Measurement 83 (2016) 1019

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Measurement
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement

Measurement of existing prestressing force in concrete

structures through an embedded vibrating beam strain gauge
S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy
Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A steel frame is designed to measure the existing prestressing force in the concrete beams
Received 24 August 2015 and slabs when embedded inside the concrete members. The steel frame is designed to
Received in revised form 12 January 2016 work on the principles of a vibrating wire strain gauge and in the present study is referred
Accepted 18 January 2016
to as a vibrating beam strain gauge (VBSG). The existing strain in the VBSG is evaluated
Available online 27 January 2016
using both frequency data on the stretched member and static strain corresponding to a
fixed static load, measured using electrical strain gauges. The evaluated strain in the
Keywords:
VBSG corresponds to the existing stain in the concrete surrounding the prestressing
Existing prestressing force
Vibrating wire strain gauge
strands. The crack reopening load method is used to compute the existing prestressing
Crack reopening load force in the concrete members and is then compared with the existing prestressing force
Digital image correlation obtained from the VBSG at that section. Digital image correlation based surface deforma-
Prestressed concrete structures tion and change in neutral axis monitored by putting electrical strain gauges across the
cross section, are used to compute the crack reopening load accurately.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction [1] since future prestress loss estimates are based on

Prestressed concrete structures are widely used in the
civil engineering field because of the advantages offered
such as reduced self weight and cross section of structural
elements and reduced deformations. However losses occur
in prestressing strands due to time dependent (creep,
shrinkage) deformation of concrete and relaxation of steel
strands along with the short term losses in concrete (elas-
tic shortening, wedge slip, wobble, friction) and in steel
strands. Significant loss level in the prestressing strands
can result in compromising safety and serviceability of
prestressed concrete structures. Hence it is necessary to
predict the loss of prestress in concrete structures over
their design life, so as to take decisions on the serviceabil-
ity and safety of these structures. However as mentioned in
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: skbiswal@cistup.iisc.ernet.in (S. Biswal), ananth@
civil.iisc.ernet.in (A. Ramaswamy).
robust analytical models it necessary to conduct experi-
ments for short term measurements based on which the
parameters of the analytical model are updated for more
realistic prediction of future prestress losses. Hence a cost
effective and easy to use system to measure the existing
prestress forces at various time instances is necessary.
A stress wave based determination of existing tensile
force in prestressing strands is given in [24] to measure
the existing stresses in steel strands. Fiber optic sensors
are used in [5,6] to monitor the existing stresses in pre-
stressing strands. However as mentioned in [7] the fiber
optic sensors are prone to mechanical damage during their
installation on the prestressing strands as a consequence of
mishandling, misalignment, pinching or bending at the
tendon anchorages. A change in acoustoelastic wave veloc-
ity due to change in stress in strands is used as a technique
[8] to measure the existing prestress force in steel strands.
However the velocity of the applied wave is not much
affected by the change in stress in strands. Variation of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2016.01.031
0263-2241/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019
longitudinal stress wave velocity with respect to applied
stress level on the strands is studied in [9] for measuring
existing prestress in strands. The longitudinal stress wave
can be used to measure the existing stress if the applied
stress level is lower than about 40% of the ultimate
strength of the tendon. However in reality the applied
stress level is about 7080% of the ultimate tensile
strength. A relationship between the strand force and the
strain in the core wire is developed in [10], so that by mea-
suring the strain in the core wire by stress wave velocity
the strand force can be estimated. However the stress con-
dition in the core wire and that on the circumferential
wires is different. Measurement of existing stresses using
induced magnetic field is given in [11]. A more elaborate
study on the effect of grouting on the techniques men-
tioned in the above studies [46,811] is required. A sensi-
tivity based finite element model updating technique is
developed in [12] for the inverse analysis of the existing
prestress force in each element of prestressed girders. In
the above [12] method it is assumed that the flexural rigid-
ity of each element is known and this method fails to give
unique estimates when both the flexural rigidity and the
prestress force are not known.
Two commonly used methods of measuring the existing
prestressing force in concrete structures are through
vibrating wire strain gauges (VWSG) [13,14] and crack
re-opening method [15]. While existing stress in concrete
through VWSG is a non-destructive technique, existing
stress from crack re-opening method is a semi-
destructive method. The principle of working of VWSG
are given in [13,14]. By knowing the strain in the wire
and assuming the strain in concrete to be equal to the
strain in the wire of the VWSG embedded at the same level
of concrete the existing strain in concrete is calculated. The
existing stress in the concrete at the level of VWSG is
obtained from the calculated strain times the modulus of
elasticity of concrete. However VWSGs are consumables,
since they are embedded inside the concrete and they can-
not be reused, and the VWSGs are very expensive for small
scale experiments on laboratory as the data acquisition
system associated with the VWSGs is very costly. In case
of crack reopening method [15] the structure is loaded till
crack appears and is unloaded thereafter. Displacement
measuring gauges are then fixed across the crack and the
structure is again loaded till the crack re-opens. Knowing
the load corresponding to the crack re-opening and equat-
ing the total bending stress across the cracked section, the
existing stress in the structure is evaluated. However the
plot of load versus crack opening displacement is smooth
and it is difficult to find the exact load at which the crack
re-opens.
In the present study a steel frame is designed to be used
in the experiments to measure the existing prestressing
force in the concrete structures. The steel frame is called
as vibrating beam strain gauge (VBSG) since it uses the
same principle as the VWSG to measure the existing strain
from the measured natural frequencies [13,14]. However
in this study the VBSG is used to measure the existing pre-
stressing force from the frequency data as well as from sta-
tic responses of the stretched element of the VBSG. The
major advantage of the proposed VBSG over VWSG is the
11
cost which is much less than the VWSG. Data acquisition
systems used for the static response measurements and
frequency measurements are also much cheaper than the
data acquisition system used along with VWSG. The VBSG
can be used for measuring existing stresses in concrete
structures in any laboratory or industries, where facilities
are available for measuring static responses or frequencies
only. Unlike the crack reopening method, and similar to
the VWSG, the VBSG is a non-destructive tool for measur-
ing the existing prestressing force in the concrete struc-
tures. The VBSG is validated against a test prism,
discussed in the later section. The VBSG is further embed-
ded in post-tensioned beam and slab and the existing pre-
stressing force obtained is then compared with the existing
prestressing force obtained from crack re-opening load. In
the present study two methods are used to determine the
crack reopening load. The first method is based on defor-
mation results from digital image correlation (DIC) [17]
and the second method is based on change in neutral axis
of structural member with respect to crack evolution.
2. Experimental determination of existing prestressing
force in concrete structures using VBSG
The VBSG is embedded in concrete at the same level as
the prestressing strands and very close to the strands so
that the strain in the strands is same as the strain in con-
crete at the same level which result in same strain in the
main steel bar of the VBSG.The geometric details of the
VBSG are given in the section below.
2.1. Test frame set up and instrumentation
The idea behind the proposed test frame set up is to
embed a steel bar inside the prestressed concrete before
casting at the same level as the prestressing strands and
after the concrete hardens, be able to load and measure
responses, so as to back calculate the existing strain in
the steel bar. The test frame set up is made up of stainless
steel sections. The steel bar is fixed at both ends by putting
threads at the ends and tightened against circular plates.
To ensure that the strain in steel bar of the VBSG to be
same as that of the concrete at the same level the steel
bar is extended at both the ends and tightened against cir-
cular plates as shown in Fig. 1a. A vertical steel bar is
welded at the center of the main steel bar to facilitate
access to the main steel bar for loading and taking
responses. For ease in loading a rectangular hollow pipe
is cut and welded on the top of the secondary steel bar
as shown in Fig. 1a. Strain gauge is fixed at the center of
the main steel bar (Fig. 1b) and then covered with beeswax
(Fig. 1c) to prevent moisture coming in contact with the
strain gauge. Use of water-proof sensors, such as fiber optic
sensors can be useful in eliminating the need for the water
proofing. However the cost to be paid for the water-
proofing sensors is much higher over the benefit obtained,
also minimizing the major advantage over the existing
VWSG. PVC pipes are then put around the steel bars so as
to provide free space for the deformation of the bars under
loading. Water sealant is then applied at the joints of the
12 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019
Fig. 1. Vibrating beam strain gauge.
pipes and wrapped with PVC tape to prevent water flow
from the cement paste into the pipes as shown in Fig. 1d.
Since, the PVC pipe around the horizontal bar and the
PVC T-connector are wrapped with PVC tape, there is no
direct contact (no bond) between concrete and the PVC
pipe and the PVC T-connector. It can be assumed that the
PVC tape wrapped around the PVC pipe and the PVC T-
connector has negligible strength for small relative dis-
placement between the two, allowing smooth transfer of
strain from the surrounding concrete to the VBSG.
The length of the horizontal bar of the T-frame in the
VBSG is similar to the length of the commercially available
VWSG, apart from the diameter of the VBSG which is
slightly larger than the VWSG. The length of the vertical
bar of the T-frame can be reduced if aligned advanta-
geously along the shortest dimension. Though the cross-
sectional area of the VBSG is more than the VWSG, it is
substantially small compared to the surface area of the
concrete structure. However the cross-sectional area of
the VBSG is not negligible and does put a constraint on
the spacing of VBSGs over the span of the prestressed con-
crete structure.
2.2. Finite element modeling using Abaqus
The VBSG frame is modeled in FE software Abaqus [18].
The horizontal and the vertical steel beams are modeled
with beam element B33 and the top rectangular plates
are modeled using shell elements S4 as shown in Fig. 2b.
A restart analysis is done for evaluating the responses of
the frame with initial strain on the bottom horizontal
beam. In the first step of restart analysis an initial strain
is applied on the bottom beam followed by a nonlinear sta-
tic analysis and in the second step a linear perturbation
analysis is done to get the static responses and modal
properties.
2.3. Experimental determination of existing prestressing force
in concrete structures
In this study two methods are used to determine the
existing prestressing force in the concrete structures with
the proposed VBSG test frame set up. In the first method
the first natural frequency of the stretched bar of the VBSG
is used whereas in the second method static displacement
and strains at the center of the stretched bar under known
loads is used for the determination existing prestressing
force as explained below.
2.3.1. Based on principle of vibration of a beam with initial
strain
As shown in Fig. 3, if
0 is the initial strain in the beams,
m is the mass per unit length, L is length, A is the cross-
section, I is the moment of inertia and E is the elastic
 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019 13

Fig. 2. Vibrating beam strain gauge geometric details and FE model.

2.3.2. Based on principle of static deformation of transverse

loaded beam with initial strain
As shown in Fig. 4, if
0 is the initial strain in the beams,
L is length, A is the cross-section, I is the moment of inertia,
E is the elastic modulus of the beam and Q is the static load
applied at the center of the beam, deflection at the center
Fig. 3. Vibration of fixedfixed beam.
of the fixedfixed beam [20] is given by
 
12 u 3
yj
i
0 yj
i 0  3 sin u  cos u  u 3
modulus of the beam, the first natural frequency of the u 2 2
fixedfixed beam [19] is given by
r
s QL3 kL
0  A

0 AL2 where yj
i 0
192EI
; u
2
and k
I
f j
i
0 f j
i 0  1 1
4p2 I
Similarly the strain at the center [20] is given by
s  
12 u 3
where f j
i 0 k 2 EI
and k 4:73
j


j
i 0  3
sin u  cos u  u 4
i 0
u 2 2
mL4
By knowing the first natural frequency corresponding to QLy d
the first bending mode of the bottom beam along with the where
j
0 and y
i
8EI 2
geometric and material properties of the frame structure
the existing strain in the bottom member of the frame is Since the static displacement and strains at the center
given by of the beam are functions of the existing strain in the beam
element by measuring the displacement and strains we
2 !2 3 can estimate the existing strain in the beam element as
f j
i
0 4p 2 I

0 4  15  2 given in the above Eqs. (3) and (4) respectively.
f j
i 0 AL2 By knowing the existing strain at a section in the con-
crete member, the existing prestressing force is calculated
by multiplying the existing strain with the modulus of
elasticity and cross sectional area of the concrete member.
Q
3. Experimental test set up

In this study a test prism is cast with the VBSG being

0, L, A, I, E embedded in it for validation of VBSG using the principle
L/2
of vibration of axially loaded beam. The VBSGs are then
used in beam and slab for checking the effectiveness of
Fig. 4. Static deformation of fixedfixed beam. the proposed VBSG.
14 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019
3.1. Validation using test prism
For validating the efficiency of the VBSG a test prism is
cast. The dimensional details of the prism is given in
Fig. 5a. A strain gauge is fixed on one of the faces of the
prism to compare the surface strain to that on the main
bar of the VBSG. The test prism is loaded sequentially along
the length with different load levels as shown in Fig. 5b
and at each load level the natural frequency of the VBSG
is measured. The measured frequency is then compared
with the frequency estimated from the FE modeling of
the VBSG (shown in Fig. 2b) in finite element software Aba-
qus [18] with known parameters of the model.
3.2. VBSG in post-tensioned beam
The VBSG is used in the post-tensioned beam cast in our
laboratory. The beam is of 2400 mm long with width of
250 mm and depth of 250 mm. The beam is post-
tensioned concentrically with four strands of 12.7 mm
diameter each. Each strand is loaded to 0.7 times of its ulti-
mate tensile strength which is 187 KN. The VBSG is placed
at the same level as the center of steel duct containing the
strands and very close to the duct pipe containing the
strands and at a distance of 500 mm from left end of the
beam as shown in Fig. 6.
3.3. VBSG in post-tensioned slab
The post-tensioned slab used in the validation of VBSG
has length of 1400 mm, width of 1000 mm and depth of
500 mm. Three sets of 12.7 mm diameter with seven core
strands and twelve numbers in each set are used with an
eccentricity of 175 mm from the top surface. Each strand
is loaded up to 0.7 times of its ultimate tensile strength
of 187 KN. The first, second and third sets are placed at
200 mm, at 500 mm and at 800 mm respectively from
Fig. 5. Test prism for validating VBSG.
the left end of the cross-section and along the width. Three
VBSGs are used one near each prestressing duct at a dis-
tance of 400 mm from the left end along the length of
the slab and at the same level as the center of steel duct
containing the strands as shown in Fig. 7.
3.4. Prestress force measurement from crack reopening
method
Crack reopening method [15] is commonly used for
determining existing prestress force in prestressed con-
crete structures. In the crack reopening method the struc-
ture is first loaded till the cracks appear and then unloaded.
Displacement measuring instruments are then fixed across
the cracks and loaded again till the cracks reopen. The load
is plotted against the crack opening displacement. The
knee in the load versus crack reopening plot correspond
to the decompression load at the section where the crack
exists. By knowing the decompression load the existing
prestress force at that section is calculated as
MDL
T A 5
Z
where T is the existing prestress force, A is the cross-
sectional area, M DL is the bending moment corresponding
to the decompression load and Z is the section modulus
at the section crack occurs. However it is always difficult
to extract the knee from the load versus crack reopening
plot and a small error in the estimated decompression load
will result in a large error in the prestress force evaluation.
3.4.1. Crack reopening load from DIC
Digital image correlation (DIC) is used to get a more
accurate evaluation of the load at which crack reopens
[16]. The basics of DIC is explained in [17]. In DIC a grid
of pixels is constructed and at each nodes of the grid the
relative displacement among the nodes is determined.
 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019 15

Fig. 6. VBSG in beam.

Fig. 7. VBSG in slab.

The relative displacement between two nodes near the two
opposite faces of the crack is termed as the crack mouth
opening displacement (cmod). The experimental test set
up and instrumentation for estimating the decompression
load in the prestressed concrete beam is shown in Fig. 8.
The decompression load is estimated by evaluating the
image number corresponding to the knee in the cmod ver-
sus image number plot as shown in Fig. 8. Similar test set
up is also used for the prestressed concrete slab for esti-
mating the corresponding decompression load.
3.5. Crack reopening load from change in neutral axis method
The process of crack reopening results in shift of the
position of centroid of stiffness which in turn changes
the position of neutral axis. In this study the change in neu-
tral axis method is used for determining the decompres-
sion load at which the crack reopens. The experimental
test set up and instrumentation for evaluating the decom-
pression load in the prestressed concrete slab is shown in
Fig. 9. The decompression load corresponds to the knee

Fig. 8. Cracking load from DIC.

16 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019

Fig. 9. Cracking load from change in N.A.

in the load versus neutral axis plot as shown in Fig. 9. Sim-
ilar test set up is also used for the prestressed concrete
beam for estimating the decompression load.
4. Results
Frequency of the VBSG embedded in the test prism is
measured before applying the axial load, to update the
parameters of the finite model of the VBSG (shown in
Fig. 2b) in ABAQUS [18]. The estimated strain
mjf m , from
the frequency measurement f m , of the VBSG in the test
prism at different axial load levels are then compared with
the actual strain
m , measured from the strain gauge
mounted on one side of the test prism. The error in the
estimated strain Erj
mjf m , is the relative absolute error (in
percentage) in the estimated strain
mjf m , from the fre-
quency measurement f m , in the VBSG relative to the mea-
sured strain
m , on the surface of the concrete prism and
can be written as
j
m 
mjf m j
Erj
mjf m  100

m
From the results given in Table 1, it is clear that the
VBSG is able to estimate existing strain in the test prism
with an average error of 1.35% of the measured strains.
The post-tensioned beam and slab are kept inside the
humidity chamber as shown in Fig. 10 with controlled
temperature at 40 C and relative humidity at 70%. The
specimens are taken out at certain time intervals so as to
measure the subsequent loss of prestress force with time
and after the measurements are taken the specimens are
again put back inside the humidity chamber. In this study
three measurements are taken on VBSG embedded in the
Table 1
Validation of VBSG using test prism.
P appl in
m in micro- f m in
mjf in micro-
m
beam, one right after stressing and the other two at
78 days and 233 days from the day of stressing respec-
tively. Similarly three measurements are taken on the
VBSG embedded in the slab, one after the stressing,
accounting the sequencing process in slab and the other
two at 104 days and at 222 days from the day of stressing
respectively. Three VBSGs are embedded in the slab one
along each prestressing strand duct pipes. In this study
only results of the VBSG along the central duct of the slab
is reported. Strain and frequency measurements are taken
on VBSG before stressing of the beam and slab so as to
update the material parameters of the finite element
model of VBSG modeled using Abaqus. The total prestress
force in the beam and slab versus the strain corresponding
to a static load of 10 Newton (small so as not to introduce
permanent strain in the VBSG), and frequency of the VBSG
embedded in the beam and slab modeled in Abaqus are
shown in Fig. 11 for the VBSG in beam and in Fig. 12 for
the VBSG in slab. The plots in Figs. 11 and 12 are obtained
from simulations run in ABAQUS [18] for response of the
VBSG under external excitation with the same initial strain
6
in the VBSG as across the concrete cross-section, wherein
the VBSG is embedded. The maximum load up to which
simulations are run are based on the number of prestress-
ing strands and the total number of strands used in the
concrete structure. In the prestressing beam four prestress-
ing strands are placed with a maximum load of
4  187 748 KN. Since the simulations are run in Abaqus
a load range from 0 to 800 KN is taken. Similarly in the pre-
stressing slab 3 sets of 12 strands are placed with a maxi-
mum load of 3  12  187 6732 KN. In the simulation in
Abaqus a load range of 08000 KN is taken, though the
simulation up to the exact maximum load was sufficient.
In the finite element model of VBSG the initial strain is
taken as the strain induced in the concrete structure at
the level of the VBSG due to the prestress force applied
at the two ends of the beam and slab respectively. Since
%
the prestressing strands and the VBSG are placed eccentri-

KN strain Hz strain Erj
mjf m cally in the post-tensioned slab, the curvature of the slab
estimated at the level of VBSG is used as initial rotation
50 57.6 40.3 56.2 2.43
100 115.5 39.7 113.5 1.73
in the finite element model in ABAQUS (shown in Fig. 2b)
150 173.1 39.1 170.7 1.33 at the ends of the VBSG along with the initial axial strain.
200 230.5 38.6 227.4 1.34 The total prestress in the beam and slab are estimated by
250 288.5 38.0 284.9 1.2 interpolating the corresponding strain and frequency data
 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019 17

Fig. 10. Beam and slab inside humidity chamber.

Fig. 11. Total tension in beam w.r.t. strain and frequency in VBSG.

Fig. 12. Total tension in slab w.r.t. strain and frequency in VBSG.

of the VBSG in Fig. 11 for the beam and in Fig. 12 for the
slab. The comparison of estimated total prestressing force
T f m , from frequency measurement f m , and total prestress-
ing force T
m , from strain measurement
m , in the beam
and in the slab against the average of the measured forces
T mjav g , from the DIC technique T mjDIC , and from the change
in neutral axis technique T mjNA , are given in Table 2 for
the beam and in Table 3 for the slab. The error in the
estimated existing prestressing force from the frequency
measurement in the VBSG ErjT f m , in Tables 2 and 3 is the
relative absolute error (in percentage) with respect to the
average of the measured prestressing force T mjav g , from
the DIC T mjDIC , and change in N.A technique T mjNA , respec-
tively, and is given by
18 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019

Table 2
VBSG implemented in post-tensioned beam.

ts in days T mjDIC in KN T mjNA in KN T mjav g: in KN f m in Hz T jf m in KN % ErjT jf m
m in micro strain T j
m in KN % ErjT j
m

1 525 38.78 531.9 1.31 24.55 530.3 1.01

78 413 422 417.5 39.17 426.4 2.13 24.03 422.8 1.27
233 367 375 371 39.35 381.9 2.94 23.82 377.4 1.73

Table 3
VBSG implemented in post-tensioned slab.

ts in days T mjDIC in KN T mjNA in KN T mjav g: in KN f m in Hz T jf m in KN % ErjT jf m
m in micro strain T j
m in KN % ErjT j
m

1 4600 38.31 4666 1.43 25.79 4649 1.07

104 3660 3680 3670 38.79 3742 1.96 25.02 3721 1.39
222 3330 3360 3345 38.97 3423 2.33 24.74 3401 1.67

jT mjav g  T f m j
ErjT f m  100
T jav g
The error in the estimated existing prestressing force
from the strain measurement in the VBSG ErjT
m , in Tables
2 and 3 is the relative absolute error (in percentage) with
respect to the average of the measured prestressing force
T mjav g , from the DIC and change in N.A technique respec-
tively, and is given by
jT mjav g  T
m j
ErjT
m  100
T mjav g
From the results given in Tables 2 and 3, it is clear that
the proposed VBSG is able to estimate the existing
prestress force in the concrete structures. The error in the
estimated tension force from strain data ErjT
m , is less
compared to the estimated tension force from the
measured frequency data ErjT f m , on the VBSG. Also the error
increases with reduction in existing prestressing force in
concrete members. The increase in error with reduction
in existing force may be attributed to the sensitivities
of the strain gauges and the accelerometers used for
measuring strains and frequencies as well as the least
count of the measurements recorded in the data acquisi-
tion along with the electronic noise associated with the
measured response signal, which is the same irrespective
of the absolute measurement value. The measurement
performance of the VBSG is more dependent on the
sensitivity of the measuring system used, than the actual
size of the VBSG.
5. Conclusion
The steel frame designed on the working principle of a
vibrating wire strain gauge is able to estimate the existing
prestressing force in the concrete structures. The average
error in estimating the existing prestressing force is around
1.9% from frequency measurements and 1.4% from static
strain measurements. Since, both the strain and frequency
measurements on the VBSG are able to estimate the exist-
ing prestressing force with similar accuracy, in the real
application any one of the measurement is sufficient to
estimate the existing prestressing force and both the mea-
7
surements are not required simultaneously. For applying
VBSG in real structures, its size may be chosen so as to
have negligible effect on the overall strength of the corre-
sponding structure. The size of the VBSG also depends on
the sensitivity and least count of the strain and frequency
measuring instruments available. The proposed VBSG can
be used directly in the newly constructed prestressed con-
crete structures for estimating the subsequent prestress
losses with time. For existing structures the VBSG can be
8 fixed on the outer surface of the prestressed beam and slab,
and by knowing the current condition with some well
known NDT techniques, the subsequent prestress loss with
time can estimated. Since, in the present study the beam
and slab are kept inside humidity chamber in a controlled
condition with the same temperature and humidity, the
temperature effect on the VBSG is not considered (change
in temperature from initial time to subsequent time
instances is zero). For implementation in real life struc-
tures, the temperature correction on the VBSG has to be
considered. It is difficult to estimate the current health of
prestressed concrete structures from measured global
responses using finite element model updating technique,
when both the concrete material properties and the exist-
ing prestressing force are not known. Though the error
involved using VBSG (1.41.9%) in the prestress force esti-
mation is little higher than that of the vibrating wire strain
gauge (error of 0.5%), the VBSG with the error in prestress
force as measurement uncertainty along with the mea-
sured global responses, can accurately estimate the current
health of the prestressed concrete structure. A future study
is focused on using the estimated prestress force from the
VBSG with uncertainty, along with the global responses on
the prestressed concrete structure to find out the current
health of prestressed concrete structures.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge the Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE), India, for the financial support to
conduct experiments, used in this study (under the project
Sanction No. 2012/34/45/BRNS-2428).
 S. Biswal, A. Ramaswamy / Measurement 83 (2016) 1019 19

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