SP-224—04

Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) for

Integrated Formworks

by W. Brameshuber, M. Koster, J. Hegger, S. Voss, T. Gries,

M. Barlé, H.-W. Reinhardt, and M. Krüger

Synopsis: This paper presents use of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) for producing
integrated formwork element for use in construction. The TRC integrated formwork
elements are significantly lighter compared to the normal precast elements owing to their
relatively smaller wall thickness, typically around 10 mm. The cross-section of the TRC
integrated formwork element can be chosen as dictated by the specific application and the
composite can be designed to have a high load-bearing capacity. The fresh concrete is
protected against moisture loss by the integrated formwork elements that remain in place
in actual construction. Hence, neither demolding of the TRC integrated formwork nor
curing of the poured concrete is required. The TRC integrated formwork elements also
possess the advantage of having a surface appearance of high quality. This contribution
presents a compilation of the results from the testing performed on the TRC integrated
formwork elements.

Keywords: concrete; formwork; textile reinforced concrete

45
46 Brameshuber et al.
Wolfgang Brameshuber is Chair of the Building Materials Science/Structural Materials at
RWTH, Aachen University. He was employed at BUNG Engineering Office, Heidel-
berg, Germany, Central Laboratory at Bilfinger Berger, Mannheim, Germany. He ob-
tained his doctoral degree from University of Karlsruhe, Germany in 1988.

Matthias Koster is Research Associate at the Institute of Building Materials Research at

RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He received his Diploma Degree in physics from
the University of Bonn in 1996 and a Diploma Degree in the field of civil engineering
from the University of Applied Sciences, Trier in 2000.

Josef Hegger is Professor at the Civil Engineering Department, RWTH Aachen Univer-
sity, Germany. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1985 from TU Braunschweig. He was employed
by the German civil contractor Phillip Holzmann, 1985-1993. His main research interests
include shear, high-strength concrete, and textile reinforced concrete. Conveyer of the fib
task group TG 4.2 Ultimate Limit State Models.

Stefan Voss is Research Associate at the Structural Concrete Department at RWTH

Aachen University, Germany. He obtained his Diploma Degree in the field of structural
engineering from Aachen University in 2002.

Thomas Gries is Professor at the Institute for Textile Technology, Aachen. He obtained
his doctoral degree in 1995. He was employed with Lurgi Zimmer AG, Frankfurt a.M.,
1995-2000 and has served as the Head of the Department of Technologies for Fibres and
Textiles. He is Chair and Head of the Institute for Textile Technology, Aachen since
April 2001.

Marijan Barlé is Research Associate at the Institute of Textile Technology, Aachen Uni-
versity. He obtained his diploma degree in the field of structural engineering from RWTH
Aachen University in 2000.

Hans-Wolf Reinhardt is Professor and Chair of Construction Materials at the Stuttgart

University and Managing Director of Otto-Graf-Institute, Stuttgart, Germany since 1990.
He obtained his doctoral degree from Stuttgart University, Germany in 1968. He was
post-doctoral researcher at IIT, Chicago, USA, 1969-1970. He was teaching and a re-
search engineer at Otto-Graf-Institute, Stuttgart, Germany, 1970-1975. He was Professor
and Head of the Stevin Laboratory for concrete structures at Delft University of Technol-
ogy, Netherlands and Professor for Building Materials and Building Physics at Darmstadt
University of Technology, Germany, 1975-1986.

Markus Krüger is currently working on his PhD project “Prestressed Textile Reinforced
Concrete” at the Institute of Construction Materials, University of Stuttgart. He gradu-
ated from the University of Dortmund in civil engineering in March 1998. He has been
engaged in teaching and educating students in concrete technology and in the develop-
ment and application of non-destructive test methods in civil engineering.
 Thin Reinforced Cement-Based Products 47
INTRODUCTION
It is generally possible to cast elements for moulds using textile reinforced concrete as
demonstrated elsewhere (1,2). This new technology allows the use of very light elements
which remain in the structure after casting the concrete on site. Several benefits result due
to the use of the integrated formwork for concrete structures. Integrated formworks are
very light due to the small thickness of the textile reinforced concrete elements. Due to
their lightweight feature, it is possible to easily move and fix the integrated formwork in
the field. The visible surfaces of the elements possess high quality in terms of roughness,
color and absence of voids compared to normal concrete. The matrix of the textile rein-
forced concrete is very dense leading to high durability. Due to the self-leveling proper-
ties of the matrix, the surface has less visible pores and is very smooth compared to nor-
mal vibrated concrete. From economic considerations, the aspects of formwork demold-
ing and curing of poured concrete deserve special attention. Since the integrated form-
work becomes integral part of the structure, the need for its demolding and the need for
the curing of the poured concrete are eliminated.

As a first step in this investigation, textile reinforced concrete integrated formwork ele-
ments were developed to understand the load-deformation behavior of the concrete ma-
trix and reinforcing textiles chosen as material variables. Some results from the investi-
gation are given in References 1 and 2. A design model has been developed to calculate
the load-carrying capacity of the formwork having U-shaped cross-section. In Fig. 1, the
predictions from the design model are compared to experimental values. The calculated
values agree well with the experimental data except for the combination of concrete
B3/textile W1. For this combination, no bending failure was observed. The failure mode
in this case was dictated by the break down of the connection between the flanges and the
plate of the U-shaped structure. Therefore, the calculation based on bending failure re-
sults in higher values compared to the experimental ones.

Based on these results, a new geometry of textile reinforced concrete integrated form-
work has been developed. The new integrated formwork and the corresponding testing
results are described in this contribution.

MATERIALS
The concrete mixture composition used in this investigation is described elsewhere in
Reference 2. The cementitious matrix used for producing the integrated formwork has a
high flowability due to presence of large volume and dense network of the reinforcement.
The cementitious matrix used in this investigation has a relatively high Youngs modulus
of up to 35000 N/mm2, and the modulus of rupture of about 5 N/mm2.

Examples of the textiles used as reinforcement in the integrated formwork are given in
Fig. 2. In this case, the so-called friction spun hybrid yarns have been woven to obtain a
2-dimensional textile structures. The yarns consist of alkali-resistant glass for the core
material and polypropylene for the sheet material. In view of the composite mechanical
behavior, most influential are the thickness and the number of yarns in the core of the re-
inforcement. Melting the polypropylene after producing the textiles gives a good inner
bond between the yarns and a relatively high tensile strength of the textile.
48 Brameshuber et al.
For producing the integrated formworks, 3-dimensional textile structures of reinforce-
ment may be used. Therefore, the 2-dimensional textiles are connected with spacers, for
example, spacers consisting of aramid. The 3-dimensional textiles can be produced in a
single step using special manufacturing techniques.

Tensile Tests
The mechanical behavior of the textile-concrete composite was verified using the uniax-
ial tensile test. Test set-up and geometry of the specimen are shown in Fig. 3. Examples
of the load-strain-curves obtained in the testing are shown in Fig. 4. In this figure, the ef-
fectiveness of textile with friction spun hybrid yarns (FSHY) over normal textile is evi-
dent. It can also be observed that increasing the glass content in this type of yarn (FSHY)
leads to a higher composite stiffness and a slightly higher load to failure.

DESIGN OF CROSS-SECTION
The first generation of U-shaped integrated formworks had a span width of 1.5 m. For
practicable application, it is more suitable to have longer elements with supports in be-
tween. The new elements therefore should be able to carry positive as well as negative
moments. Therefore, a cross-section has been developed as shown in the figure appearing
in Table 1. Using the design model developed, a pre-calculation had been conducted to
estimate the required element cross-section. The results for dependence of the span width
as well as the content of textile reinforcement on the element cross-section are shown in
Table 1. Note that one layer of reinforcement represents about 245 mm2 per meter width
of the reinforcement.

Based on practical considerations, the integrated formwork with a triple span width of
3x1.5m has been chosen for testing. By making some modifications in the textile, it was
possible to reduce the inner lever-arm of the element from 60 mm to 50 mm when using
two layers of textiles. It should be noted that use of three layers of textiles is not suitable
in practice due to the danger of entrapping large voids in the concrete during casting. The
chosen cross-section has the advantage of carrying high bending moments in two direc-
tions. Additionally, there is a good physical bond to the site concrete due to the presence
of flanges having a slight negative slope. The required rheology performance of the con-
crete is very demanding due to the complex geometry of the element. Fig. 5 shows a
photograph of the new integrated formwork. It can be observed that the textile is ar-
ranged very precisely in the middle of the walls and no defects occur on the concrete sur-
face.

TEST RESULTS
Fig. 6 shows an example flexure load-deflection curve obtained from the testing. This
data shows that the maximum load and the stiffness after cracking for the tested compos-
ite were somewhat less but comparable to the old formwork element (2) with bigger
cross-section. It should be noted that the old element was 120 mm high compared to the
new element with a height of 60 mm only.
 Thin Reinforced Cement-Based Products 49
The elongation of the bottom side of the element between the load-points was measured
using an appropriate device. This measurement provides the opportunity to calculate the
strain on the tension side of the specimen and the strain in the textile as a mean value af-
ter making some geometrical corrections. Further, a mean value for the crack-width in
dependence to the load can also be calculated. This type of information is very important
for understanding the performance of new composite materials such as textile reinforced
concrete. Fig. 7 shows the load-strain curve corresponding to Fig. 6.

Textile reinforced concrete works suitably if the crack widths and the crack spacing are
small associated with the large number of cracks. In the above example, high strains are
observed with the formation of cracks having spacing less than 10 mm. This behavior
demonstrates the good rotation capacity of the TRC composite.

SUMMARY
This paper presented use of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) for producing integrated
formwork element for use in construction. The TRC integrated formwork elements are
significantly lighter compared to the normal precast elements owing to their relatively
smaller wall thickness. The cross-section of the TRC integrated formwork element can
be chosen as dictated by the specific application and the composites can be designed to
have a high load-bearing capacity. The fresh concrete is protected against moisture loss
by the integrated formwork elements that remain in place in actual construction. Hence,
neither demolding of the TRC integrated formwork nor curing of the poured concrete is
required. The TRC integrated formwork elements also possess the advantage of having a
surface appearance of high quality. This contribution presents a compilation of the re-
sults from the testing performed on the TRC integrated formwork elements.
The integrated formwork has been developed as an applicable construction element. Nev-
ertheless, the research work is in progress and the main topics of investigation include
understanding the interaction between the integrated formwork and the site concrete.
Need also exists to understand the improvement in fire resistance performance obtained,
if any, as a result of the use of integrated formwork in construction applications.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work (AiF-No. 47 ZN/DBV 229) is supported by the German Association of Con-
crete and Building Technology (Deutscher Beton- und Bautechnikverein E. V.) and the
Union of Industrial Research Association (Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungs-
vereinigungen) with financial resources of the Federal Ministry for Economy and
Technology.

LITERATURE
(1) Hegger, J. ; Sasse, H.R. ; Wulfhorst, B. ; Döinghaus, P. ; Rößler, G. ; et al: U-
Shaped Supports as Formwork Elements Integrated in the Construction Member.
Frankfurt : Messe, 1999. - In: TechTextil Symposium Innovatives Bauen 5.1
Textilbewehrter Beton - Material und Produkte, Frankfurt, 13. April 1999,
Vortrag 517, 8 Seiten
50 Brameshuber et al.
(2) Brameshuber, W. ; Brockmann, J. ; Rößler, G. ; Hegger, J. ; et al: Textile Rein-
forced Concrete for Formwork Elements. Frankfurt : Messe, 2001. - In: 11.
Internationales Techtextil-Symposium für technische Textilien, Vliesstoffe und
textilarmierte Werkstoffe, Frankfurt, 23. - 24.04.2001, Vortrag 33570917

(3) Brameshuber, W. ; Koster, M. ; Hegger, J. ; Voss, S. ; Gries, T. ; et al: Textile

Reinforced Concrete (TRC) for Integrated Formworks. Frankfurt : Messe, 2003.
- In: 12th International Techtextil Symposium for Technical Textiles, Nonwov-
ens and Textile Reinforced Materials, Frankfurt, 7-10 April, 2003, Paper 4.23, 6
pages

(4) Hegger, J. ; Bruckermann, O. ; Voss, S. ; Brameshuber, W. ; Brockmann, T.:

Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Plants Made of Textile Reinforced Con-
crete. Frankfurt : Messe, 2003. - In: 12th International Techtextil Symposium for
Technical Textiles, Nonwovens and Textile Reinforced Materials, Frankfurt, 7-
10 April, 2003, Paper 4.28, 38 pages

(5) Hegger, J. ; Molter, M. ; Will, N.: Facades made out of Textile Reinforced Con-
crete. Leipzig : Verein der Freunde des Bauingenieur- und
Wirtschaftsingenieurwesens an der Universität Leipzig, 2002.- In: Proceedings
of the 6th International Symposium on Utilization of High Strength/High Per-
formance Concrete (König, G. ; Dehn, F. ; Faust, T. (Ed.)), Leipzig, June 2002,
Volume 1, S. 125-136

(6) Brameshuber, W. ; Brockmann, J. ; Rößler, G.: Textile Reinforced Concrete for

Formwork Elements - Investigations of Structural Behaviour. London : Thomas
Telford, 2001. - In: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Fibre-
Reinforced Plastics for Reinforced Concrete Structures, Cambridge, 16-18 July
2001, (Burgoyne, C.J. (Ed.)), Vol. 2, S. 1019-1026
 Thin Reinforced Cement-Based Products 51

Fig. 1: A comparison of calculated fracture moments versus experimental data for

integrated formworks

Fig. 2: Production of 3-dimensional textiles

52 Brameshuber et al.

Fig. 3: Test set-up for the uniaxial tensile tests

Fig. 4: Load-strain curves from tensile tests

Fig. 5: Cross-section of a cast formwork element

 Thin Reinforced Cement-Based Products 53

Fig. 6: Load-deflection curve

Fig. 7: Load-strain curve of bottom flange

54 Brameshuber et al.