Essam M. Awdy, Hilal A. M. Hassan
The effects of story-by-story horizontal post-tensioning (PT) on multi-story buildings are investigated using staged construction analyses. The study reveals that a portion of the PT force applied to an upper floor slab is transferred to floors below through the flexural and shear response of vertical structural elements. The finite element analysis software SAP 2000 is employed due to its capabilities to accurately simulate the impact of story-by-story PT on the structural performance of multi-story buildings. Numerical examples are conducted on a 16-story post-tensioned flat slab structure, specifically the new building of the emergency hospital for the Medicine College at Zagazig University, Egypt. The findings underscore the importance of considering secondary effects, such as moments and shears, in both horizontal and vertical structural members in the design of frames incorporating post-tensioned concrete members. These effects are in addition to conventional gravity and lateral loads. The results emphasize the significance of the analyzed parameters on the building's performance, providing valuable insights for structural designers.