Abstract：To promote the safe application of prestressed concrete structures under cryogenic
temperatures, experiments were carried out on 12 bonded prestressed concrete beams by cryogenic
cold storage and homemade insulation-loading equipments, in which flexural properties with
different tension control stresses (0fptk and 0.75fptk) at 20℃, -40℃, -70℃ and -100℃ were
analyzed respectively. The results indicate that the plane-section assumption of bonded
prestressed concrete beams can still be obeyed under cryogenic temperatures. Temperature and
prestress have little effect on the stiffness of specimens before cracking, however the stiffness
of the specimens increases as temperature drops after carcking. Prestressing can effectively delay
the appearance of cracks, limit the crack width and decrease the deformation of specimens under
cryogenic temperatures. When the temperature decreases, both the ultimate load and the cracking
load increase, but the cracking load has a faster rate. The ratio of the cracking load to the
ultimate load increases, which means that the deformation performance of specimens decrease.
Considering the temperature effect of the materials, the theoretical value of ultimate bearing
capacity calculated by Chinese code formula is reliable, whereas the theoretical value of cracking
load is larger than the measured one, so further research should be conducted.
