ISIP, JOHNDEE C.

Working Stress Design

BSCE-5G CE 513a (WSD)
July, 4, 2019 Irene R. Roque, RCE, MEng-SE

Definition of Working Stress Design

Working Stress Design Method is a method used for the reinforced concrete design where
concrete is assumed as elastic, steel and concrete act together elastically where the relationship between
loads and stresses is linear .
Working Stress Design is called Alternate Design Method by NSCP (National Structural Code of
the Philippines) and ACI (American Concrete Institute, ACI).

This illustrates the concept that was derive in elastic theory

Assumptions of Working Stress Design Method

Plane Section before bending will remain plane after bending
Bond between steel and concrete is perfect with in elastic limit of steel
The steel and concrete behaves as linear elastic material
All tensile stresses are taken by reinforcement and none by concrete
The stresses in steel and concrete are related by a factor known as “modular ratio
The Stress-strain relationship of steel and concrete is a Straight line under working load
 Comparison to other method

Working Stress Method/ Allowable Stress Design

Working stress method is used for the design of Reinforced concrete, Steel and Timber structures. The
main assumption in the WSM is that the behaviour of structural material is restricted with in linear-elastic
region and the safety of it is ensured by restricting the stresses coming on the members by working loads. Thus
the allowable stresses will come in the linear portion (i.e., initial phase) of the stress-strain curve. Thus a factor
of safety was introduced to the design
“Factor of safety is the ratio of strength of material to the permissible stress”
When we consider the effect of creep, shrinkage, stress concentrations and others secondary effects the
assumption of material behavior in the elastic range will not hold. These will lead to increase of stresses into the
inelastic range. WSM cannot account for loads acting simultaneously, but has different degrees of uncertainty.
It cannot account for the loads having counteracting effects, such as dead load and wind load. The above will
lead to non-conservative design. Working Stress method will lead to large FOS and over-sized sections, thus
reducing the design economy.
WSM is still being using in special structures such as water tanks, chimneys in India. Elastic regions
holds good in serviceability checks such as crack width, deflection etc.

Ultimate Load Method

This is also known as load factor method or ultimate strength method. In this we make use of the
nonlinear region of stress strain curves of steel and concrete. The safety is ensured by introducing load factor.
“Load factor is the ratio of ultimate strength to the service loads”
The ULM makes it possible to consider the effects of different loads acting simultaneously thus solving
the shortcomings of WSM. As the ultimate strength of the material is considered we will get much slender
sections for columns and beams compared to WSM method. But the serviceability criteria is not met because of
large deflections and cracks in the sections. The fall-back in the method was that even though the nonlinear
stress strain behaviour of was considered sections but the nonlinear analysis of the structural was not carried out
for the load effects. Thus the stress distribution at ultimate load was just the magnification of service load by
load factor following the linear elastic theory.
USD(Ultimate Stress Design) Method WSD(Working Stress Design) Method
Its primarily based on strength concept of Concrete vs Its based on the linear theory or elastic theory .
Its Consider to Design Critical Combination of load vs Its Consider to Design carrying load
Its Designing to elastic behavior of materials . vs Its Designing to plastic behavior of materials
Materials strength to be used for member Design. vs Modular Ratio used for member Design
Stability of Structure is more then WSD vs Stability of Structure is less then USD
Low Cost Design Method vs High Cost Design Method
Limit State Method
This philosophy is an advancement over the traditional design philosophies. It considers the safety at the
ultimate load and serviceability at the working load, sort of extension of the WSM and ULM.
“Limit state is the state of impending failure, beyond which a structure ceases to perform its intended function
satisfactorily, in terms of either safety or serviceability.”

Advantages and Disadvantages of WSD

Advantages
1. It is a simple method.
2. Due to its simplicity it is still used for design for some complex structure such as overhead water tank
3. The method was too exist longer that the other method
Limitation
1. The assumption of linear elastic behavior and control of stresses within specially defined permissible stresses
are unrealistic due to several reason , creep, shrinkage and other long term effect, stress concentration and other
secondary effects.
2. Different type of load acting simultaneously have different degree of uncertainties. This cannot be taken into
account in the working stress method
3. The actual factor of safety is not known in this method of design. The partial safety factors in the limit state
method is more realistic than the concept of permissible stresses in the working stress method to have factor of
safety in the design.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Reinforced Concrete

Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is a combination of traditional cement concrete with reinforcements (steel bar). This
combination is made to utilize the compressive strength of concrete and tensile strength of steel simultaneously.
Reinforced concrete, as an economic building material, is very popular nowadays. It is widely used in many
types building around the world. Along with many advantages, reinforced concrete also poses some
disadvantages also.

Advantages of Reinforced Concrete

1. Reinforced concrete has a high compressive strength compared to other building materials.
2. Due to the provided reinforcement, reinforced concrete can also withstand a good amount of tensile stress.
3. Fire and weather resistance of reinforced concrete is fair.
4. The reinforced concrete building system is more durable than any other building system.
5. Reinforced concrete, as a fluid material, in the beginning, can be economically molded into a nearly limitless
range of shapes.
6. The maintenance cost of reinforced concrete is very low.
7. In structures like footings, dams, piers etc. reinforced concrete is the most economical construction material.
8. It acts like a rigid member with minimum deflection.
9. As reinforced concrete can be molded to any shape required, it is widely used in precast structural
components. It yields rigid members with minimum apparent deflection.
10. Compared to the use of steel in structure, reinforced concrete requires less skilled labor for the erection of
the structure.

Disadvantages of Reinforced Concrete

1. The tensile strength of reinforced concrete is about one-tenth of its compressive strength.
2. The main steps of using reinforced concrete are mixing, casting, and curing. All of this affects the final
strength.
3. The cost of the forms used for casting RC is relatively higher.
4. For multi-storied building the RCC column section for is larger than steel section as the compressive strength
is lower in the case of RCC.
5. Shrinkage causes crack development and strength loss.
 Materials

a. Cement
Cement is used as a building material. Generally, Portland cement conforming to I.S.I. the
specification is used.

b. Fine Aggregate
Aggregates are obtained from sedimentary igneous and metamorphic rocks. The aggregate
which passes through IS Sieve No.480 is called fine aggregate. The particle size of this 8%.
Fine aggregate is generally known as sand. It is obtained from the river beds, lake beds, pits,
etc. It should be free from silt, clay, salts and other organic matter.

c. Coarse Aggregate
The aggregates which are retained over IS sieve No. 480 is called coarse aggregate. The size
of this aggregate depends upon the type and nature of work. The maximum size used in the
construction of building work should be between 20 mm to 25 mm. In the case of heavy
mass concrete work for dams, weirs, siphons regulators, etc., The size of aggregate may be
more than 25 mm. It should be soft, porous, or flaky. It should not absorb more than 5% of
water by weight when immersed for 24 hours.

d. Water
The water used for making concrete should be free from dirt, organic impurities, sulfur
contamination and chlorides which cause efflorescence. The clear water used for drinking
purposes should be used. Sea water contains chlorides which may corrode reinforcement
hence it should be avoided.

e. Reinforcement
Steel is used as a reinforcement which should be free from loose mill scales, dust,
loose rust and coats of paints, oil or other coatings which may destroy or reduce
bond. Round bars of mild steel between 5 mm to 50 mm diameters having high
tensile strength should be used. Steel is used as reinforcement because its co-
efficient of expansion is nearly the same as that of concrete and can develop a good
bond with concrete and can be freely available.
 Properties

a. Mechanical strength, in particular compressive strength.

The strength of normal concrete varies between 25 and 40 MPa. Above 50 MPa, the term High Performance
Concrete is used (50 MPa corresponds to a force of 50 tonnes acting on a square with sides of ten centimetres).

b. Durability.
Concrete is extremely resistant to the physico-chemical attack emanating from the environment (frost, rain
atmospheric pollution, etc...) It is particularly well-suited for structures exposed to demanding and extreme
conditions.

c. Porosity and Density

These properties are responsible for the first two. The denser (or the less porous) the concrete the better its
performance and the greater its durability.
The density of concrete is increased by optimizing the dimensions and packing of the aggregate and reducing
the water content.