 LECTURE 7:

 MODERN FORMWORK SYSTEM

 PART 1: TRADITIONAL FORMWORKS

 Definition
 Formwork- a temporary form into which wet
concrete and reinforcement is placed to form a
particular desired shape with a predetermined
strength.
 In cast-in-situ concrete work, when casting, must
be given form/shape by pouring it in a mould and
the term covering all types of mould for
casting(in-situ or otherwise) is FORMWORK.
 Formwork or shuttering is the mould to shape the
concrete structure and will support until it has
developed sufficient strength to support itself.
 Formwork is a temporary mould, made from
planks.
 Shuttering are series of flat
planks put together to form
boarding of which are combined
to make a formwork.

Shuttering are one of the major parts to make a formwork

 The cost of formwork may be as much as 1/3 (~ 35%)
or more, of the total cost of the concrete works as a
whole.
 In some cases, due to special needs/features, it can
reach as high as 75%.
 A breakdown of percentage costs could be as follows:-

 Element Materials(%) Labour(%) Total(%)

 Concrete 28 12 40
 Reinforcement 18 7 25
 Formwork 15 20 35
 100
The word shuttering is
correctly applied only to the
flat panels that are fixed
together to make the
complete formwork.

Parts of the formwork such

as column and beam boxes
are called forms.
 Selection Criteria
 Due to the various implications of these temporary
works, it is important that a suitable and
appropriate system is selected for use.

 The economic essentials of formwork, listed thus

(among others) :-
 Low cost
 Value for money to suit the purpose.
 To produce the required form, finish & strength.

 Strength
 Materials and supporting members to obtain economic
balance in terms of quantity used and continuing site
activity around the assembled formwork.
 Often self weight is a major failure in formwork
design, its need to use a lot of materials for self support
rather then functioning as a mould.
 Finish
 Finishes is a main factor of concrete works.
 To produce desired result direct from the formwork.
 Be off-form finish (pattern) or Formica plywood board
(plain).

 Assembly
 The use of patent systems and mechanical handling
plant does & will propositional help to enhance and
speed up erecting & striking (bringing down/opening
the formwork) works.
 Material
 Timber is the traditional & conventional material for formwork.
 Due to its flexibility & lightweight & disposable nature (use and throw)
For small and intricate(complicated) forms, it remains the favourable
material.
 However, with research & development of present years, many other
materials have cropped up, namely Metal/Steel, Plastics & GFRPs.

 Design
 The final finish is within the confines of the architectural/structural
design.
 The economics of scale applies i.e. reusable formwork can greatly
reduce the construction cost.
 Thus, it should be as repetitive and as adaptable as possible.
 Design (cont’d)
 Timber has limited re-use probability, with exposed surface suffering the
most damage i.e. 5 or 6 re-uses are not unusual.

 However, due to the poor/bad quality of timber supplied/available, often 3

times is SAFE practice but always subject to the Engineers scrutiny.

 Metal/Steel, Plastics & GFRPs can be re-used as many times as its designed
for i.e. almost indefinitely (if cared for during installation & striking).

 These are often pressed/ moulded into fixed shapes & specific application
to repetitive uses i.e. columns & beams, often for multi-storey buildings.

 However, the uniqueness, often intricate, of certain forms is finally in the

hands of the Client/Designer.
 Joints (Quality)
 Quality of work/labourers shall determine the tightness of these
formworks & should be tight enough to prevent grout leakages.

 As we are dealing with a liquidicious material, tightness, namely

at joints, turns and ends is essential. If not supervised adequately,
the resultant of which are poor concreting finishes due to the
escape of cement slurry & sand seeping out, leaving only the
aggregate happening at the 1/3 length of works or formwork
joints.

 Sealing of joints can be done with compressible plastic tape

between components or with mastic/ silicone sealant applied to
junctions
The Use of Clamps for Firm Joint Tightness
 Panels /Shutters
 These are conventional & traditional ie materials of the past and good to know about, at that
time the construction industry was not as thriving & hectic it has been of late, present and
hopefully future.

 Sheeting
 Plywood(plain or lined) for example, is the common material used however, due to its
nature/property, it is vulnerable to edge and corner damage. (Thus, these are improvable with
the use of more resilient materials)

 Thus, for longer lasting, these are fixed (preferably screwed from the facing plane) to timber
studworks (jus like the panels & shuttering). Care is to be taken when striking/removing so that
multiple use is possible. If proper and adequate care & measures have been adhered to, it can
also be remove and reverse to obtain multiple & maximum usage.

 At edges & ends, separate (special) panels, sometimes termed ‘loose tongue’ (Fig 1) could be
made purposely for these awkward situation & locations, however, always with extra bracings
for assurance. These could easily reduce unnecessary leakages
Figure 1: Typical loose tongue
 Glass Fibre-Reinforced Plastics (GFRP),
Plastics & Steel/Metal

 Steel/Metal, these sort of formwork are designed to

eliminate timber. More affectively, for fast/quick
erection, then equally efficiently dismantled.
Among others:-
Figure2: Typical metal/steel panel formwork c/w accessories, clips and fixing gears
 Many are available, generally consisting of panels/shutters made of
steel/metal sheets on/with light steel angle framing similar to that
shown in Fig 2.

 More then often, for ease of logistics the panels for floor & wall
shutters are 900x600mm or 600x600mm.
 Also available are narrow width units & strip for making up
dimensions. Other parts available are:-

 i. Smaller width panels for columns,

 ii. telescopic beam/joist for floors


 iii. adjustable beam clamps as head-trees (Fig 3) for soffit and sides of
varying widths of beams.
Figure 3: Typical Head-tree for formwork
 Special panels for circular work may be made
available if the economics allows it, otherwise
these are made do with conventional timber.
 The angle framing (Fig 4) in these panels are
perforated to permit then to be connected together
and at the same time to cater for use of
accessories for fixing of walling via various
connectors.
 These simple means of fastening and dismantling
allows rapid erection and striking.
Figure 4: Typical Perforated angle framing for steel formwork
These types of formwork can be re-used a great
many times, but if roughly handled, will need
considerable maintenance in straightening,
levelling dents and in welding up broken &
cracked edges.

This must be weigh against (savings from) the

greater number of re-uses.
 GFRP & Steel/Metal forms can also be used in the construction of shell
vaults, Longitudinal shutters, of thin sheet steel stiffened by ribs, are
supported on curved T-sections carried by a framework of metal
scaffolding tubes.
 Adjustable props/shores or jack bolts fitted to the heads of the props,
provide vertical adjustments.
 Curved scaffold tubes, carrying flexible steel sheets secured by special
shutter clips, may be used instead of T-sections and longitudinal stiffened
shutters.
 Improvising by using Mobile Scaffolds running on rails is a good idea
especially on very long vaults, however it necessitates that the barrel vault
soffits are clear/smooth. To be so, all structural forms to concrete finishes’
e.g. stiffening ribs and frames to the vault MUST, therefore, be above the
curved shell. Unless the vault is long, striking and re-erection of the
shuttering is generally quicker and more accurate.
 A. Traditional Wall Formwork

 B. Climbing Formwork

 C. Slip Forms / Sliding(Moving) Formwork

 D. Permanent Formwork

 E. Patent Formwork
 Wall Formwork: With Timber
Panelling
/Shuttering

Parts Terminologies:-

- boarding
- studs
- walling
- spacers
- wire tie
- sole plate
- stake
Concrete Kickers - concrete kickers
To mark & guide the location of wall & provide a -struts
secure fix for the formwork
 Consists of standard framed panels/shuttering
tied together over their backs with horizontal
members called walling. (Fig 5)

 These walling fulfil the same function as the

yokes in column clamps that provide the
resistance to the horizontal force of the wet
concrete i.e. to hold and align the
panels/shutterings, add rigidity to the
formwork.
 These waling are best in pairs allowing the
tie/bolt shank in between c/w a washer to
distribute the with-holding strength/load.

Figure 5: Typical walling to traditional wall form

 For ease of work & accuracy, a 50-75mm high
concrete kicker at the base to the proposed
wall and enable the form to be properly &
accurately positioned also to lessen the
probability of loss of grout i.e. for tightness.

 These kickers must be of high grade cement

mix of grout as (often) it does not have
structural aggregate incorporated!
 Erection (usual practice)

 Usually this is done by erecting one side of the

formwork shuttering to ensure alignment for accuracy
of which the other panel is then erected/fixed base on
the correctness of the initial shuttering (however the
onus is to double check all erection upon completion).

 But before erection of the second panel, the steel cage

(rebars) is inserted and positioned.
Tie / Spacers
To maintain/ keep the formwork parallel, timber pieces, the
following are used:-
1. noggings, wedges etc (external) with wire (loop) ties,
2. steel tie rods (c/w nuts & washers)
3. steel tie-spacer (through/cast-within) & with cone nuts
4. concrete spacer blocks (internal).
1 & 3 tie/spacers are removable upon casting & curing.
 This is a method (Fig 6) of casting a wall in set
vertical lift heights using the same forms
repetitive fashion thus obtaining maximum usage
from a minimum number of formworks.
 However, the earlier cast has to be cured enough
before removing and reusing.
 These are then fixed to the cast portion (acting as
kickers), After each casting the formworks are
removed and reused up until the
designed/required height is achieved.
Figure 6: Shifting the formwork to the next level for casting
 With this method its possible to cast walls
against an excavated earth or sheet pile
retaining structure with only one side with
formwork.

Tie spacers are then replaced with Loop wall

ties (Fig 7) resting on the surface of the other
‘formwork’.
Figure 7: Typical Loop Wall Tie

Single Sided Formwork Against an Excavated Earth Wall

 For the rapid construction of constant section
walls like Lift shafts or Core Wall, it is possible
to use a continuously rising form, usually known
as a slip form or sliding shutters.
 THE SHUTTERS ARE LITERALLY SLIDING
and MOVING upwards as curing & casting takes
place!
 Its termed as such due to the
feature/characteristics of actually moving while
the cast concrete is curing.
 By this, it means that work may proceed
continuously, the shutter rising from 150mm
to 300mm per hour, depending upon the rate
of hardening of the concrete, as the cast
concrete very rapidly becomes self supporting.

 The formworks is about 900mm to 1200mm

deep/wide fixed to and held apart by timber or
steel frames or called yokes.
 The formworks is fixed to and held apart by timber or
steel frames or yokes.

 On top of each yoke is an Hydraulic Jack, through

which passes a high tensile steel jacking rod (Threaded
Rebar) ~ 25mm diameter, which is cast into the wall.

 Due to the method and process adopted, also being a
continuous operation, the whole wall is a monolithic
and joint-less structure, suitable for structures such as
water towers, chimneys and the cores of multi-storey
buildings that have repetitive floors.
 The use of slip-form system needs to have been
considered at a very early stage of design, both
Architecturally & Engineering wise.

 Generally when working/using with advance
technology formwork, among others, the following
criteria are essential to make the cost of equipment,
labour and planning an economical proposition :-

 - wall of uniform thickness
 - minimum openings
 - a minimum height of at least 20 metres
Sliding Formwork: Formwork Moved By The
Hydraulic Jacking Action

Similarly to the Climbing Formwork, a

working platform needs to be build around the
casting area.
Identification:-
1 - Stabilisers
2 - Extended rebar(for the next floor) with the
jacking rod(7)
3&4 - Yoke
5&6 - Working Platform
7 - Jacking rod
8&9 - Hydraulic mechanism
10 - Hydraulic Motor
11 - Platform Beam
12 - Sliding Formwork
 1. Side forms
 To be strongly braced and are loadbearing of
timber and/or steel construction.
 Steel formworks are heavier, difficult to
assemble and repair but they have lower
frictional loading, & are easier to clean and
better durability.
 Whilst, timber formworkss are lighter, better
flexibility, easier to repair(when erecting
errors are discovered) and generally favoured
 These forms are usually made to a height of
1200mm
 2. Yoke
 Assist in supporting the suspended working
platforms & are usually made of framed
steelwork, suitably braced and designed to
provide the necessary bearings for the
working platforms
 3. Working platform (Fig 8)
 3 working levels are usually provided (at
any 1 time) as the cast wall moves upwards.
 3. Working platform
3 working levels are usually provided (at any
1 time) as the cast wall moves upwards.

1st level (Top Deck)

Situated above the yokes at a height of about
2m above the top of the wall forms for the use
of the steel fixers.

2nd level (Working Deck)

A platform over the entire inner floor area at a
level coinciding with the top of the wall forms
and is used by the concretors as storage of
material, carry leveling instruments and jacking
control equipment
3rd level (Hanging Deck)
Is in the form of a hanging / suspended scaffold usually to both sides of the wall and is to give
access to the exposed freshly cast concrete for the purpose of finishing operation
The jacks are usually specified by their load-
bearing capacities i.e. 3 - 6 tonnes and consist
of 2 clamps operated by a piston.

These are centrally controlled so as to attain a

uniform & controllable upward movement.
Formwork is left permanently in place because
of the difficulty and/or inappropriate ie not
practical, thus also making it costly to remove.

Example: Permanent Formwork : With Precast

Stone or Concrete Slab

Sometimes this is done/adopted purposely

though, it’s a means of utilizing the facing
material as both formwork and outer cladding
finish.

The external face/ cladding is supported by the

conventional internal face formwork, thus
overcome the external strutting/ support
problems often encountered with high-rise
structures.
 Synthetic Rubber Formwork

Polystyrene

Polymer base (Plastic)