Formwork is the term given to either temporary or permanent molds into which concrete or similar

materials are poured. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering
moulds.
Contents
[hide]
1 Formwork and concrete form types
2 Slab formwork (deck formwork)
o 2.1 History
o 2.2 Timber beam slab formwork
o 2.3 Traditional slab formwork
o 2.4 Metal beam slab formwork
o 2.5 Modular slab formwork
o 2.6 Table or flying form systems
2.6.1 Structure
2.6.2 Support
2.6.3 Size
o 2.7 Tunnel forms
o 2.8 Cassette formwork
3 Usage
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 Literature
7 References
8 External links
Formwork and concrete form types[edit]
Formwork comes in several types:
1. Traditional timber formwork. The formwork is built on site out of timber and plywood or
moisture-resistant particleboard. It is easy to produce but time-consuming for larger
structures, and the plywood facing has a relatively short lifespan. It is still used extensively
where the labour costs are lower than the costs for procuring reusable formwork. It is also
the most flexible type of formwork, so even where other systems are in use, complicated
sections may use it.
2. Engineered Formwork System. This formwork is built out of prefabricated modules with a
metal frame (usually steel or aluminium) and covered on the application (concrete) side with
material having the wanted surface structure (steel, aluminum, timber, etc.). The two major
advantages of formwork systems, compared to traditional timber formwork, are speed of
construction (modular systems pin, clip, or screw together quickly) and lower life-cycle costs
(barring major force, the frame is almost indestructible, while the covering if made of wood;
may have to be replaced after a few - or a few dozen - uses, but if the covering is made with
steel or aluminium the form can achieve up to two thousand uses depending on care and
the applications).
3. Re-usable plastic formwork. These interlocking and modular systems are used to build
widely variable, but relatively simple, concrete structures. The panels are lightweight and
very robust. They are especially suited for low-cost, mass housing schemes.
4. Permanent Insulated Formwork. This formwork is assembled on site, usually out of insulating
concrete forms (ICF). The formwork stays in place after the concrete has cured, and may
provide advantages in terms of speed, strength, superior thermal and acousticinsulation,
space to run utilities within the EPS layer, and integrated furring strip for cladding finishes.
5. Coffor is a structural stay-in-place formwork system to build constructions in concrete. It is
composed of two filtering grids reinforced by vertical stiffeners and linked by articulated
connectors that can be folded for transport. A standard panel 1.10 m x 2.70 m (3' 8 x 9)
weighs 32.7 kg (72 lbs) and can be carried by hand. After Coffor is placed, concrete is
poured between the grids: excess water of concrete is eliminated by gravity and air is also
eliminated. Coffor remains in the construction after concrete is poured and acts as
reinforcement. Any type of construction can be built with Coffor: individual houses, multi-
story buildings including high-rise buildings, industrial , commercial or administrative
buildings. Several types of civil works can be done with Coffor. Coffor is delivered
completely assembled from the factory. No assembly is necessary on the construction site.
6. Stay-In-Place structural formwork systems. This formwork is assembled on site, usually out
of prefabricated fiber-reinforced plasticforms. These are in the shape of hollow tubes, and
are usually used for columns and piers. The formwork stays in place after the concrete has
cured and acts as axial and shear reinforcement, as well as serving to confine the concrete
and prevent against environmental effects, such as corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles.
Slab formwork (deck formwork)[edit]


Pantheon dome


Schematic sketch of traditional formwork


Modular formwork with deck for housing project in Chile


Steel and plywood formwork for poured in place concrete foundation
History[edit]
Some of the earliest examples of concrete slabs were built by Roman engineers. Because concrete
is quite strong in resisting compressive loads, but has relatively poor tensile or torsional strength,
these early structures consisted of arches, vaults and domes. The most notable concrete structure
from this period is the Pantheon in Rome. To mould this structure, temporary scaffolding and
formwork or falsework was built in the future shape of the structure. These building techniques were
not isolated to pouring concrete, but were and are widely used inmasonry. Because of the
complexity and the limited production capacity of the building material, concretes rise as a favored
building material did not occur until the invention of Portland cement (and developments by
the Edison Portland Cement Company) and reinforced concrete.
Timber beam slab formwork[edit]
Similar to the traditional method, but stringers and joist are replaced with engineered wood beams
and supports are replaced with metal props. This makes this method more systematic and reusable.
Traditional slab formwork[edit]


Traditional timber formwork on a jetty in Bangkok
On the dawn of the rival of concrete in slab structures, building techniques for the temporary
structures were derived again from masonry and carpentry. The traditional slab formwork technique
consists of supports out of lumber or young tree trunks, that support rows of stringers assembled
roughly 3 to 6 feet or 1 to 2 metres apart, depending on thickness of slab. Between these stringers,
joists are positioned roughly 12 inches, 30 centimeters apart upon which boards or plywood are
placed. The stringers and joists are usually 4 by 4 inch or 4 by 6 inch lumber. The most common
imperial plywood thickness is inch and the most common metric thickness is 18 mm.
Metal beam slab formwork[edit]
Similar to the traditional method, but stringers and joist are replaced with aluminium forming systems
or steel beams and supports are replaced with metal props. This also makes this method more
systematic and reusable. Aluminum beams are fabricated as telescoping units which allows them to
span supports that are located at varying distances apart. Telescoping aluminium beams can be
used and reused in the construction of structures of varying size.


Hand setting modular aluminum deck formwork


Handset modular aluminum formwork
Modular slab formwork[edit]
These systems consist of prefabricated timber, steel or aluminum beams and formwork modules.
Modules are often no larger than 3 to 6 feet or 1 to 2 metres in size. The beams and formwork are
typically set by hand and pinned, clipped, or screwed together. The advantages of a modular system
are: does not require a crane to place the formwork, speed of construction with unskilled labor,
formwork modules can be removed after concrete sets leaving only beams in place prior to
achieving design strength.
Table or flying form systems[edit]
United States Patent 4036466.
These systems consist of slab formwork "tables" that are reused on multiple stories of a building
without being dismantled. The assembled sections are either lifted per elevator or "flown" by crane
from one story to the next. Once in position the gaps between the tables or table and wall are filled
with "fillers". They vary in shape and size as well as their building material. The use of these systems
can greatly reduce the time and manual labor involved in setting and striking the formwork. Their
advantages are best utilized by large area and simple structures. It is also common for architects
and engineers to design building around one of these systems.


Flying formwork tables with aluminium and timber joists. The tables are supported by shoes attached to previously
poured columns and walls
Structure[edit]
A table is built pretty much the same way as a beam formwork but the single parts of this system are
connected together in a way that makes them transportable. The most common sheathing
isplywood, but steel and fiberglass are also in use. The joists are either made from timber, wood I-
beams, aluminium or steel. The stringers are sometimes made of wood I-beams but usually from
steel channels. These are fastened together (screwed, weld or bolted) to become a "deck". These
decks are usually rectangular but can also be other shapes.
Support[edit]
All support systems have to be height adjustable to allow the formwork to be placed at the correct
height and to be removed after the concrete is cured. Normally adjustable metal props similar to (or
the same as) those used by beam slab formwork are used to support these systems. Some systems
combine stringers and supports into steel or aluminum trusses. Yet other systems use metal frame
shoring towers, which the decks are attached to. Another common method is to attach the formwork
decks to previously cast walls or columns,thus eradicating the use of vertical props altogether. In this
method, adjustable support shoes are bolted through holes (sometimes tie holes) or attached to cast
anchors.
Size[edit]
The size of these tables can vary from 70 to 1,500 square feet (6.5 to 139.4 m
2
). There are two
general approaches in this system:
1. Crane handled: this approach consists of assembling or producing the tables with a large
formwork area that can only be moved up a level by crane. Typical widths can be 15, 18 or
20 ft. or 5 to 7 metres but their width can be limited, so that it is possible to transport them
assembled, without having to pay for an oversize load. The length might vary and can be up
to 100 ft. (or more) depending on the crane capacity. After the concrete is cured,
the decks are lowered and moved with rollers or trolleys to the edge of the building. From
then on the protruding side of the table is lifted by crane while the rest of the table is rolled
out of the building. After the centre of gravity is outside of the building the table is attached
to another crane and flown to the next level or position.
This technique is fairly common in the United States and east Asian countries. The advantages of
this approach are the further reduction of manual labour time and cost per unit area of slab and a
simple and systematic building technique. The disadvantages of this approach are the necessary
high lifting capacity of building site cranes, additional expensive crane time, higher material costs
and little flexibility.
1. Crane fork or elevator handled:


Formwork tables in use at a building site with more complicated structural features
By this approach the tables are limited in size and weight. Typical widths are between 6 to 10 ft or 2
to 3 meters, typical lengths are between 12 and 20 ft or 4 to 7 metres, though table sizes may vary in
size and form. The major distinction of this approach is that the tables are lifted either with a crane
transport fork or by material platform elevators attached to the side of the building. They are usually
transported horizontally to the elevator or crane lifting platform singlehandedly with shifting trolleys
depending on their size and construction. Final positioning adjustments can be made by trolley. This
technique enjoys popularity in the US, Europe and generally in high labor cost countries. The
advantages of this approach in comparison to beam formwork or modular formwork is a further
reduction of labor time and cost. Smaller tables are generally easier to customize around
geometrically complicated buildings, (round or non rectangular) or to form around columns in
comparison to their large counterparts. The disadvantages of this approach are the higher material
costs and increased crane time (if lifted with crane fork).
Tunnel forms[edit]
Tunnel forms are large, room size forms that allows walls and floors to be cast in a single pour. With
multiple forms, the entire floor of a building can be done in a single pour. Tunnel forms require
sufficient space exterior to the building for the entire form to be slipped out and hoisted up to the
next level. A section of the walls is left uncasted to remove the forms. Typically castings are done
with a frequency of 4 days. Tunnel forms are most suited for buildings that have the same or similar
cells to allow re-use of the forms within the floor and from one floor to the next, in regions which
have high labor prices.
Cassette formwork[edit]
See structural coffer.
Usage[edit]
For removable forms, once the concrete has been poured into formwork and has set (or cured), the
formwork is struck or stripped (removed) to expose the finished concrete. The time between pouring
and formwork stripping depends on the job specifications, the cure required, and whether the form is
supporting any weight, but is usually at least 24 hours after the pour is completed. For example,
the California Department of Transportation requires the forms to be in place for 17 days after
pouring,
[1]
while the Washington State Department of Transportation requires the forms to stay in
place for 3 days with a damp blanket on the outside.
[2]



Formwork stripped exposing the set concrete
Spectacular accidents have occurred when the forms were either removed too soon or had been
under-designed to carry the load imposed by the weight of the uncured concrete. Less critical and
much more common (though no less embarrassing and often costly) are those cases in which
under-designed formwork bends or breaks during the filling process (especially if filled with a high-
pressure concrete pump). This then results in fresh concrete escaping out of the formwork in a form
blowout, often in large quantities.
Concrete exerts less pressure against the forms as it hardens, so forms are usually designed to
withstand a number of feet per hour of pour rate to give the concrete at the bottom time to firm up.
For example, wall or column forms are commonly designed for a pour rate between 48 ft/hr.
[citation
needed]
The hardening is an asymptotic process, meaning that most of the final strength will be
achieved after a short time, though some further hardening can occur depending on the cement type
and admixtures.
Wet concrete also applies hydrostatic pressure to formwork. The pressure at the bottom of the form
is therefore greater than at the top. In the illustration of the column formwork to the right, the 'column
clamps' are closer together at the bottom. Note that the column is braced with steel adjustable
'formwork props' and uses 20 mm 'through bolts' to further support the long side of the column.