Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Enhancement in the quality of near surface concrete using some

formwork liners
Sahil Garg ⇑, Kameshwar Singh Nim, Kunwar K. Bajpai, Sudhir Misra
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India

h i g h l i g h t s

 CPF liners help to improve near surface concrete characteristics.

 Improvement in surface characteristics by commercially manufactured CPF is highest.
 Cheap and easily available gunny bag produced noteworthy improvement in NSC.
 With the increase in water content the efficiency of CPF increases.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The durability of concrete cast near the conventional formwork (steel or wood) is reduced because of
Received 22 March 2018 higher water-cement (w/c) ratio as compared with the concrete present in the core of the member.
Received in revised form 17 January 2019 Various controlled permeability formwork (CPF) liners absorb or drain out excess water near formwork,
Accepted 20 February 2019
can reduce the increase in w/c ratio of concrete near the formwork. This paper presents a quantitative
study showing improvement in the properties of near surface concrete (NSC) by the use of a commer-
cially available CPF liner, and comparing the performance of more easily available and cheaper alterna-
Keywords:
tives to CPF liner used. Two types of concrete mixes with identical w/c ratio but different water contents
Permeable formwork liners
Quality of near surface concrete
were used. Three specimens were made for each of the two types of concrete mix and one surface for each
Pull off test of the specimen was cast using one of the CPF liners among a commercially manufactured CPF, particle
Chloride penetration board, and gunny bag. Four tests: Rapid chloride permeability test, AgNO3 colorimetry test, initial surface
Initial surface absorption absorption test and pull off test were performed to study durability properties of NSC. Study of physical
Blowhole ratio appearance in terms of blowholes and grey area on the concrete surface using image processing is also
Digital image processing presented in the paper. Though commercially manufactured CPF produces better surface than the particle
Discoloration of concrete board and gunny bag, the improvement in NSC properties by use of gunny bag is also noteworthy.
Gunny bag
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Particle board
Durability

1. Introduction Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of an RC section showing a steel

Corrosion of reinforcement in the reinforced concrete (RC)
structures is one of the major concerns as far as durability of these
structures is concerned. It is widely accepted that the cover con-
crete affords the first line of defense for protecting the reinforcing
bars against corrosion, and therefore, the extent of this protection
afforded by the cover concrete depends on the actual cover pro-
vided and the properties of the cover concrete, which in turn,
may be different from the properties of the main body concrete
on account of factors such as workmanship, compaction of con-
crete, accumulation of bleed water near the formwork, etc.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sahilg@iitk.ac.in (S. Garg).
reinforcement embedded in concrete, with a cover thickness of ‘Dc,’
subjected to various deteriorations like carbonation and chloride
penetration which makes the steel susceptible to corrosion [1–3].
It may be noted that the properties of the cover concrete may be
different from the main body concrete, to the extent that words
‘covercrete’ and ‘heartcrete’ have been used in the literature [4].
The kind of formwork used to cast concrete plays a vital role in
determining the properties of cover concrete. Impermeable (con-
ventional) formworks made of plywood and steel are extensively
used to cast concrete.
Kothandaraman and Kandasamy [4] suggest that when a fresh
concrete mix is placed in conventional impermeable formwork
and vibrated, bleed water present in the concrete moves towards
the top and sides of the formwork thus increasing the water to

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.02.124
0950-0618/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733
Dc
Cl-
Steel CO2
Reinforcement
Covercrete
Heartcrete
Fig. 1. Schematic of an RC section subjected to ingress of chlorides and carbon
dioxide.
cement (w/c) ratio in concrete present near the impermeable form-
work. Goto and Roy [5] and Lafhaj et al. [6] have shown that when
w/c ratio increases, porosity, and permeability of concrete increase.
This increase in w/c ratio in the near surface concrete (NSC) could
lead to increased porosity and permeability and hence makes the
structure less durable. Thus, though concrete surfaces produced
using impermeable formworks have been plain and smooth, they
do not rank very high according to the durability criterion due to
weak NSC.
Kumar et al. [3] have shown that when the strength of the con-
crete increases, the coefficient of chloride diffusion decreases, thus
increasing the durability of RC structures. In order to strengthen
the NSC, various methods have been adopted in the past, such as
the use of silane, microsilica and controlled permeability formwork
(CPF) liners [7].
Though early work in using CPF was done in 1940’s by some
researchers like Johnson [8], Vidal and Blanks [9], the subject
attracted attention again in 90’s with the use of chemical admix-
tures and higher workability concrete, and greater awareness
towards durability related issues. It was found that NSC cast against
CPF resulted in increased tensile strength, rebound strength and
decreased blow holes, permeability, and sorptivity [4,10–14].
CPF liner is manufactured in a way that it allows water to
escape through it while ensuring that cement particles are retained
on its surface, which has the effect of a reduced w/c ratio and con-
sequently, reduced porosity. The process is schematically shown in
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Schematic of the working principle of permeable formwork liner [7,15].
723
The depth of the affected zone, on account of the use of CPF, has
been investigated by many researchers and found it to vary from
15 mm to 30 mm [4,9,10,16]. A schematic of variation of w/c ratio
with the depth measured from the surface of concrete for the con-
ventional formwork and the concrete cast against a CPF liner is
shown in Fig. 3.
As the w/c ratio decreases the porosity of NSC also decreases
and the ingress of deleterious agents becomes difficult leading to
a more durable RC structure. Kothandaraman et al. [18] have stud-
ied the improvements in the surface characteristics of self-
compacting concrete cast against CPF liner and have found that
the improvements were similar with the improvements on the
conventional concretes cast against CPF.
Construction projects especially in developing nations have a
huge financial constraint and this makes it highly difficult to use
very expensive materials to enhance durability of structures. Com-
mercially available CPF is very expensive (Approximately $20 to 25
per sqm [19]), and is often not easily available. Hence there is a
need to explore the possibility of using alternative locally available
materials which are also less expensive. Gunny bags and particle
board, which are used to store raw materials for construction
and then later for curing the concrete, are available in abundance
at a construction site (especially in developing countries). However
their application to improve the properties of NSC can make a sub-
stantial improvement in the durability of structures not only at
negligible cost but also aligns with the objective of zero waste
[20] and green construction practices [21]. Thus gunny bags and
particle board are possibly good candidates to be considered as
alternatives to CPF.
2. Scope and objectives
This study has been carried out with the view of quantitatively
comparing the performance of NSC using concrete surfaces cast
against different forms. Taking the normal steel formwork as a ref-
erence, results obtained using three other formworks with differ-
ent linings, have been discussed. The three linings used in the
study are: commercially available CPF, ‘Z,’ particle board, and
gunny bag. Further, to study the effect of bleeding due to an
724 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733

Fig. 3. Schematic variation of w/c ratio without and with CPF [17].

increase in water content in concrete, two concrete mixes (having 3. Specimen preparation
different water content) were used in the study. Parameters that
govern surface characteristics like pull off test, initial surface 3.1. Concrete used
absorption test, blowhole ratio were studied to compare the effec-
tiveness of different formwork liners to achieve a non-porous sur- Keeping the w/c ratio at 55%, two mixes were used to cast the
face. The effectiveness of the surface to resist chloride ion ingress specimens. The details of the properties of the constituents and
and uniformity in color of the surface is also measured. the mixes are given in Tables 1–4. It can be seen that Mix 1 and
Mix 2 had a unit water content of 180 kg/m3 and 200 kg/m3,
respectively.
Table 1
Properties of OPC 43 cement.
3.2. Properties of CPF’s
Physical properties Values
Fineness (m2/kg) 301.1 Commercially manufactured CPF liners has controlled pore size
Standard consistency (%) 27 to allow the passage of excess water and air from the concrete-
Setting time (minutes)
formwork interface, which is also designed to retain the majority
Initial setting time (minutes) 135
Final setting time (minutes) 245 of cement and other small fines. It has fine polypropylene fibers
Expansion (mm) Le Chatelier test 1 with numerous pores attached to a water permeable membrane.
Compressive strength (MPa) Both the sides of the fabric exhibit their individual properties
3 days 34
and functioning. The draining side collects and evacuates excess
7 days 42.5
28 days 49.1
air and water from the concrete. The water permeable membrane
holds the cement particles [22], thus decreasing the w/c ratio at the

Table 2
Sieve analysis of the aggregates used.

Sieve analysis
Sand Coarse aggregate (25 mm size) Coarse aggregate (12.5 mm size)
Sieve Size % Passing Sieve size % Passing Sieve size % Passing
10 mm 100.0% 40 mm 100.0% 16 mm 100.0%
4.75 mm 97.0% 20 mm 81.7% 12.5 mm 82.7%
2.36 mm 93.9% 10 mm 0.3% 10 mm 45.6%
1.18 mm 72.9% 4.75 mm – 4.75 mm 0.1%
600 mm 36.3% – – 2.36 mm 0.0%
300 mm 5.2% – – – –
150 mm 1.0% – – – –
Pan 0.0% – – – –
 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733 725

Table 3 3.3. Specimen details

Physical properties of aggregates used.

Physical properties A total of six specimens measuring 900 mm 

Properties Sand Coarse aggregate Coarse aggregate 600 mm  200 mm were cast, three with Mix 1 and three with
(25 mm size) (12.5 mm size) Mix 2. Fig. 4 shows the steel molds used to cast the specimens.
Specific gravity 2.7 2.7 2.7
In each case, one broad surface of the mold measuring
Water absorption 0.55 0.4 0.9 900 mm  600 mm was covered with one of the three CPF liners
Moisture content 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% among ‘Z’, gunny bag and particle board, whereas the other broad
surface served as the reference surface. Mix 1 and Mix 2 were cast
alternately, for each of the three surface liners. In further discus-
Table 4 sion, specimens have been referred to as Z-1, Z-2, P-1, P-2, G-1
Details of concrete constituents. and G-2, with the letters Z, P and G referring to commercially man-
Ingredients Weight of ingredients for 1 m3
ufactured CPF, particle board and gunny bag as formwork modify-
ing liners, and the numbers 1 and 2 referring to the use of Mix 1
Mix 1 Mix 2
and Mix 2, respectively. Thus, ‘‘Z-1” refers to the specimen made
Cement 328 kg 364 kg with Mix 1 using ‘Z’ as the permeable formwork liner on one side
Water 180 kg 200 kg
of formwork.
Fine aggregates 793 kg 757 kg
Coarse aggregates Twelve surfaces were, thus, obtained for different mix-
12.5 mm size (55%) 627 kg 599.5 kg formwork combinations. Each surface produced by normal steel
25 mm size (45%) 513 kg 490.5 kg formwork has been referred as SN, whereas surfaces produced
Admixtures Nil Nil
using ‘Z,’ particle board and gunny bag have been referred as SZ,
w/c ratio of 0.55 is used in both mixes. SB, and SG respectively. Thus six SN (three each of Mix 1 and Mix
2) and two surfaces each of SZ, SB and SG (one each for the two
mixes) were produced. All specimens were cured using wet gunny
Table 5 bags for 28 days.
Properties of ‘Z’ as obtained from the manufacturer.

Property Value
Maximum pore size of the filter <35 mm
Mesh opening for drainage grid <4 mm
Air permeability <3 m3/m2
sec
Drainage capacity Up to 3.0 l/m2
Water retention without drainage 1.30 l/m2
Water retention with drainage 0.40 l/m2
Maximum water absorption of filter <0.05 l/m2

interface. However, gunny bag and particle board absorb water and
thus reduce the amount of excess water present near the surface of
concrete, which too has the effect of decreasing the w/c ratio at the
surface.
Relevant properties of commercially manufactured CPF liner (Z)
used in this study have been listed in Table 5. Water absorption of
gunny bag and particle board was found to be 132% and 114%
respectively. Fig. 5. Test locations on a wall specimen.

Fig. 4. Image of the mold used for specimen preparation.

726 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733

4. Parameters used
128 128 128 128 128
To measure and compare the durability related properties of
NSC, samples from SN, SZ, SB, and SG were taken for all specimens. 128 128 0 0 0
Samples were drawn from the top, middle and the bottom portion
of the wall, as shown in Fig. 5. 128 128 0 255 0
Data was obtained for (a) resistance to chloride permeability,
(b) chloride penetration depth, (c) initial surface water absorption, 128 128 0 0 0
and, (d) pull off strength.
In the very limited available literature [9,10,18], the surface fin- 128 128 128 128 128
ish of concrete produced using CPF has been visually studied to
qualitatively understand the improvements in NSC with the use
128 255 255 255 255
of CPF. However with the use of digital image processing (DIP)
techniques a quantitative comparison to understand the improve-
ments in NSC can be made. Blowhole ratio, grey and white area in
128 255 255 255 128
an image are few surface characteristics which can be used to
define the surface finish and other characteristics. These parame- 128 255 255 128 128
ters are directly related with the different phenomenon, such as
hydration and water movement, occurring at the surface and can Fig. 6. Digital numbers according to grey level intensities.
help to better understand the benefits of using CPF. These param-
eters can be easily quantified by the use of DIP. Thus blowhole
ratio, grey area and white area of the surface were determined Binary images are the images, which have only two discrete values,
using softwares MATLAB and MAZDA [23]. i.e., 0 (black) & 1 (white). Each pixel has a single value of 0 or 1 [34].
In this study, blowhole and discoloration analysis was carried
out using images of the surface obtained, as briefly explained in
5. Test methods the following paragraphs.

5.1. Measurement of fresh and hardened properties of concrete 5.3.1. Blowhole ratio determination using MATLAB
Blowhole ratio calculation was done using MATLAB with the
Slump test [24], bleeding test [25], and air content test [26] following procedure:
were carried out to measure properties of fresh concrete. Compres-
sive strength test [27] was carried out to measure the strength of Step 1: Images of different concrete surfaces cast against the
the hardened concrete. different formwork liners were captured from a fixed distance
in day light.
Step 2: The digital color images were converted into grey scale.
5.2. Measurement of durability related parameters
Step 3: Noise free binary images were obtained. A typical exam-
ple of such an image is shown in Fig. 7.
Whereas the Rapid Chloride-ion Permeability Test (RCPT) [28]
Step 4: Blowholes have been treated as some darker objects
was carried out in accordance with ASTM C1202 using 100 mm
(Pixels with 0 value) present in a binary image as shown in
diameter cores, the chloride penetration depth was measured
Fig. 7, and the area of these objects was calculated [35].
using silver nitrate colorimetric test using the disc specimens used
Step 5: Finally the ratio of the number of pixels having 0 values
in the RCPT, also known as AgNO3 colorimetric test [29]. The Initial
to the total number of pixels of the image has been determined,
Surface Absorption Test (ISAT) [30] and the pull off strength test
which was termed as blowhole ratio. The computer code used
[31] were carried out in as given in BS 1881 – Part 208:1996 with
for calculation of blowholes is available in Nim [32].
a cell size of 85 mm diameter, and, as per specifications of ASTM
C1583, respectively. Further details of the tests are available in
Nim [32]. 5.3.2. Discoloration analysis using MAZDA
For several reasons, including differences in the mix used,
aggregate properties, properties of formwork used, drying of the
5.3. Digital image processing concrete surface, and improper finishing practices, concrete sur-
faces are not uniform in color [36,37]. Since in the present study,
Digital image processing (DIP) can be an effective tool for the
quantitative investigation of surface defects [33]. DIP may be
defined as the extraction of useful information from a digital image
using computer algorithms. Generally, there are three types of dig-
ital images: color, intensity and binary images, which all consist of
small elements (called pixels) arranged in a grid pattern, can be
used in DIP [34]. Each pixel has a color or intensity value, called
digital number (DN).
Color images, commonly called RGB images have the three basic
colors, i.e. red, green and blue, and each pixel color shows a set of
three values representing the intensities of three colors. Intensity
or grey scale images are 1-D images, in which each pixel has a sin-
gle value of DN varying from 0 to 255, and providing information
about the level of darkness or lightness of the pixel, with zero
and 255 representing perfectly black and white colors. An example
of the distribution of DN in an intensity image is shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Image of a concrete surface with objects (blowholes).
 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733
Fig. 8. Histogram of grey scale image of the Z-1 specimen, ZC1: Control face, ZZ1: CPF liner surface.
the two surfaces for each specimen has been prepared using the
same concrete, under similar conditions, and were subjected to
the same drying rate, etc., it is only reasonable to assume that
any difference in the surface properties is attributed to the differ-
ent formwork properties on the two faces. The surface cast against
a non-permeable formwork is subjected to higher variation in w/c
ratio as compared to the surface cast against CPF.
In this study, software MAZDA was used for plotting histograms
[38] and extracting various surface characteristic features from
images using the following steps:
Step 1: Color images of different concrete surfaces were con-
verted into grey scale images and histograms were plotted for
all the grey scale images. These represent the frequency of dig-
ital numbers from 0 to 255 in an image, and a typical histogram
is shown in Fig. 8.
Step 2: These grey scale images were then processed in MAZDA,
and all the images were divided into six regions of interest
(ROI), each corresponding to a homogeneous color. Whereas
ROI one to four represent the area, where blowholes and cracks
were present, the fifth and sixth ROI represents the area having
color grey, and white, respectively.
Step 3: The value of the ‘mean feature’ [38], which is essentially
the average of the DN values of the relevant pixels for all the
ROI’s were calculated by MAZDA, and it was observed that this
value for blowholes and cracks varied between zero and 80.
Similarly, for the grey and white areas the range was found to
be 81–190, and, 191–255, respectively.
Step 4: According to these ranges, the percentage of blowholes,
grey area, and white area were calculated.
6. Results and discussion
6.1. Characterization of concretes used (Mix 1 and Mix 2)
As mentioned above, three specimens were produced with Mix
1, and, three specimens with Mix 2. For every specimen a fresh
Table 6
Results of slump test, air content test, bleed water test and compressive strength test.
Specimen Mix Water content (kg/m3) Slump (mm)
Z-1 1 180 40
Z-2 2 200 110
P-1 1 180 35
P-2 2 200 105
G-1 1 180 35
G-2 2 200 60
727
batch of concrete was produced as per Table 4, and for each batch,
the slump, bleeding, and air content was measured, and cubes
were cast to determine the 28-day compressive strength. The
results of these tests have been tabulated in Table 6.
It can be seen that the average slump for the three batches is
35 mm and 90 mm for Mix 1 and Mix 2, respectively. Similarly,
the average value for bleeding is 4.71% and 8.01% for the two
mixes, the average value for air content is 2.27% and 1.23%, and
the 28 days compressive strength is 39.66 MPa and 35.53 MPa
respectively. The observations are consistent with the fact that
Mix 2 had a higher water content (200 kg/m3) than Mix 1
(180 kg/m3).
The following paragraphs compare the results of the various
properties of NSC measured using the different formwork liners
used in the study, and the effect of the higher water content and
bleeding in Mix 2, compared with the results obtained in Mix 1.
6.2. Pull off test
The failure load in the pull off test is indicative of the quality of
concrete in the vicinity of the surface, and a higher value indicates
better quality. The average pull off strength of samples obtained
from the top, middle and bottom, for all the cases is shown in
Fig. 9. The percentage change in the values for the three liners
for the two mixes has been shown in Fig. 10.
It can be seen that the values for SN are in the narrow range of
1.68 N/mm2 to 1.83 N/mm2 with the coefficient of variation being
4.3% and 3.8% for Mix 1 and Mix 2, respectively. There is an
improvement in the values for all formwork liners used, with a
value of 80.57% for SZ, 12.45% for SB and 56.73% for SG. Maximum
improvement in pull off strength values were observed in a surface
produced by ‘Z’ followed by surface produced by gunny bag and
particle board. This increase in pull off strength upon the use of
formwork liners can be attributed to a reduced w/c ratio (reduced
porosity and permeability) for NSC achieved on the account of
removal of the water by these liners. When using gunny bag and
particle board, though there is water absorption from the fresh
Bleeding Air content (%) 28 day compressive strength (N/mm2)
2
(ml/cm ) (%)
0.21 4.46 2.2 38.64
0.48 10.34 1.4 33.84
0.26 5.64 2.3 37.87
0.36 8.06 1.1 34.62
0.19 4.04 2.3 42.48
0.26 5.64 1.2 38.13
728 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733

Pull off Strength (N/mm2)

control face permeable formwork lined surface

3.16

2.68
2.23
2.1 1.99
1.83 1.87 1.84 1.77
1.75 1.68 1.71

Z-1 Z-2 P-1 P-2 G-1 G-2

Fig. 9. Results of average pull off strength.

Percentage increase in pull off strength

Mix 1 Mix 2

80.57

56.73

21.82
13.95 12.45
10.89

'Z' Parcle Board Gunny Bag

Fig. 10. Percentage increase in pull off strengths for various formworks.

concrete, it was also noticed that some cement particles also get
drained out, and therefore the w/c ratio in SB and SG is possibly
slightly higher in comparison with SZ, thus adversely affecting
the strength of SG and SB. Further, the water absorption of gunny
bag is found to be more than particle board, and thus, a higher
reduction in w/c ratio can be expected in the case of SG (as com-
pared to w/c ratio of SB), which leads to an increase in the strength
of SG. In summary it can be stated that though the improvement is
highest in the case of SZ, that for SG is also significant (56.37%), and
given the fact that gunny bag is much cheaper and a lot more easily
available than a commercially manufactured CPF, the latter can be
considered for application in several cases.
The improvement in the case of Mix 1 ranges from 10.89% to
21.82%, whereas improvement is in the range of 13.95% to 80.57%
in the case of Mix 2. Mix 2 shows higher improvement for all types
of the surface produced. Thus the efficiency of permeable formwork
liners increases with an increase in water content values.
6.3. Initial surface absorption test (ISAT)
The Initial surface absorption depends on the quality of the sur-
face. As the porosity of surface concrete increases, ISAT values are
expected to increase as more water will be absorbed by the porous
surface. The average 2-hour cumulative value of ISAT of the sam-
ples obtained from the top, middle and bottom, for all the cases
is shown in Fig. 11. The percentage change in the ISAT values for
the three liners for the two mixes has been shown in Fig. 12.
It can be seen that the values for SN are in the range of
1281.1 ml/m2 to 2214.4 ml/m2. There is a reduction in the values
for all formwork liners used, with a value of 60.71% for SZ,
37.41% for SB and 69.64% for SG surface. Gunny bag shows maxi-
mum reduction in ISAT values followed by ‘Z’ and particle board.
The permeable formwork drains out excess bleed water and pro-
duces NSC with low w/c ratio. As stated by Goto and Roy [4] and
Lafhaj et al. [5] the lower w/c ratio results in concrete with reduced
 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733 729

2-hour cumulave ISAT value (ml/m2)

control face permeable formwork lined face

2214.4

1691.1
1577.2
1361.8 1403.5
1281.1

911.7
801.9 755.5
610.9 619.6
513.4

Z-1 Z-2 P-1 P-2 G-1 G-2

Fig. 11. Variations in ISAT values for different surfaces of concrete cast using CPF.

Percentage reducon in 2-hour cumulave ISAT values

Mix 1 Mix 2

69.64
65.88
60.71
55.14

35.04 37.41

' Z' Particle Board Gunny Bag

Fig. 12. Percentage reduction in ISAT values for various formworks.

porosity and permeability and hence reduced absorption. Almost
similar reduction in ISAT values for SG and SZ is observed.
The reduction in the case of Mix 1 ranges from 35.04% to 69.64%,
whereas the reduction is in the range of 37.41% to 65.88% in the case
of Mix 2. Percentage reduction in ISAT for Mix 2 is higher than Mix
1. Thus the efficiency of permeable formwork liners increases with
an increase in water content to reduce ISAT values.
6.4. Rapid chloride-ion permeability test (RCPT)
Amount of charge passed in RCPT is an indicator of porosity of
concrete with respect to chloride penetration. As chloride ions
ingress in concrete increases, the amount of charge passed through
the established cell (in RCPT test, between specimen and solution)
increases. Higher the porosity of the specimen, easier is the ingress
of chloride ions, thus the amount of charge passed through the
specimen increases.
The average charge passed through the specimens obtained
from the top, middle and bottom, for all the cases is shown in
Fig. 13. The percentage change in the values of charge passed for
the three liners for the two mixes has been shown in Fig. 14.
It can be seen that the values for SN are in the range of 4587.7 C
to 5598.5 C. There is a reduction in the values for all formwork lin-
ers used, with a value of 43% for SZ, 13.6% for SB and 37.33% for SG
surface. ‘Z’ shows maximum reduction in charge passed values fol-
lowed by gunny bag and particle board. The effect of removal of
cement particles by gunny bag and particle board and reduced
water absorption of particle board (as explained in Section 6.2)
can be seen on values of charge passed for the three surfaces.
Reduction in values of charge passed for SZ (43%), and SG
(37.33%) is almost the same.
The reduction in the case of Mix 1 ranges from 12.52% to
35.09%, whereas the reduction is in the range of 13.6% to 43% in
the case of Mix 2. Mix 2 having higher water content shows higher
reduction than Mix 1. Hence efficiency of permeable formwork lin-
ers increases with an increase in water content to reduce charge
passed through the sample and produce impermeable surface.
6.5. Chloride ion permeation test using AgNO3 colorimetry
The average chloride penetration depth as determined from the
specimens obtained from the top, middle and bottom, for all the
cases is shown in Fig. 15. The percentage change in the values of
depth of chloride ion ingress for the three liners for the two mixes
has been shown in Fig. 16.
730 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733

Charge passed (coulombs)

control face permeable formwok lined face

5598.5 5478.1
4857.2
4587.7 4639 4638.1
4058.3 4007.3
3433
3191 3212.5
2978

Z-1 Z-2 P-1 P-2 G-1 G-2

Fig. 13. Results of average charge passed in RCPT.

Percentage reducon in charge passed

Mix 1 Mix 2

43
37.33
35.09 33.86

12.52 13.6

'Z' Parcle Board Gunny Bag

Fig. 14. Percent reduction in charge passed in RCPT for various formworks.

Chloride penetraon depth (cm)

control face permeable formwork lined face

4.17
3.92

3.23 3.33 3.27

2.76 2.75
2.47 2.43
2.31
1.84

0.94

Z-1 Z-2 P-1 P-2 G-1 G-2

Fig. 15. Average chloride penetration depth.

 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733 731

Percentage reducon in chloride penetraon depth

Mix 1 Mix 2

61.86

43.2
38.1
34.08
30.7

15.51

'Z' Particle Board Gunny Bag

Fig. 16. Percentage reduction in chloride penetration depth.

Fig. 17. Image of surface cast against various formwork liners.

It can be seen that the values for SN are in the range of 2.47 cm
to 4.17 cm. There is a reduction in the values for all formwork lin-
ers used, with a value of 61.86% for SZ, 30.7% for SB and 38.1% for SG
surface. ‘Z’ shows maximum reduction in charge passed values fol-
lowed by gunny bag and particle board. The trend observed in per-
centage reduction in chloride penetration depth values is similar to
the pull off test values in Section 6.2. Though SZ has maximum
reduction (61.86%) but SG has substantial reduction (38.1%) in
chloride penetration depth.
The reduction in the case of Mix 1 ranges from 30.7% to 61.86%,
whereas the reduction is in the range of 15.51% to 43.2% in the case
of Mix 2.
732 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733

Table 7
Result of Blowhole ratio calculation.

Specimen Blowhole ratio (%) Percentage reduction (%)

Control face Permeable formwork face
Z-1 0.360 0.062 82.77
Z-2 0.080 0.000 100.00
P-1 0.052 0.046 11.53
P-2 0.150 0.087 42.00
G-1 0.085 0.021 75.29
G-2 0.120 0.024 80.00

Table 8
Discoloration analysis result.

Specimen Surface Blowholes and cracks (%) Grey area (%) White area (%)
Z-1 Control 0.378 40.246 59.376
CPF 0.064 96.657 3.278
Z-2 Control 0.083 90.234 9.683
CPF 0.002 99.882 0.116
P-1 Control 0.061 76.588 23.351
CPF 0.045 81.975 17.980
P-2 Control 0.167 29.792 70.040
CPF 0.075 68.024 31.901
G-1 Control 0.083 77.244 22.672
CPF 0.024 68.079 31.897
G-2 Control 0.157 33.033 66.809
CPF 0.024 68.000 31.976

Table 9
Ranking of surfaces produced with different formwork liners.

Formwork liner Pull off strength ISAT Charge passed Chloride ion penetration Blowhole ratio
Z 1 (1) 2 (2) 1 (1) 1 (1) 1 (1)
Particle board 3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3)
Gunny bag 2 (2) 1 (1) 2 (2) 2 (2) 2 (2)

Value in () are ranking for specimen cast with Mix 2. Values without () are ranking for Mix 1.

6.6. Blowhole ratio calculation
The images of the surface cast against three formwork liner, ‘Z,’
particle board and gunny bag is shown in Fig. 17. These images
were processed in MATLAB to calculate the blowhole ratio.
Blowhole ratio as determined from DIP from MATLAB software
has been tabulated in Table 7.
It can be seen that the values for SN are in the range of 0.08% to
0.36%. There is a reduction in the values for all formwork liners
used, with a value of 100% for SZ, 42% for SB and 80% for SG surface.
‘Z’ shows maximum reduction in blowhole ratio followed by gunny
bag and particle board. The draining away of cement particles have
increased w/c ratio, thereby increasing blowholes in SG and SB.
Higher water absorption of gunny bag have resulted in reduction
in blowhole ratio for SG as compared to SB. It should be noted that
reduction in blowhole ratio for SZ (100%) and SG (80%) are almost
same.
The reduction in the case of Mix 1 ranges from 11.53% to
82.77%, whereas the reduction is in the range of 42% to 100% in
the case of Mix 2. Mix 2 having higher water content shows higher
reduction than Mix 1. Hence efficiency of permeable formwork lin-
ers increases with an increase in water content to reduce blow-
holes on the surface.
6.7. Discoloration analysis
The percentages of blowholes and cracks, grey area and white
area have been tabulated in Table 8.
As observed from Table 8, with use of CPF, grey area in SZ, SG,
and SB have increased. A low w/c ratio produces a darker surface,
and a high w/c ratio produces a lighter surface [37]. Use of CPF
results in reduced w/c ratio, hence grey area in surfaces cast
against CPF has increased, and the white area has decreased. The
surface produced using CPF is uniform in color with lesser blow-
holes, which enhances the aesthetic appearance of the surface
produced.
The findings in Table 8 match with visual observation of images
of surface cast against CPF as shown in Fig. 17. Grey area in images
of surfaces cast against CPF is higher than surfaces cast against
impermeable formwork. However, as seen in Fig. 17(d), SG have
impressions of gunny bag.
Blowhole ratio calculated using MATLAB and MAZDA are almost
the same. Thus the computer code developed for calculation of
blowhole ratio in MATLAB is verified.
7. Concluding remarks
It is clear from the results of the different tests as shown above
that in general CPF liners help in reducing the w/c ratio and poros-
ity of the NSC. An attempt is made in Table 9 to show the perfor-
mance of the various permeable formwork liners used in the
present study. They have been ranked on the effectiveness of pro-
ducing a surface with increased pull off strength, decreased ISAT
value, decreased charge passed through the surface, decreased
chloride ion penetration depth, and decreased blowhole ratio.
 S. Garg et al. / Construction and Building Materials 207 (2019) 722–733
From Table 9 it can be concluded that for both mixes 1 and 2
surfaces produced by ‘Z’ ranked first followed by gunny bag and
particle board except for ISAT values where gunny bag produced
surface ranked highest followed by ‘Z’ and particle board. Though
commercially manufactured CPF have ranked highest, locally avail-
able and highly economical material ‘gunny bag’ has shown a note-
worthy improvement in the surface characteristics and can be
considered as an alternative to expensive commercially manufac-
tured CPF for various applications. However the hardened surface
cast against gunny bag has the impression of gunny bag.
The efficiency of permeable formwork liners is increased with
the use of higher water content. Improvement in all the parameters
for Mix 2 is higher than Mix 1 except for chloride penetration
depth values where improvement was higher in the case of Mix
1 with lower water content.
Conflict of interest
The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgment
The support and help extended by the laboratory staff of the
Structures Laboratory of IIT Kanpur, especially Mr. Vinay Dwivedi
and Mr. Pankaj Kumar Gupta in carrying out the experiments is
gratefully acknowledged.
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