Is designing in welded wire reinforcement difficult and time consuming?
No. The design process is relatively the same as designing with conventional rebar. The difference in designing in welded wire reinforcement takes place after the design engineer calculates the required areas of steel and before the area of steels is converted into conventional reinforcing bars (#3, #4, #5, #6, #7, etc.). At this point , the required areas of steel are converted into the spacing and wire sizes used in a welded wire reinforcement sheet. For example, an engineer designs a structural slab and calculates an area of steel of the primary reinforcement to be 0.26 in2 per linear foot and 0.13 in2 per linear foot for temperature reinforcement. The welded wire sheet would be 12″x12″ D26/D13 or 4″x4″ D8.7/D4.3 (note the area of steel per linear foot remains the same). For more information on designing in WWR – Please see the WWR Website for Engineering Resources and Design Aids.
