Abstract: A calculation formula of limit to growth length when grout body cracked is deduced from the hoop stress of wholly bonded prestressed cable grout body, which is concurred between the hoop tension stress is created by pretension and the uniformly corrosion expansion force by cable body. An estimation expression of the service life when grout body of prestressed cable cracked is solved based on predecessors’ research production, which is used in high slope of water resources and hydropower engineering. At last, four factors related to service life and their relative importance are discussed, which is combined with the prestressed cable of 2 000kN. It is concluded that: the pretension is the most insensitive factor. With the increase of the pretension, the service life decreases, in which the curve is linear. The influence of the cable body diameter is relatively much stronger than the pretension. With the increase of the cable body diameter, the service life increases, in which the curve’s gradient is slightly steepening. The influence of bond thickness is a little stronger than the cable body diameter. With the increase of bond thickness, the service life also increases, in which the curve’s gradient is slightly steepening. Whereas, the compression strength of grout body is the most sensitive factor that affected the service life. With the increase of the compression strength, the service life increases, in which the curve’s gradient is also slightly steepening.

Key words: wholly bonded prestressed cable, corrosion expansion crack, service life, grout body, hoop stress, cable body