Prestressed structure

In structural engineering, a prestressed structure is a load-bearing structure whose overall integrity, stability and security depend, primarily, on prestressing: the intentional creation of permanent stresses in the structure for the purpose of improving its performance under various service conditions.^[1]

Naturally precompressed exterior wall of Colosseum, Rome

Cable-stayed prestressed concrete bridge over Yangtze river

The basic types of prestressing are:

• Precompression with mostly the structure's own weight
• Pre-tensioning with high-strength embedded tendons
• Post-tensioning with high-strength bonded or unbonded tendons

Today, the concept of a prestressed structure is widely employed in the design of buildings, underground structures, TV towers, power stations, floating storage and offshore facilities, nuclear reactor vessels, and numerous bridge systems.^[2] It is especially prominent in construction using concrete (see pre-stressed concrete).

The idea of precompression was apparently familiar to ancient Roman architects. The tall attic wall of the Colosseum works as a stabilizing device for the wall piers beneath it.