Pioneer of prestressing excellence

Prestressing empowers modern construction with longer spans, cleaner designs, and structural flexibility. It is a key technology driving faster, sustainable, and adaptable building solutions for India’s evolving infrastructure needs

How is the construction industry in India gaining momentum through the use of prestressing technology?
Prestressing is a technique that significantly enhances the inherent properties of concrete, improving its strength, durability, and overall performance. By applying prestressing, engineers can push the boundaries of conventional concrete, enabling longer spans, reduced structural depths, and enhanced load-bearing capacity. An example is the iconic NMMC headquarters, which features a 45-m column-free span—a feat that would be difficult to achieve with traditional methods. Prestressed concrete finds applications across bridges, high-rise buildings, car parking decks, and even windmill foundations. Its ability to deliver large spans and efficient structural solutions makes it an essential technology in modern infrastructure development.

How do you see prestressing shaping the future of the construction industry?
Normally, post-tensioning (PT) is used for higher loading and long-span structures such as data centres, library buildings, car parking, etc. PT Raft is also a useful technology in reducing the raft thickness in foundations, making the structure economically viable in building structures where the final usage is not yet determined—whether commercial or residential—a PT slab with a flat plate system is an ideal solution. This construction method offers greater design flexibility, allowing room layouts to be easily reconfigured at any point without requiring major structural modifications.

Why should we prefer Prestressing over conventional RCC?
To enhance efficiency and flexibility, it’s crucial to move away from conventional RCC frame structures and embrace post-tensioned (PT) systems. PT structures offer clean soffits, larger spans, faster construction, and higher-quality buildings. Column-free and beamless designs maximise carpet area and create visually appealing spaces. Prestressing also allows for early de-shuttering within 7 days, speeding up progress to the next floor. Additionally, the absence of beams in PT flat slabs enables easy layout changes, offering long-term flexibility for future modifications.

What are the key challenges facing the prestressing industry in India today?
The prestressing industry in India today faces several key challenges, including the traditional mindset of senior consultants and the need to adopt new techniques. A major concern is the lack of skilled labour and adequately trained engineers. A general fear and hesitation towards unfamiliar technologies, coupled with a limited understanding of prestressing concepts among architects and RCC designers and inconsistent availability of high-quality concrete, essential for successful prestressed construction, are other challenges.

What are the plans for SCON Infra Prestress LLP?
We have already manufactured advanced products for prestressing, including PE-coated, grease-filled strands, galvanised PE-coated strands, and epoxy-coated strands with a PE coating. Additionally, we are implementing both unbonded and bonded strands in building projects, along with the use of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) M200 in prestressed voided PT slabs, incorporating high-density thermocouples for enhanced structural efficiency.

How is prestressing helping solve the problems of tomorrow, especially with sustainability in mind?
In PT design, we account for internal wall loads and floor finishes, ensuring that building owners are not burdened with future adaptability concerns. If the latest trend for a mall does not succeed, the owner can easily utilise the space for another purpose, as the floor plate is completely flat. This flexibility enables the building to be sold or leased for various purposes, such as hotels, schools, offices, or factories, with the ability to modify the layout at any time without concerns about structural integrity. This is one of the key advantages of PT slabs—the flexibility to modify the layout even 15 years after construction. Additionally, sunken or sunk toilet slabs are easily possible in PT design, making it a popular choice for residential buildings as well.

For more details, visit: https://www.sconinfrastructure.com/