I was wondering if the prestressing force is meant to be applied in a single load stage or can it be applied in multiple stages. I was interested in modeling the release of the strands and so the only loads on the girder were self-weight and prestressing force.

When applying the prestressing force in stages, the force in the strands would decrease considerably with every mesh refinement. This problem was eliminated when I applied the prestressing force in one load stage.

Thanks,

Roya