrete of P2A and P5 was crushed.
4.3.4 Deformed Bars Ratio
The load-deflection curves of PRC piles with different deformed
bars ratio are shown in Fig. 16(d). It can be seen that the bearing
capacity increases with the increase of diameter of deformed
bars. In addition, the tensile area along pile length direction
expands continuously, the depth of compression area and concrete
compressive stress increase. Therefore, the compressive behavior of
high-strength concrete is fully utilized.
5. Finite Element Analysis Under Cyclic Loading
5.1 Model Verification
The hysteretic behavior of the PHC piles was analyzed using
the flexibility method-based fiber beam element model of
OpenSees. The Concrete02 material of OpenSees was applied to
the model of concrete. Stress and strain at the concrete peak point
were determined based on the modified Kent-Park model
presented by Scott et al. (1982). The constraint effect of stirrup
steel was considered for the core concrete. The uniaxial material
model Steel02 in the OpenSees library was used to describe the
behaviour of prestressing tendon and deformed bar. The steel stress-
strain behaviour was described by the nonlinear model of Filippou et
al. (1983) to include isotropic strain hardening. Application of
prestress was performed by defining the initial stress.
The load-deflection curves calculated by OpenSees are shown in
Fig. 5 and Fig. 9. As shown in the Fig. 5 and Fig. 9, the FE analysis
results agreed well with the experimental curves. Table 3 and Fig. 19
show comparisons of ultimate load. The data implicated that the
finite analysis results coincided with the experimental data, which
can accurately simulate experimental results.
−8−
Fig. 19. Comparisons of OpenSees Analysis Results Versus Test
Results
5.2 Parameters Analysis
In order to investigate the seismic performance of PRC piles, the
effects of various parameters on the piles were studied under cyclic
loading. The obtained load-deflection curves are shown in Fig. 20.
The results showed that the bearing capacity and hysteretic
behaviour of model P2-A~P3 with part of deformed bars were
improved by comparing with model P1, but the pinch is still
serious. The bearing capacity of model P2-B is smaller than
model P2-A, and the energy dissipation of model P2-B is
inferior to model P2-A. Model P3 was reinforced with equal
interval arrangement deformed bars, and its bearing capacity
and energy dissipation are corresponding to P2-B. It can be
seen from Fig. 20(d)~(h) that the bearing capacity, energy
dissipation and ductility of piles increase with the increase of
quantity and diameter of deformed bars, the pinch of hysteretic
curve is not serious. By comparing with Fig. 20(e) and (f), it
shows that the difference of the bearing capacity and hysteretic
performance of piles with same amount of deformed bars of twin
bars arrangement and equal interval arrangement is not obvious.
6. Flexural Strength of PRC Pile
As calculating the flexural strength of PRC pile, the equation
of circular section with longitudinal reinforcement in Code for
Structural Design of Concrete GB50010-2010 can be used as
reference. The longitudinal reinforcement of PRC pile is composed
of prestressing tendons and deformed bars, so it can be divided
into two parts. The calculation diagram is shown in Fig. 21.
Therefore, the calculation equation for the flexural strength of
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
 Study on the Flexural Performance of Prestressed High Strength Concrete Pile

Fig. 21. Calculation Diagram

axial compressive strength of concrete, the value is taken as 0.94;

Ap is the area of prestressing tendons; r1, r2 is respectively internal
or external radius of circular section of pile; rp is the radius of a
circle at the center of prestressing tendons; α is the ratio between
the concrete compression area and the total cross section; αt is the
ratio between the area of prestressing tendons in tensile area and
the total prestressing tendons; σp0 is the stress of prestressing
tendons when the normal stress of concrete at the resultant force
point of prestressing tendons equals to zero; fyk is the standard
tensile strength of deformed bars; As is the area of deformed bars;
rs is the radius of a circle at the center of deformed bars; fpyk is the
standard tensile strength of prestressing tendons; f ′py is the
design compressive strength of prestressing tendons; fck is the
standard compressive strength of concrete.
The results obtained from the calculation of equation are shown in
Table 6. It can be seen that the calculated results obtained from the
equation are close to the results of OpenSees and ABAQUS, and the
results are more conserved, which show that the bending moment of
PRC pile can be calculated with this equation.

7. Conclusions

Based on the experimental results, nonlinear finite element

Fig. 20. The Load-deflection Hysteretic Curves Calculated by models were established to analyze the mechanical behavior of
OpenSees: (a) P1, (b) P2-A, (c) P2-B, (d) P3, (e) P4, (f)
PHC piles and PRC piles using ABAQUS and OpenSees. The
P5, (g) P6, (h) P7
main numerical results can be summarized as follows:
1. The test results showed that the PHC piles appeared to be
PRC pile can be obtained: flexural damage. PHC pile failed brittle due to the fracture
of prestressing tendon, the hysteretic curves of PHC pile
sin πα sin πα pinched seriously. The displacement ductility factor of PHC
M u = α1 f c A(r1 + r2 ) + f py′ Ap rp
2π π (3) pile is about 2.5, and its energy dissipation is poor.
sin πα t 2. The calculation results show that the results obtained from
+ ( f py − σ p0 ) Ap rp
2π ABAQUS and OpenSees coincide with test result preferably.
(sin πα + sin πα t )
Therefore, the finite element models can be used to be reliable
+ f y As rs in predicting the load versus deflection relationships.
π
3. Parametric analyses show that the arrangement position of
Where: deformed bars will influence the flexural bearing capacity and
0.55σ p0 Ap + 0.45 f py Ap + 0.5 f y As hysteretic performance of PRC pile where the quantity of
α= (4) deformed bars is less. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the
α1 f c A + f py′ Ap + 0.45( f py − σ p0 ) Ap + f y As
deformed bars evenly along the perimeter. The effect of twin
α = 0.45(1−α) and interval arrangement of deformed bars on the flexural
t (5)
strength and hysteretic performance of PRC pile is not obvious.
Wherer, Mu is the ultimate bending moment of pile; A is cross 4. The finite element analysis result show that the flexural
section area of pile; α1 is the ratio between stress value of strength and energy dissipation of PRC pile increase with the
rectangle stress diagram for concrete in compression area and increase of quantity and area of deformed bars, and the depth of

Vol. 00, No. 0 / 000 0000 −9−

 Zhijian Yang, Guochang Li, Wenjin Wang, and Yajun Lv
concrete compression area of mid-span increases continuously.
5. The ultimate bending moment obtained from the calculation
equation is close to the finite analysis result, so the equation can
be used to calculate the ultimate bending moment of PRC pile.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by Education fund item of Liaoning
province (L2015453), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
(2016M601340), Scientific Research Foundation for PhD
(201601208), Innovative Talent Support Program for Colleges
and Universities of Liaoning Province, National Natural Science
Foundation of China (51779096) and Science Foundation of
Shenyang Jianzhu University (2017008). This project was sponsored
by Tianjin Poly concrete pile Co. Ltd, whose contribution is
gratefully acknowledged. Thanks for Prof. KANG Guyi and
GU Xiaolu for their useful suggestions.
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