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Prestressed concrete, invented by Frenchman Eugène Freyssinet in 1928, is a
method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to
produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with
ordinary reinforced concrete. Prestressing tendons (generally of high tensile
steel cable or rods) are used to provide a clamping load which produces a
compressive stress that offsets the tensile stress that the concrete member
would otherwise experience due to a bending load. Prestressing can be
accomplished in two ways: Pre-tensioned concrete and Post-tensioned concrete.
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