PC Steel Strand for Prestressed Concrete: Grades, Sizes and Buying Guide

Inside every long-span bridge girder and precast beam, tensioned steel strand squeezes the concrete together so it can carry loads no plain concrete could. That strand — prestressed concrete (PC) steel strand — is one of the most specification-driven products we make.

What It Is

PC strand is a 1×7 construction: six high-carbon wires helically wound around a center wire, then stress-relieved and stabilized. The standard grade is 1860 MPa with low relaxation — meaning it holds its tension over decades with minimal loss.

Sizes and Standards

Common nominal diameters run 9.53, 11.11, 12.70, 15.20, 15.70, 17.80, 21.80 and 28.60 mm, produced to GB/T 5224, ASTM A416 and BS 5896. CSW covers the full 9.53–28.6 mm range.

What to Verify Before Buying

• Mill test certificates — breaking load, 0.2% yield, elongation and relaxation values per coil, not per "typical batch".
• Surface condition — bright, lightly oiled, free of pits; strand is often stored outdoors and surface quality predicts bond performance.
• Packaging — heavy-duty seaworthy packing matters; a damaged coil on a month-long voyage is a rejected coil.
• Traceability — heat numbers linking your coils to test data.

Typical Uses

Bridge girders and cable stays, high-speed rail sleepers and beams, LNG and water tanks, high-rise transfer floors, precast segments and ground anchors.

For project quotations, share drawings or the strand schedule (diameter, grade, total tonnage, delivery phases) — we quote mill-direct with phased delivery to match your pour program.