Lateral

Pressures for
Formwork Design
A review of the formulas to determine the pressure of fresh concrete

By M.K. Hurd

resh concrete exerts pressure on vertical form surfaces,

and an assessment of that pressure is needed for
designing forms. In the simplest theory, fresh concrete acts
as a fluid exerting pressure equally in all directions at
whatever point the measurement is madeessentially
assuming a hydrostatic pressure effect. This is reasonable
because the fresh concrete behaves much like a fluid at
least briefly during vibration, or for a longer time if
flowability of the mixture has been enhanced through use of
admixtures or special proportioning and materials selection.
But concrete is not a true fluid, and some method of
evaluating the concretes actual pressure is needed.
Evaluating pressure has been a significant part of the
work of ACI Committee 347, Formwork for Concrete. As
early as 1958, Committee 347 (then Committee 622)
studied available field measurements of lateral pressure
on formwork and used the data to develop pressure
formulas that could be safely used for form design. A
report was published in 1958,1 and the formulas, with
some modifications, were included in ACIs first formwork

standard, ACI 347-63.2 In the days before the advent of the

personal computer, the committee considered it important
to keep the equations simple, reasoning that this would
encourage their use and minimize mathematical errors.
These formulas were carried forward through successive
ACI standards until 2001, when accumulating data3 on
lateral pressures enabled the committee to introduce
new coefficients for unit weight and chemistry of the
mixture, expanding coverage of the formulas to mixtures
with cement replacements, admixtures, or both. I wrote
about those changes for CI readers in October 2002.4
Further modifications were issued in ACI 347-04,5
however, and clarification of the present status may
be needed. To avoid possible confusion, the formulas
presented here are given the same identifying numbers
as in ACI 347-04.

Basic Formula

Although the pressure at any given point within the

form varies over time, the designer usually doesnt need
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Table 1:
Unit weight coefficient Cw used in form pressure equations
Unit weight (density)
of concrete
Less than 140 lb/ft3 (2240 kg/m3)

Cw (in.-lb version)

Cw (SI version)

Cw = 0.5[1 + (w/145)] but not less than 0.80 Cw = 0.5[1 + (w/2320)] but not less than 0.80

140 to 150 lb/ft3 (2240 to 2400 kg/m3)

More than 150 lb/ft3 (2400 kg/m3)

1.0

1.0

Cw = w/145

Cw = w/2320

Note: w = unit weight (density) of concrete, in lb/ft3 (kg/m3)

Table 2:
Chemistry coefficient Cc used in form pressure equations
Cement type or blend

Cc

Types I, II, and III cements without retarders*

Types I, II, and III cements with a retarder

1.0
1.2

Other types or blends containing less than 70%

slag or 40% fly ash without retarders*

1.2

Other types or blends containing less than 70%

slag or 40% fly ash with a retarder*

1.4

Blends containing more than 70% slag or 40%

fly ash

1.4

*Retarders include any admixture, such as a retarder, retarding

water-reducer, retarding mid-range water-reducing admixture, or
high-range water-reducing admixture, that delays setting of concrete

to know the variation in detail. Hence, the equations for

lateral formwork pressure provide only the maximum to
be used for design.
The basic formula is:

p = wh

(2.1a), in.-lb units

p = gh

(2.1b), SI units

For the equation in in.-lb units, p is the lateral pressure,

in lb/ft2; w is unit weight of the fresh concrete, in lb/ft3;
and h is the depth in feet of fluid or plastic concrete from
the top of a placement to the point under consideration
in the form. For the equation in SI units, p is the lateral
pressure, in kPa; is the concrete density, in kg/m3; g is
the gravitational constant of 9.81 N/kg; and h is the depth
of fluid or plastic concrete in meters from the top of a
placement to the point under consideration in the form.
If a form is filled rapidly before any stiffening of the
concrete takes place, h should be taken as the full height
of the freshly placed concrete. If multiple placements are
to be made, h should be taken as the distance between
construction joints. This formula is applicable for all
conditions other than those specifically defined for the
use of Eq. (2.2), (2.3), and (2.4).

Column Form Pressure

Heavy-duty steel formwork resists concrete pressure in a 16 ft

(5 m) high retaining wall. Custom form assembly permitted the
contractor to place the wall and projecting corbels monolithically
(Photo courtesy of EFCO Corp.)

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/ Concrete international

For the purpose of pressure determination,

Committee 347 defines columns as elements with no
plan dimension exceeding 6.5 ft (2 m).
For concrete with a slump of 7 in. (175 mm) or less
and placed in column forms with normal internal
vibration to a depth of 4 ft (1.2 m) or less, ACI 347-04
recommends the following equation for calculating the
maximum pressure pmax in lb/ft2 (kPa) to be used for
column form design:

pmax = Cw Cc [150 + 9000 R T ]

(2.2), in.-lb units

785 R

p max = C w C c 7.2 +
T + 17.8

(2.2), SI units

with a minimum of 600Cw lb/ft2 (30Cw kPa), but in no case

greater than Eq. (2.1). Cw and Cc are the unit weight and
chemistry coefficients shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively;
R is the rate of placement, in ft/h (m/h); and T is the
temperature of the concrete during placement, in F (C).
With rapid placement and intensive vibration or with
self-consolidating concrete, it is possible to have concrete
remaining in a fluid condition for the full duration of the
placement, in which case the only theoretical pressure
limit will be as in Eq. (2.1). Committee 347 didnt have
sufficient test data to develop separate provisions for
self-consolidating concrete. A number of studies have
been or are being conductedfor example, Reference 6
but definitive results have yet to be found.

Wall Form Pressure

For purposes of pressure determination, ACI 347-04

defines a wall as a vertical structural element with at
least one plan dimension greater than 6.5 ft (2 m).
ACI 347-04 gives two equations for wall form pressure.
As in the case of the column formula, both are applicable
to concrete with a slump of 7 in. (175 mm) or less and
vibration to a depth of 4 ft (1.2 m) or less. The first,
Eq. (2.3), applies to walls with a rate of placement less
than 7 ft/h (2.1 m/h) and a placement height of 14 ft
(4.2 m) or less:

p max = C w C c [150 + 9000 R T ]

(2.3), in.-lb units

785 R

p max = C w C c 7.2 +
T + 17.8

(2.3), SI units

Additional Information

For examples showing how to apply these formulas,

refer to the 7th Edition of ACI SP-4, Formwork for Concrete.7
Lateral pressure calculations are also presented in the
interactive spreadsheet program made available
to ACI by William C. Epstein, formerly a Professor of
Construction Management at California State Polytechnic
University, San Luis Obispo, CA. To use the spreadsheets,
visit the Concrete Knowledge Center at www.concrete.org,
click on the Construction button, and click on the
Form Design Spreadsheet button. Then go down to the
bottom of the page and select Walls.

References
1. ACI Committee 622, Pressures on Formwork, ACI JOURNAL,
Proceedings V. 55, Aug. 1958, pp. 173-190.
2. ACI Committee 347, ACI Standard Recommended Practice for
Concrete Formwork (ACI 347-63), American Concrete Institute,
Farmington Hills, MI, 1963, 52 pp.
3. Barnes, J.M., and Johnston, D.W., Modification Factors for
Improved Prediction of Fresh Concrete Lateral Pressures on
Formwork, Institute of Construction, Department of Civil Engineering,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, Oct. 1999, 90 pp.
4. Hurd, M.K., Putting the Pressure on Formwork, Concrete
International, V. 24, No. 10, Oct. 2002, pp. 49-55.
5. ACI Committee 347, Guide to Formwork for Concrete
(ACI 347-04), American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI,
2004, 32 pp.
6. Billberg, P.; Silfwerbrand, J.; and sterberg, T., Form Pressures
Generated by Self-Consolidating Concrete, Concrete International, V. 27,
No. 10, Oct. 2005, pp. 35-42.
7. Hurd, M.K., Formwork for Concrete (SP-4), 7th Edition,
American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 2005, 516 pp.
Selected for reader interest by the editors.

The second equation, Eq. (2.4), applies to all walls with

a placement rate of 7 to 15 ft/h (2.1 to 4.5 m/h), and to
walls placed at less than 7 ft/h (2.2 m/h), but having a
placement height greater than 14 ft (4.2 m).
p max = C w C c [150 + 43,400 T + 2800 R T ] (2.4), in.-lb units

1156
244 R

p max = C w C c 7.2 +
+
T + 17.8 T + 17.8

(2.4), SI units

For both Eq. (2.3) and (2.4), pmax should be a minimum of

600Cw lb/ft2 (30Cw kPa), but not greater than Eq. (2.1).
Because Committee 347 has insufficient data on observed
pressure at higher rates, Eq. (2.4) does not apply for rates of
placement greater than 15 ft/h (4.5 m/h).

ACI Honorary Member M.K. Hurd is a

member of ACI Committees 124, Concrete
Aesthetics, and 347, Formwork for Concrete.
She has received numerous awards for her
service and contributions to ACI, including
the ACI Construction Award (1982 and 1988),
the Delmar L. Bloem Award for Distinguished
Service (1990 and 2006), and the Henry C.
Turner Medal (1995). The author of seven
editions of ACI SP-4, Formwork for Concrete, Hurd is the first
female recipient of the Marston Medal, the highest award
bestowed by the College of Engineering at Iowa State University.
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