Structural

Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

Introduction

Based on straight-line theory.

Members are proportioned so that they may sustain the anticipated loads (working or service loads)
without the stresses in the concrete or reinforcing exceeding the proportional limits of the individual
materials.
Assumed that Hookes Law does apply to concrete at stresses below 0.45 .

Basic Assumptions in Working Stress Design

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

7.

Plane sections before bending remain plane after bending.

Both the concrete and reinforcing steel obey Hookes law in the regions considered.
Strain is proportional to the distance from the neutral axis.
The tensile strength of the concrete is neglected.
Perfect bond or adhesion is developed between the concrete and reinforcing steel so that there is no
slippage between the two materials.
The other basic assumptions concerning deformation and flexure of homogeneous members are
valid.
The modulus of elasticity of concrete is

8.

Ec = 331.5 (330.0431.5 )
The modulus of elasticity of steel is 29x106 psi (200000 MPa)

6.

Section 424.3.1 Load factors and strength reduction factors shall be taken as unity for members
designed by the Alternate Design Method (Working Stress Design)
Section 424.3.2 It shall be permitted to proportion members for 75 percent of capacities required by other
parts of Section 424 when considering wind or earthquake forces combined with other loads, provided
that the resulting section is not less than that required for the combination of dead and live load.
Basic Load Combination (Section 203.4.1)
Where allowable stress design (working stress design) is used, structures and all portions thereof shall
resist the most critical effects resulting from the following combinations of loads:
D+F
D+H+F+L+T
D + H +F + (Lr or T)
D + H + F + 0.75[L + T + (Lr or R)]
D + H + F + (W or

1.4

No increase in allowable stresses shall be used with these load combinations.

Alternate Basic Load Combinations (Section 203.4.2)
D + H + F + 0.75[L + Lr + (W or
0.6D +

1.4

)]

1.4

+H

D + L + (Lr or R)
D+L+W
D+L+

1.4

Using the above alternate load combinations, a one-third increase in allowable stresses are permitted.
Where:
D

dead loads, or related internal moments and forces

1

Structural
Engineers
E
F
H
L
Lr
R
T
W

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

load effects of earthquake, or related internal moments and forces
loads due to weight and pressures of fluids with well-defined densities and controllable
maximum heights, or related internal moments and forces
loads due to weight and pressure of soil, water in soil, or other materials, or related
internal moments and forces
live loads, or related internal moments and forces
roof live loads, or related internal moments and forces
rain loads, or related internal moments and forces
cumulative effects of temperature, creep, shrinkage, differential settlement and
shrinkage compensating concrete
wind load, or related internal moments and forces

Permissible Service Load Stresses (Section 424.4)

Stresses in concrete shall not exceed the following:
1. Flexure
Extreme fiber stresses in compression
2.

0.45f'c

Shear
Beams and one-way slabs and footings:
Shear carried by concrete, vc
Maximum shear carried by concrete plus shear reinforcement

0.09
0.38

Joist:
Shear carried by concrete, vc

0.09

Two-way slabs and footings:

3.

12
1

Shear carried by concrete, vc

( )(1+

but not greater than

( )

Bearing on loaded area

Tensile stress in reinforcement fs shall not exceed the following:

Grade 275 reinforcement
Grade 415 reinforcement or greater and welded wire fabric
(plain or deformed)
From flexural reinforcement, 10 mm or less, in one-way slab
of not more than 4 m span but not greater than 200 MPa

0.3 f'c

140 MPa
170 MPa
0.50fy

Flexure
For investigation of stresses at service loads, straight-line theory for flexure shall be used with the
following assumptions:

Strains vary linearly as the distance from the neutral axis, except for deep flexural members with
overall depth-span ratios greater than 2/5 for continuous spans and 4/5 for simple spans, a nonlinear
distribution of strain shall be considered.

Stress-strain relationship of concrete is a straight line under service loads within permissible service
load stresses.

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

In reinforced concrete members, concrete resists no tension.

It shall be permitted to take the modular ratio, n = Es/Ec, as the nearest whole number (but not less
than 6). Except in calculation for deflection, value of n for lightweight concrete shall be assumed to be
the same as for normal weight concrete of the same strength.

In doubly reinforced members, an effective modular ratio of 2Es/Ec shall be used to transform
compression reinforcement for stress computations. Compressive stress in such reinforcement shall
not exceed permissible tensile stresses.

Principal Expressions Used in Alternate Design Method for Rectangular Reinforced Concrete
Beams

Figure 1

For the section to be in equilibrium summation of horizontal forces and the summation of moments must
equal zero. Then C = T or
fckdb = Asfs

(a)

And if the distance from the centroid of the compressive stress to the centroid of tensile stress is jd,
Mc = Cjd = fckd2bj

and

Ms=Asfsjd

From Figure 1
jd = d kd/3
j = 1 k/3

or

Hence to evaluate the expression for the resisting moment, the value of k must be determined.
If E = modulus of elasticity = f/ then Es = fs/s and Ec = fc/ c. From the strain diagram,

or

and if n = Es/Ec, where n is called the modular ratio,

(b)

From which

fc =

()

fs =

(1)

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

and

nfc = fsk + nfck = k (nfc + fs) or

k=

1
1+

This is the usual form of the expression for k.

If the ratio of reinforcing steel is = As/bd, then equation (a) becomes fckdb = bdfs , or
fc/fs = 2 /k

(c)

Substituting equation (b) into equation (c), we get

k2 + 2nk = 2 n

and k = 2 + ( )2 n

Letting R = fcjk, we obtain

Mc = Ms = Rbd2

and d =

Note:
These derived equations are developed using the straight-line theory and are applicable to the proportioning of
rectangular reinforced concrete beams with tensile reinforcement only.

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

Solved Problems
Problem 1
A concrete beam reinforced for tension only is required to carry a uniformly distributed load of
27.175 KN/m (including its own weight) on a simple span of 9 m. The overall depth D is twice the
width b and the center of the steel reinforcement is to be located at a distance (1/10)D from the
underside of the beam.
Compute the dimensions of the beam and the area of steel reinforcement required. fs = 124.1
MPa, fc = 5.52 MPa, n = 15.
Given:
Uniform distributed load, W
Beam span, L (simple span)
Beam width, b
Cover from beam underside

27.175 KN/m
9.0 m
D/2
(1/10)D

Allowable tensile stress, fs

Allowable compressive stress, fc
Modular ratio, n

124.1 MPa
5.52 MPa
15

Required:
Beam dimension
Steel reinforcement

bxD
As

Solution:
Determine the maximum moment
w = 27.175 KN/m
L = 9.0 m
M=

2
8

27.175(9)2
8

= 275.15 KN-m

Determine the effective depth, d

d=D

k=

10

1+

j=1

= 0.90D

=1

1
1+

124.1
15(5.52)

0.40
3

= 0.40

= 0.867

R = fckj = 0.5(5.52)(0.40)(0.867) = 0.957 MPa

bd2 =

(0.9D)2 =

275.15(10)6
0.957

D = 892.07 mm

say 900 mm

d = 0.9(900) = 810 mm
5

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

b = 0.5(900) = 450 mm

Determine area of steel reinforcement

From
M = Asfsjd

; As =

275.15(10)6
124.1(0.867)(810)

= 3157.1 mm2

Adopt 450 x 900 beam with 3157.1 mm2 steel

Problem 2
A reinforced concrete beam, rectangular in cross-section, is loaded to produce a maximum
bending moment of 7.2 KN-m. If b = 200 mm, d = 250 mm, = 0.0072, fc = 4.83 MPa, and fs = 124.1
MPa, determine As for balanced design.

Given:
Maximum bending moment, M
Beam width, b
Effective depth, d

7.2 KN-m
200 mm
250 mm

Allowable tensile stress, fs

Allowable compressive stress, fc

124.1 MPa
4.83 MPa

Required:
Steel reinforcement at balanced condition As
Solution:
For balanced design:
The moment to be resisted by the concrete in compression is equal to the moment
resisted by the steel in in tension; and
The external applied moment must be equal to the internal resisting moment of the
section.

Cc = fc(kd)b = 0.5(4.83)(250k)(200)/1000 = 120.75k KN

M@T = 0,
M = Ccjd
7.2(10)3 = 120.75k(250)(1

Solving for k; k = 0.261 or 2.739

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

Obviously, k = 0.261

Determine the steel area required for balanced design

M@Cc = 0,
M = As fs jd
7.2(10)6 = As(124.1)(1
As = 254.2 mm

)(250)

Or Fh = 0

Cc = T
fc(kd)b = As fs
0.5(4.83)(0.261)(250)(200) = As (124.1)

As = 254.0 mm2
Problem 3
The figure below shows a reinforced concrete beam that must resist 68 KN-m moment. If the
concrete strength is 20.7 MPa, determine the flexural stresses in the concrete and steel by the
transformed area method.

Given:
Maximum bending moment, M
Beam width, b
Effective depth, d
Compressive strength of concrete, fc

68 KN/m
300 mm
400 mm
20.7 MPa (3000 psi)

Required:
fc and fs

Solution:
In order to determine the transformed section, the value of n must be known. Here n = Es/Ec where Es =
29,000,000 psi and Ec = 331.5 . If wc = 145 lb/ft3, then Ec = 33(145)1.5 3000 = 3,155,924 psi and n =
29/3.16 = 9.2

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

Transformed section

Summing moments about neutral axis,

300x(x/2) = 5667.2(400 x)

x = 105.5 mm

The centroid of the compressive force would by 1/3 below the top of the beam. Hence, a = 400 105.5/3
= 364.83 mm.
Then summing moments and equating the internal resisting moment to the external moment,
Cca = Ta = M = 68 Kn-m or
68(1000)
Cc = T =
= 186.39 KN
364.83
The steel stress would be
186.39(1000)
fs =
=
= 151.3 MPa

2(616)
The compressive force in the concrete is C = 1/2fcxb; then 186.39(1000) = 0.5fc(105.5)(300) or fc = 11.8
MPa.

Structural
Engineers

My Notes
Design of Concrete Structure

WORKING STRESS DESIGN

Problem 4
Solve Problem 3 using the formula derived for rectangular beams with tension reinforcement
only.
Solution:
=

2(616)
300(400)

= 0.0103

n = 9.2

From

k = 2 + ( )2 n = 2(0.0103)(9.2) + (0.01039.2)2 (0.01039.2) = 0.351

and
j = 1 k/3 = 1 0.351/3 = 0.883

M@Cc = 0,
M = As fs jd
68(10)6 = 2(616) fs (0.883)(400)
fs = 156.3 MPa
and from
k=

1
1+

0.351 =

1+

1
156.3
9.2

fc = 9.2 MPa