Working Stress Design

Working Stress Design is called Alternate Design Method by NSCP (National

Structural Code of the Philippines) and ACI (American Concrete Institute, ACI).
Code Reference
NSCP 2010, Section 424: Alternate Design Method
ACI 318M-99, Appendix A: Alternate Design Method

Notation
fc = allowable compressive stress of concrete
fs = allowable tesnile stress of steel reinforcement
f'c = specified compressive strength of concrete
fy = specified yield strength of steel reinforcement
Ec = modulus of elasticity of concrete
Es = modulus of elasticity of steel
n = modular ratio
M = design moment
d = distance from extreme concrete fiber to centroid of steel reinforcement
kd = distance from the neutral axis to the extreme fiber of concrete
jd = distance between compressive force C and tensile force T
= ratio of the area of steel to the effective area of concrete
c = ratio of long side to short side of concentrated load or reaction area
As = area of steel reinforcement

Design Principle
The design concept of WSD is based on Elastic Theory in which the stressstrain diagram is within the proportional limit and will obey Hooke's Law.
Actual Stress Allowable Stress

Allowable Stresses
(NSCP 2010, 424.4.1 / ACI 318M, A.3.1)
Concrete
1.

Flexure
Extreme fiber stress in compression

0.45fc0.45fc

2. Shear
Beams and one-way slabs and footings:
Shear carried by concrete, vcvc

0.09fc0.09fc

Maximum shear carried by concrete plus shear

reinforcement, vcvc

0.38fc0.38fc

Joists:
Shear carried by concrete, vcvc

0.09fc0.09fc

Two-way slabs and footings:

Shear carried by concrete, vcvc but not greater

112(1+2/c)fc

than 16fc16fc

112(1+2/c)fc

3. Bearing on loaded area

0.3fc0.3fc

Steel Reinforcement
1.

Grade 275 or Grade 350 reinforcement

140 MPa

2.

Grade 420 reinforcement or greater and welded wire

fabric (plain or deformed)

170 MPa

3.

For flexural reinforcement, 10 mm or less in diameter,

in one-way slabs of not more than 4 m span but not
greater than 200 MPa

0.50fy

Modulus of Elasticity
Modulus of Elasticity of Concrete (NSCP 408.6.1)
For weight of concrete, wc between 1500 and 2500 kg/m3

Ec=wc1.50.043fcEc=wc1.50.043fc
For normal weight concrete

Ec=4700fcEc=4700fc
Modulus of Elasticity of Steel Reinforcement (NSCP 408.6.2)
For nonprestressed reinforcement

Es=200000 MPaEs=200000 MPa

Modular Ratio
(NSCP 424.6.4) It shall be permitted to take the modular ratio, n=EsEcn=EsEc
as the nearest whole number (but not less than 6).
Modular Ratio for Beams with Compression Steel (NSCP 424.6.5)
In doubly reinforced flexural members, an effective modular ratio of 2n2n shall
be used to transform compression reinforcement for stress computations.

Assumptions in WSD
1. Plane section remains plane before and after bending.
2. Concrete stress varies from zero at the neutral axis to a
maximum at the extreme fiber.
3. Concrete do not carry tensile stress. All tensile stress will
be carried by steel reinforcement.
4. The steel and concrete are perfectly bond so that no
slippage between the two will occur.

Moment of area:

Qabove NA=Qbelow NAQabove NA=Qbelow NA

12bx2=nAs(dx)12bx2=nAs(dx)

Tensile and Compressive Forces

T=fsAsT=fsAs
C=12fcbxC=12fcbx
C=TC=T
Moment in the section

y=d13xy=d13x
M=CyM=Cy
M=TyM=Ty
Bending stresses

INA=bx33+nAs(dx)2INA=bx33+nAs(dx)2
fc=MxINAfc=MxINA
fsn=M(dx)INAfsn=M(dx)INA
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