Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.

C
(Sami J.)

CHAPTER FIVE

5 CONCEPTS OF DESIGN

5.1 Introduction
Structural design is the methodical investigation of the stability, strength and rigidity of
structures. The basic objective in structural analysis and design is to produce a structure capable
of resisting all applied loads without failure during its intended life. Some of the common
building structures are:
1. The single-storey portal supported on isolated footings;
2. The medium-rise framed structure which may be braced by shear walls or unbraced. The
building may be supported on isolated footings, strip foundations or a raft;
3. The tall multi-storey frame and core structure where the core and rigid frames together
resist wind loads. The building is usually supported on a raft which in turn may bear
directly on the ground or be carried on piles or caissons. These buildings usually include
a basement.

A structure refers to a system of connected parts used to support a load. Its primary purpose is
to transmit or support loads. If the structure is improperly designed or fabricated, or if the actual
applied loads exceed the design specifications, the device will probably fail to perform its
intended function, with possible serious consequences. A well-engineered structure greatly
minimizes the possibility of costly failures.
It is important for a structural engineer to recognize the various types of elements composing a
structure and to be able to classify structures as to their form and function. The complete
building structure can be broken down into the following elements:
 Beams: horizontal flexural members carrying vertical loads and primarily designed to
resist bending moment.
 Slabs: horizontal plate elements carrying lateral loads.
 Columns: vertical compression members carrying primarily axial load but generally
subjected to axial load and moment.
 Walls: vertical plate elements resisting vertical, lateral or in-plane loads.
 Bases and foundations: pads or strips supported directly on the ground that spread the
loads from columns or walls so that they can be supported by the ground.
To learn structural design it is necessary to start by carrying out the design of separate elements.
However, it is important to recognize the function of the element in the complete structure and
that the complete structure or part of it needs to be analyzed to obtain actions for design.

5.2 Safety Provisions

Public safety: is the primary responsibility of the design engineer. All other aspects of design,
including serviceability, maintainability, economics, and aesthetics are secondary to the
requirement for safety. This does not mean that other objectives are not important, but safety is
paramount.
Structures and structural members must always be designed to carry some reserve load above
what is expected under normal use. This is to account for:

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
 Variability in Resistance
 Variability in Loadings and
 Consequences of Failure

Variability in Resistance: The actual strengths (resistance) of structural elements will differ
from those assumed by the designer due to:
1. Variability in the strength of the material (greater variability in concrete strength than in
steel strength).
2. Differences between the actual dimensions and those specified (mostly in placement of
steel rebars in R/C).
3. Effect of simplifying assumptions made in the derivation of certain formulas.

Variability in Loadings: All loadings are variable. There is a greater variation in the live loads
than in the dead loads. Some types of loadings are very difficult to quantify (wind, earthquakes).

Consequences of Failure: The consequence of a structural component failure must be carefully

assessed. The collapse of a beam is likely to cause a localized failure. Alternatively the failure of
a column is likely to trigger the failure of the whole structure. Alternatively, the failure of certain
components can be preceded by warnings (such as excessive deformation), whereas other are
sudden and catastrophic. Finally, if no redistribution of load is possible (as would be the case in a
statically determinate structure), a higher safety factor must be adopted.

The purpose of safety provisions is to limit the probability of failure and yet permit economic
structures. The following items must be considered in determining safety provisions:
1. Seriousness of a failure, either to humans or goods.
2. Reliability of workmanship and inspection.
3. Expectation of overload and to what magnitude.
4. Importance of the member in the structure.
5. Chance of warning prior to failure.

Analysis vs Design
In reinforced concrete structures, we always consider one of the following problems:
 Analysis: Given a certain design (section), determine what the maximum moment which
can be applied is i.e. determining the section capacity.
 Design: Given an external moment to be resisted, determine cross sectional dimensions
(b and h) as well as reinforcement (As). Note that in many cases the external dimensions
of the beam (b and h) are fixed by the architect.
We often consider the maximum moment along a member, and design accordingly. The design
of any structure requires many detailed computations either manually or through the use of
computer. The adoption of Computer Structural Design Software has greatly reduced the
complexity of the analysis and design process as well as reducing the amount of time required to
finish a project. A structural design project may be divided into three phases, i.e. planning,
design and construction.
Planning is the first phase carried out by the architect to determine the arrangement and layout
of the building to meet the client’s requirements. The structural engineer then determines the best
structural system or forms to bring the architect’s concept into being. This phase involves

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
consideration of the various requirements and factors affecting the general layout and dimensions
of the structure and results in the choice of one or perhaps several alternative types of structure,
which offer the best general solution. Construction in different materials and with different
arrangements and systems may require investigation to determine the most economical answer.
Architect and engineer should work together at this conceptual design stage.
 The primary consideration is the function of the structure.
 Secondary considerations such as aesthetics, sociology, law, economics and the
environment may also be taken into account.
 In addition there are structural and constructional requirements and limitations, which
may affect the type of structure to be designed.
Design: This phase involves a detailed consideration of the alternative solutions defined in the
planning phase and results in the determination of the most suitable proportions, dimensions and
details of the structural elements and connections for constructing each alternative structural
arrangement being considered.
Construction: This phase involves:
 Mobilization of personnel
 Procurement of materials and equipment, including their transportation to the site, and
actual on-site erection.
During this phase, some redesign may be required if unforeseen difficulties occur, such as
unavailability of specified materials or foundation problems.

Design codes
Many countries have their own structural design codes, codes of practice or technical documents
which perform a similar function. It is necessary for a designer to become familiar with local
requirements or recommendations in regard to correct practice.
General Building Codes:
Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, SEI/ASCE 7-05, American Society
of Civil Engineers International Building Code.
 Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete, Am. Conc. Inst. (ACI)
 Manual of Steel Construction, American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
 Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
 National Design Specification for Wood Construction, American Forest and Paper
Association (AFPA)
 Manual for Railway Engineering, American Railway Engineering Association (AREA)

Three major design philosophies

A design philosophy is a set of assumptions and procedures which are used to meet the
conditions of serviceability, safety, economy and functionality of the structure. Several design
philosophies have been introduced from different parts of the world. Some of the design
philosophies that has been used by engineers are:
1. Working Stress Method (WSM) / Allowable Stress Design (ASD)
2. Ultimate Load Method (ULM)
3. Limit State Method(LSM)

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
Working Stress Method

Working Stress Method

 Working Stress Method is the traditional method of design not only for Reinforced
Concrete but also for structural steel and timber design.
 The main assumption in this method is that the behavior of structural material is restricted
with in linear-elastic region and that the appropriate safety can be ensured by suitably
limiting the stresses in the material due to the presumed working loads (service loads) on
the structure.
 This method also assumes that both the steel reinforcement and concrete act together and
are perfectly elastic at all stages, and hence the modular ratio can be used to determine
the stresses in steel and concrete.
 The stresses under the working loads are obtained by applying the methods of ‘strength
of materials’ like the simple bending theory. The limitations due to non-linearity and
buckling are neglected.

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
 The stresses caused by the ‘characteristic’ or service loads are checked against the
permissible (allowable) stress, which is a fraction of the ultimate or yield stress. The
permissible stress may be defined in terms of a factor of safety, which takes care of the
overload or other unknown factors.
Permissible (allowable) stress = Ultimate or yield stress/Factor of safety
Thus, in Working Stress Method, Working stress ≤ 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 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. Elastic
regions holds good in serviceability checks such as crack width, deflection etc.

Figure 5.1: Load Life of a Structure

In RC this method was called as Working Stress Design Method (WSD) and it is the one
adopted by the ACI (American Concrete institute) code up to 1971. But the AISC (American
Institute of Steel Construction) code refers to it as the Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and was
used until 1986.
Structural elements are designed for their service loads, and are dimensioned such that the
stresses do not exceed some predestinated allowable strength. 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”

Where F.S. is the factor of safety.

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
Safety factors are not rigorously determined from a probabilistic approach, but are the result of
experience and judgment.

Table 5.1: Allowable Stresses for Steel and Concrete

Major limitations of working stress design method

1. An elastic analysis cannot easily account for the long-term effects of creep and shrinkage
and other secondary effects of concrete.
2. For concrete structures, stresses are not linearly proportional to strain beyond 0.45f’c.
3. The use of the imaginary concept of modular ratio results in larger percentage of
compression steel and generally larger member sizes than the members designed using
ultimate load or limit states design. However, as a result of the larger member sizes, they
result in better performance during service.
4. The stress–strain curve for concrete is non-linear and is time dependent. Thus, the elastic
modulus is a function of the stress level (it may also change with age) and hence the
modular ratio is not really constant. This method does not consider the consequences of
this material non-linearity.
5. Working Stress Method does not discriminate between the different types of loads that
act simultaneously but have different degrees of uncertainty. This may result in non-
conservative designs, particularly when two different loads (say, dead loads and wind
loads) have counteracting effects.

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 behavior 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.

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
Limit State Method of Design

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.

LSM is a method of designing structures based on concept of safety and its probability of safety.
Here in addition to ultimate load approach addition serviceability is also given importance.
Limit state is a condition just before collapse. A structure designed by limit state should give
proper strength and serviceability throughout its life.

“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.”

This is based on the behavior of structure at different limit states ensuring adequate safety
against each limitation. There are 2 types of limit states.

1. Ultimate Limit State: With respect to strength in shear, flexure, torsion, bond or
combined effects.
2. Serviceability Limit State: With respect to deflection & cracking. The appearance,
durability and performance of the structure must not be affected by deflection &
cracking.
It uses multiple safety factors for the required safety and serviceability at the ultimate load and
working load respectively by considering all limit states. These are called “partial safety factors”.

Partial safety factor for materials

The strength of concrete in actual structure is taken as (0.67 * fck), fck is characteristic strength.
The partial safety factor (for ultimate limit state) for concrete is 1.5 and that for steel is 1.15.
The value is higher for concrete as it is expected to have more variability compared to steel.
The partial safety factor (for serviceability limit state) for concrete and that for steel is taken as
1.0. This is taken as unity as we are interested in estimating the actual deflections are crack
width during service loads.
Partial safety factor for loads
Various load combinations is specified in IS 456 are
For Ultimate limit states

 UL = 1.5(DL+LL)
 UL = 1.5(DL+QL) OR 0.9DL+1.5QL
 UL = 1.2(DL+LL+QL)
The load factor of 1.2 is considered for the combination of three because the probability
of the three loads reaching its peak together are less.

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
For serviceability limit states

 SL = 1.0 (DL+LL)
 SL = 1.0 (DL+QL)
 SL = 1.0DL+ 0.8LL+ 0.8 QL

Where DL is dead load, LL is live load and QL is earthquake/wind load. The load factor is taken
as 0.8 in the third case as the probability of wind load or earthquake load acting with the peak
of live load is less. For all cases the safety factor is taken as 1.0 as we are considering the
serviceability of structure.

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)

Under Reinforced Section is Preferable.

−3.0
−3.0
−2.5

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Strength of Materials I AUE 2010 E.C
(Sami J.)
What is the difference between working stress method and limit state method in the design of
beams, slabs, columns, and footing?

Working Stress Method

 The Stresses in an element is obtained from the working loads and compared with
permissible stresses.
 The method follows linear stress-strain behavior of both the materials.
 Modular ratio can be used to determine allowable stresses.
 Material capabilities are under estimated to large extent. Factor of safety are used in
working stress method.
 In this Method dead and live loads are treated equally, i.e. the factor of safety would
be the same irrespective of the type of load. Here, the total loads expected on the
structure are taken and a single factor of safety to the members is applied (say 1.5)
regardless of the nature of the load.
 WSM is an elastic design method
 In this method, the members are designed to never go beyond their elastic range.
The maximum load a member can take is thus limited and the plastic range is not
explored at all.
 Ultimate load carrying capacity cannot be predicted accurately and the method
results in an uneconomical section.

Limit State Method

 The stresses are obtained from design loads and compared with design strength.
 This method follows linear strain relationship but not linear stress relationship.
 The ultimate stresses of materials itself are used as allowable stresses.
 The material capabilities are not under estimated as much as they are in working
stress method. Partial safety factors are used in limit state method.
 This method recognizes the inherent unpredictability of loads and assigns a much
higher factor of safety to live loads (we increase them by 1.5-1.6), whereas it
recognizes that dead loads are much closer to what we calculate (we only multiply
dead loads by 1.2-1.3).
 This method also recognizes the uncertainty of different failure modes. For example,
flexural capacity of a concrete beam is fairly predictable; therefore we count on 90%
of the theoretical value. Shear in concrete, on the other hand is much less
predictable; therefore, we only count on 70% of the value.
 LSM is a plastic design method.
 This method uses the ultimate strength of the member beyond the initial yielding
and allows plastic deformation to a certain extent.
 For this reason, limit state method provides a more economical design and thus
more and more codes are starting to use limit state method instead of working stress
method. Hence working stress method is becoming more outdated.

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