Ordinary concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension. Even reinforced concrete, where steel bars are used to take up the tension that the concrete cannot resist, is prone to cracking and corrosion under low loads. Prestressed concrete is highly resistant to stress, and is used as a building material for bridges, tanks, shell roofs, floors

Prab. Bhatt is Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Glasgow University, UK and author or editor of eight other books, including Programming the Dynamic Analysis of Structures and Reinforced Concrete, 3rd Edition, both published by Taylor & Francis.