Strand debonding is a common approach used to reduce cracking at the ends of pre-tensioned concrete beams. While the method has been successful to some extent, end cracking of pre-tensioned beam ends continues to be a problem. Experimental and numerical approaches were conducted in this study in order to achieve a further understanding of strand debonding. 24 small-scale prestressed concrete beam units were tested and used for the calibration of nonlinear finite element models simulating concrete-strand bond behavior, while two models of AASHTO box girders were established to investigate an incident of end cracking encountered in the manufacturing of a bridge girder. The numerical simulations were good agreement with the experiment data and damage evidence on prestressed girders production indicating that the lack of bonding will maximize the dilation of strand after release in the debonded region and that such dilation may cause concrete damage in the debonded region if there is tight contact between concrete and strand. It was also found that such problem will be eliminated if enough room is provided for the strand dilation. Thus, the use of "rigid" or oversized debonding material is recommended for strand debonding practice.
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