Patent ID: 8316495

Claim:
A structural system, comprising: a. a plurality of longitudinal load-carrying members or longitudinal load-carrying member segments, b. a plurality of prefabricated deck units spaced longitudinally along a structure, wherein said prefabricated deck units are fully or partially supported by said longitudinal load-carrying members, c. a plurality of said prefabricated deck units, wherein two or more prefabricated deck units are composite with two or more of said longitudinal load-carrying members, herein denoted deck connection units, and one or more of said prefabricated deck units are situated between said deck connection units and are non-composite with said longitudinal load-carrying members at the time at which tensioning is applied to one or more tensioned structural elements, herein denoted typical prefabricated deck units, d. one or more of said tensioned structural elements are external to one or more of said prefabricated deck units, wherein the ends of said tensioned element or elements are anchored in any combination of elements selected from the group, herein considered anchor elements, consisting of said longitudinal load-carrying members, herein denoted anchor members, or said deck connection units, herein denoted anchor units, e. one or more gaps situated longitudinally between said anchor members or said longitudinal load-carrying members made composite with said anchor units at the time at which tensioning is applied to said tensioned structural element or elements, wherein said anchor elements situated to either side of said gaps longitudinally anchor the two ends of the same said tensioned structural element, f. means for transferring tension in said tensioned structural element or elements into longitudinal axial compression in said typical prefabricated deck units without shedding said longitudinal axial compression into said longitudinal load-carrying members or member segments prior to said prefabricated deck units, other than deck connection units, being made composite with said longitudinal load-carrying members or member segments.