Designing with Precast and Prestressed Concrete

This primer is an easy-to-read reference on precast concrete design for developers, architects, engineers, and others in the A/E/C industry. It provides an introduction to available documentation and information available from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI).

The guide is divided into chapters that provide a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the building process in which precast concrete plays a role.

Chapter 1: A general overview of precast's history, benefits, components, and technological advancements in recent years.

Chapter 2: A pictorial presentation of the wide range of building types in which precast concrete has been used successfully in both structural and architectural applications.

Chapter 3: A review of some of the key design considerations that arise in constructing a building and how precast concrete can be used to aid in meeting these challenges.

Chapter 4: A detailed description of each type of precast concrete component and its capabilities, the systems in which the material is used, and documentation of connection systems among components and with other materials.

Chapter 5: Information on guide specifications for both architectural and structural precast concrete.

Chapter 6: Indexes that offer a complete listing of available resources from PCI as well as provide an aid in locating a particular subject mentioned in the manual. The index is coded to the chapter and page location within that chapter (e.g., 6A-10 means the 10th page in Chapter 6).