Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Civil Engineering School
In this course, you will be introduced to the fundamentals of prestressed concrete structures, including: analysis and design of prestressed concrete beams, design of simple prestressed concrete bridges and portal frames. You will also be introduced to strut-and-tie modelling as well as analysis and design for torsion and combined actions.
Prestressed concrete structures:
Fundamental principles of prestressing; materials and systems for prestressed concrete; loss of prestress; design of simple and composite beams;ﾠdesign and construction of prestressed concrete bridges; load balancing method; deflection of simple prestressed concrete beam.
Advanced Reinforced Concrete structures design:
Strut-and-tie modelling; Design of reinforced concrete members subjected to torsion and combined actions.
Course requirements
Assumed background
CIVL3360 Reinforced Concrete Design – Design and reinforcement detailing of statically determinate reinforced concrete beams
CIVL3340 Structural Analysis – Analysis of simple beams, continuous beams and portal frames
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
CIVL3360
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
CIVL4330 or CIVL4331
Course staff
Course coordinator
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The major aims of this course are to introduce to the students the analysis and design of prestressed concrete and composite structures. Students will be given opportunities to learn Australian Code for the design of prestressed concrete structures. At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the methods of analysis of prestressed concrete structures including simple beams, continuous beams and portal frame.
With respect to the advanced design of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures, students will be given the opportunity to learn the technique of strut-and-tie modelling for designing non-flexural RC members such as corbel and anchorage of prestressed concrete members. In addition, students will be given the required theoretical background, analysis method and design rules for dealing with RC members subjected to torsion and combined actions. This knowledge is very important in the design of simple or continuous prestressed concrete bridges.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Describe the different types of prestressed concrete structures and their applications.
LO2.
Evaluate the stress level of prestressed concrete beam under serviceability design limit state.
LO3.
Understand, evaluate and design the loss of prestress in prestressed concrete member.
LO4.
Analyse and design simple prestressed concrete beam for serviceability and ultimate design limit states.
LO5.
Analyse and design composite structures.
LO6.
Analyse and design statically indeterminate prestressed concrete structure, e.g. continuous beam and portal frame.
LO7.
Understand the theory of strut-and-tie modelling, and apply the theory to design reinforced and prestressed concrete structures.
LO8.
Appreciate the effect of torsion in concrete structures. Understand the theory to evaluate effect of torsion in RC member, and apply the theory to analyse and design RC member subjected to torsion and combined actions.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Tutorial/ Problem Set |
Assignment Series
|
40% |
Assignment 1 - Stress distribution in prestressed concrete 27/03/2025 3:00 pm Assignment 2 - Loss of prestress 10/04/2025 3:00 pm Assignment 3 - Design of prestressed concrete beams 17/04/2025 3:00 pm Assignment 4 - Strut-and-tie modelling 15/05/2025 3:00 pm Assignment 5 - Torsion/Combined actions 29/05/2025 3:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final Exam
|
60% |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
Assignment Series
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Tutorial/ Problem Set
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
Assignment 1 - Stress distribution in prestressed concrete 27/03/2025 3:00 pm
Assignment 2 - Loss of prestress 10/04/2025 3:00 pm
Assignment 3 - Design of prestressed concrete beams 17/04/2025 3:00 pm
Assignment 4 - Strut-and-tie modelling 15/05/2025 3:00 pm
Assignment 5 - Torsion/Combined actions 29/05/2025 3:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Time limited.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08
Task description
Assignment 1 - Stress distribution in prestressed concrete (8%)
Assignment 2 - Loss of prestress (7%)
Assignment 3 - Design of prestressed concrete beams (10%)
Assignment 4 - Strut-and-tie modelling (10%)
Assignment 5- Torsion/Combined actions (5%)
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignment must be submitted via Blackboard no later than 3 pm on the due date.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Late submissions of Assignments will only be accepted if approval for late submission has been obtained through Professor Rebecca Gravina for Assignments 1, 2 & 3 or Associate Professor Vinh Dao for Assignments 4 & 5 prior to the due date.
Final Exam
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Other conditions
- Time limited.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08
Task description
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Hurdle requirements
To obtain a pass (Grade 4 or above), you need to obtain: (1) not less than 50% in overall marks; AND (2) not less than 40% in the final exam.Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 180 minutes |
| Calculator options | (In person) Casio FX82 series only or UQ approved and labelled calculator |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student has no concept about prestressed concrete structures and design of advanced concrete structures. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 44 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student is not able to understand the principle of analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures. The student cannot carry out analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures correctly and has no idea about the principle and design of both types of structures. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: The student is not able to understand the principle of analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures. The student cannot carry out analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and composite structures correctly, although with some ideas about how the structures work. |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student partially understands the principle of analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures. The student can carry out the design of prestressed concrete and advanced concrete structures as per Australian Codes with minor mistakes, but has no idea about the principle and derivation of the design codes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student partially understands the principle of analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures. The student can correctly carry out the design of prestressed concrete and advanced concrete structures as per Australian Codes but has limited understanding of the principle and derivation of the design codes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student understands the principle of analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures. The student can correctly carry out the design of prestressed concrete and advanced structures as per Australian Codes and demonstrate good understanding of the principle and derivation of the design codes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student fully understands the principle of analysis and design of prestressed concrete structures and advanced concrete structures. The student can correctly carry out the design of prestressed concrete and advanced concrete structures as per Australian Codes and demonstrate excellent understanding of the principle and derivation of the design codes. |
Additional course grading information
To obtain a grade of 3S4, you need to obtain not less than 50% in the supplementary exam.
Grade cutoffs and hurdles
Final marks will be rounded up to an integer value prior to applying hurdles or grade boundaries.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Lecture |
Lecture Series Introduction to prestressed concrete structures Materials for prestressed concrete structures Loss of prestress Analysis and design of simple PC beams Analysis and design of composite PC structures Analysis and design of composite PC structures Strut-and-tie modelling Analysis and design for Torsion/Combined actions Analysis and design for Torsion/Combined actions Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial Series Introduction to prestressed concrete structures Materials for prestressed concrete structures Loss of prestress Analysis and design of simple PC beams Analysis and design of composite PC structures Analysis and design of composite PC structures Strut-and-tie modelling Analysis and design for Torsion/Combined actions Analysis and design for Torsion/Combined actions Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
|
Week 7 |
Fieldwork |
Field Trip Enco Precast Concrete Site Visit Purpose: Visit to precast concrete facility for CIVL4333 Advanced Concrete Structures students to observe process of prestressing precast concrete beams Date: Thursday 11th April 2024 Address: ENCO Precast, 73 Counihan Road Seventeen Mile Rocks, QLD 4073 1. Maximum 30 students. Must register to attend via this link https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/enco-precast-concrete-site-visit-tickets-861819434127?aff=oddtdtcreator 2. Meet at Enco Gate at say 9:30am sharp. Will need to run some induction sessions between 9:30 and 10:00. These inductions will be lead by Encos safety officer. 3. Tour from 10:00am to 10:30am. 4. PPE would be a. Long pants b. Long Sleeve Shirt c. Hi Vis Shirt of Vest d. Safety Boots with Steel Cap or equivalent. e. Hard Hat would be optional as the cranes will not be working during the time we are there. f. Safety Glasses would be optional as there will be no welding or grinding while we are there and no pouring of concrete. 5. All attendees would need to complete and sign off on the attached induction Induction Form - Visitors IND04 2023 6. Regarding transport students to make their own way to Enco Precadt site, if arriving by car, park in the nearby Rocks Riverside carpark and assemble at gate. (carpark map will be provided) Learning outcomes: L01, L03, L05, L07, L08 |
Additional learning activity information
Date to be advised closer to Week 7.
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: