Formwork

Formwork
 Definition
 A structure, usually temporary (but sometimes
wholly or partly permanent), used to contain
poured concrete to mould it to required
DIMENSIONS, FINISHES and SUPPORT it
until it is able to support itself.
 Formwork consists of contact face material and

the bearers which support the face material.
1
Code of Practice for Formwork
Design
 Concrete Pressure Computation:
 Concrete Pressures on Formwork,
CIRIA Report 108 (Ref.)
 Design Practice:
 Formwork – a Guide to Good Practice,
published by Concrete Society and
IStructE (Ref.)
2
Common Types of Formwork
 Wall Form
3
 Wall Form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_
WK\multimedia\Wall form
001.jpg
4
Wall
Form
5
 Wall Form
003.jpg
6
 Wall Form
004.jpg
7
 Column Form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Columnfo
rm1.jpg
rm1001.jpg
rm1002.jpg
rm1003.jpg
8
 Soffit Form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\So
ffit Form Frame.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\So
ffit Form Frame001.jpg
9
 Beam Form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Beam Form-Edge004.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Beam Form005.jpg
 Stair Form
 Permanent Formwork
10
Combined formwork and
falsework
 Formwork and falsework can be combined into a single
handleable unit
 Time could be saved in erection and stripping and the
labor content of the operation thus significantly reduced
 Large repetition is a must for this method to be effective.
Common examples include:
 Table Form..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Tableform2.jpg, Flying Form
..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\FlyingForm2.jpg ,
 Travelling Form..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Travelform.jpg
 Usually they are available from specialist suppliers
11
Formwork
Three general principles govern
formwork design and
construction:
 QUALITY
 SAFETY
 ECONOMY
12
Quality of Formwork
Relating to the formed faces of the
permanent concrete structure and
refers to the following two aspects:
 Accuracy of Concrete Shape

 Quality of Concrete Surface
13
Quality of Formwork
Accuracy is controlled by the
deviations permitted (Tolerances)
in the :
 Formwork deflection
 Materials
 Components
 Workmanship
14
Quality of Formwork
To minimise deviations, all formwork
must have adequate means of:
 Alignment and adjustment both at
construction joints and throughout the
formwork
 e.g. Simple wedges, screw adjustments
on supports, camber adjustments
15
Quality of Formwork
Failures in achieving surface quality are
often caused by:
 Lack of formwork stiffness to resist the
movement coming from concrete vibrators
during concrete placement and the
subsequent grout loss at the joints (honey-
combing, harder stripping)
 Concrete shape, disposition of steel bars
 Efficiency of conc. placement, forms
stripping
16
Quality of Formwork
 Classes of Finishes
 Formed Finishes
 F1, F2, F3, F4, F5 (CED G.S. Table 14.1) –
Class F5 the best
 Unformed Finishes
 U1, U2, U3, U4, U5 (CED G.S. Table 14.2) –
Class U5 the best
 Treated Finishes
 T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 (CED G.S. Table 14.3)
17
Quality of Formwork
 Different concrete structures buried
underground or exposed to naked eyes
require different class finishes specified by
the contract document
 The formwork design requires appropriate
method of construction/treatment, different
surface irregularities requirements and
types of contact face sheeting materials
18
Quality of Formwork
 Tolerances
19
Safety of Formwork
Two major aspects must be
covered:
 Personal Safety of both
formworkers and the public

 Safety of the formwork
structure
20
Safety of Formwork
I. Construction phase
As a general practice, the erected formwork
shall be :
 Structurally safe
Having secured and effective guard rails,
toeboards, access ladders and stairs around its
periphery
 Formworkers equipped with safety helmets and
boots
 For high work, safety harnesses and security
screen are to be installed
21
Safety of Formwork
II. Design phase
a) Evaluation of possible Loading
Combinations occurred in the following
stages:
 Stage 1: before conc. Placement
 Stage 2: during conc. Placement
 Stage 3: after conc. Placement
22
Safety of Formwork
b) Structural requirements
Three important aspects to be met:
 STRENGTH (material strength and force
equilibrium)
 STABILITY (Sliding, overturning, uplift and
sidesway)
 STIFFNESS (accuracy and permissible
tolerances)
23
Economy of Formwork
 Where formwork is highly repetitive
activity, a small reduction in
fabrication/stripping could result a
significant overall cost saving.
 Cost involves formwork materials and
labor, erection (including hoisting),
stripping, repairing and cleaning of
formwork after concrete pour.
24
Economy of Formwork
 Increase in no. of reuses lower the unit cost
of the formwork
 More sophisticated design could be
economically justifiable esp. when less
maintenance will be required.
 Good formwork, apart from meeting the
technical specifications requirements,
means it is easy to fabricate, erect, adjust,
dismantle, and within the available
crane/man handling.
25
Care of Formwork
 For maximum formwork life, efficient
stripping; care in formwork handling,
storage, and maintenance are essential
 After stripping, the formwork units for
reuse should be moved away from the
work area (workers of other trades may
damage it as an item of obstruction left
there).
26
Care of Formwork
 They should be stored and protected
from weather to avoid surface damage
 Large formwork panels should be
stacked in racks, facing away from direct
sunlight
 Hardened slurry, dirt left from previous
pour should be removed from plywood
sheeting surfaces before they are getting
harder
27
Care of Formwork
 Mechanisms, locking devices and fixings
should be cleaned and oiled.
 Face sheeting to be given a coat of release
agent
 Care to be taken not to damage the presealed
surface of the plywood sheeting (Use a soft
brush in dust removal and a softwood wedge
to remove larger concrete particles)
28
Formwork Striking Procedures
-RC Slab Form
 Ease all supports by 1-2 turns for each prop
 Starting from mid-span, remove the props
towards columns or walls
 This will ensure no negative hogging bending
moment induced in the concrete slab if the last
few supports were left at the mid-span as
intended in the original design.
 Cracking due to reverse bending will occur
otherwise
29
-RC Slab on Beam Form
 Strike the slab soffit form first
 Then strike the beam soffit starting at mid-span towards
the columns/walls
 This will ensure that all the imposed vertical load will be
supported by the slab which is in turn supported by the
beam form plus its falsework. By removing propping to
the beam form at the mid-span, the beam could then
span across the column/wall at both end as intended by
the original structural design.
 Cracking due to reverse bending will occur otherwise.
30
-RC Cantilever Slab Form
 Start the propping striking from the tip
of the cantilever and work towards the
column/wall/beam.
 \Particular care should be observed that

any effect of overloading on the adjacent
spans temporarily when the propping to
cantilever is not properly striken. 31
Formwork
– Minimum Period before Striking (BS 8110)
Formwork Surface conc. Surface conc.
temperature temperature
>16 deg C 0 – 10 deg C
Column, wall, large beam 12 h 300

h
form t  10
100
Slab form 4 days h
t  10
250
h
Beam & props to slab 10 days t  10
form
360
h
Prop to beam 14 days t  10
32
Backpropping
 The speed of construction

vertically will dictate a number
of slab levels acting together to
support the total construction
loads imposed from the topmost
concrete slab casting operation33
Backpropping
 To avoid excessive loads building
cumulatively in the backprops,
backprops are loosened after
striking a slab formwork and then
repositioned and retightened. The
cast floor is thus allowed to take its
deflected shape hence the load
imposed from the floor(s) above
34
Formwork Materials
 Face Contact Materials (features left*)
 Sawn board formwork (sawmarks*)
 Plywood (fine & smooth surface*)
 Steel form (variable color*)
 Aluminium form (react with cement*)
 Glass fibre reinforced plactics (highest quality
for sculptured profiles*)
* features/drawback
35
Formwork Materials
 Waling/Bearer, Soldier/Props Materials
 Solid timber
 Steel in lattice configurations or cold
formed sections (standard/proprietary)
 Aluminium (Al Alloys) sections

36
Formwork Materials
 Expanded metal (stopends)
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multi
media\expanded metal formwork.tif
37
Proprietary Formwork System
 Basic Panel system – generally no walings, but
complete with corner panels, access brackets,
stabilisers
 Table forms
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Tableform2.jpg
 Flying forms
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\FlyingForm2.jpg
 Slab support system

 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form Modular Frame .jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form Modular Frame.jpg
 Waffle and trough moulds

 Composite Floors with Steel Decking
38
Form Ties
 Recoverable and non-recoverable types
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Wall Tie001.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Wall tie002.jpg
 Tie rods are the most critical parts in the formwork

design which will lead to the complete formwork
failure if any of them fails
39
Form Ties
 Factor of safety in tension capacity
1) 1.5 for HT cold worked steel
2) 2.5 for mild steel
 Bearing plates/washers to be checked if
bearing stresses acting on the timber

waling/soldiers are exceeded or not
 Limitation on spacing of form ties is also a
concern for aesthetic reasons 40

Formwork Design –
Concrete pressure
Factors Increase Pressure
Changes
Cement Types/ Retarder,
Mix Composition (C2) PFA
Rate of Pour (R)
Size & Shape of Formwork (C1) Column,
Wall
Height of Form (H)
Concrete Temperature at Placing (T)
41
Unit Weight of Conc. (D)
Concrete pressure distribution
along a vertical wall form
(Trapezoidal)
Concrete is still hydrostatic
Concrete has been hardening
Pmax
42
Concrete Pressure Formula
(CIRIA Report 108)
Pmax  D 1 . 5 R  0 . 45 K H  1 . 5 R  or D h
 
in kPa whichever is TH E SM ALLER
 C2 is coefficient depending on mix ingredients

 D is unit weight of concrete, kN/m3
 C1 is coefficient depending on form size & shape
2
 H is vertical form height, m  36 
K
 K is temperature coefficient  T  16 
 R is rate at which conc. rises vertically, m/h 2
36 
K
 T  16 
43
Formwork Design - Loading
 Self-weight of Formwork
 Imposed Loads (permanent work loads and
construction operation loads)
 Concrete Pressure (for wall/column forms)
 Environmental Loads (Wind loads, Snow/Ice
Loads)
 Horizontal Loads (Imposed plant loads, skip
impact loads,.. And minimum horizontal stability
force i.e. 10% of the total form self-weight)
44
Formwork Design -
Design procedures follow the design of

permanent works but:
1) Permissible stress design method are often
used;
2) Higher working material stresses
3) Formwork system will include
manufacturing and assembly tolerances
45
Formwork Design –
Soffit Form Stability
Stability of soffit formwork
erected at the top of falsework is
covered in BS5975 (formwork is
considered as an integral part of
the falsework)
46
Formwork Design –
Wall Form Stability
Stability of freestanding wall forms
must be checked for the following
three scenarios:
1) Maximum Wind and Nominal access
Loads on any working platform (W/P)
2) Working Wind and Full Construction
Operation Loads on any W/P 47
Formwork Design –
Wall Form Stability
3) Minimum Stability Force and Full

Construction Operation Loads on any
W/P
 Note: Working wind means the upper
wind speed limit below which operations

could still be allowed
48
Formwork Design – Design
Concepts
 Single Face Formwork
 Cantilevered Formwork
 Discontinuity in Face Sheeting and
Soffit
 Impact against a fixed face/joint during
concreting
 Inclined Soffits
 Cantilevered Soffits 49
Special Formwork
 Slipforms
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Slipform.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Slipform001.jpg
 Climbforms.
 .\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\ClimbForm.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Climbform3.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Climbform4.jpg
 Travellers
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Travelform.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Travelform1.jpg
50
Special Formwork
 Tilt-up Moulds
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Tilt-up Mould.tif
 Gang Forms
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Gangform1.jpg
 Moulds for Prestressed Concrete
 Tunnel Form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Tunnel Form.tif
51
Special Formwork Details
 Kickers for wall form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Kicker.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Kicker001.jpg
 Kickers for column form

 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Column Kicker.tif
 Stopend forms for wall form

 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Stopend Form.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Stopend Form.tif
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Stopend Form001.jpg
52
 Wall Ties
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Wall Tie.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Wall Tie001.jpg
 Props
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Prop.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Prop001.jpg
 U-head
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form U-head.jpg
 Sloping soffit form

 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form Sloping Details.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form Sloping Details001.jpg
53
 Bracing for soffit form
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form Frame Bracing.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Soffit Form Bracing Connector.jpg
 Bracing for beam form

 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Beam-Soffit Form.tif
 Bracing for column form

 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Columnform Bracing.jpg
 ..\Teaching_Notes\TEMP_WK\multimedia\Columnform Bracing001.jpg
54
Slipforms – features
 The system is intended for continuous

concreting work for walls of constant section.
 The shutter rises from 150 to 300 mm per

hour depending on the rate of concrete
hardening.
55
Slipforms – features
 The form is about 900-1200 mm deep,
fixed to and held apart by timber or steel
frame or yokes as shown in the figure on
the right.
 On top of each yoke is fixed a hydraulic
jack which climbs along a steel jacking
rod, about 25 mm in diameter, which is
cast into the wall.
56
Slipforms – Operation
Procedures
 (i) Fix steel reinforcement above the
shutter
 (ii) Pour concrete into the shutter and
vibrate it in final position

 (iii) Operate the jack to work against
the lower jaws to raise the yoke and the

form with it
57
Slipforms – Operation Procedures
 (iv) When the oil pressure is released,
the upper jaws grip under the action of
a spring
 (v) The jack is operated in cycles (iii) +
(iv) and each cycle gives a rise of about

25 mm
58
Slipform – Uses and Limitations
Uses
 The process is used for constructing
concrete chimneys, silos, shaft linings,

towers and building cores and bridge
piers
 Possible to vary wall thickness and
layout over the height (despite overall

cost will be increased) 59
Limitations
 Steady and continuous concreting must
be maintained throughout the process

 Longer duration and sophisticated
equipment layout in the initial setup

 High capital cost in the plant &
equipment
60
Limitations
 Labors working in shifts and hence
higher labor costs

 No construction joints
 Working platform to be protected from
adverse weather e.g. high wind, heavy

pours
61
 Limitations
 Standby plant and operatives are needed
 Openings formed by timber/polystyrene
within a film of concrete on each face could
avoid displacement of the former during the
vertical sliding process
 It requires specialist working and
supervision operatives
62
Tilt-up Moulds
The unit mould is cast horizontally and may
subsequently be tilted through a designed
angle
 The vertical position of the cast unit on
completion of demoulding could facilitate easy

and early formwork removal, and the
subsequent vertical stacking
 Horizontal processing could allow easy tiling
works, or composite sandwich/hollow units

manufacture
63
Moulds for Prestressed Concrete
 Sideforms which cannot be removed
before prestressing operations
commence should be designed to
allow vertical and horizontal
movement of the cast member during
prestressing
 Safety rules to all personnel
concerned must be adhered to during

the tendon stressing operation 64
Formwork Checklist
 Design concept in relation to
expected concreting rate
 Material strength, stiffness,
condition and dimensions

 Access – adequate space,
guardrails, toeboards, ladder/stairs

65
Formwork Checklist
 Assembly - layout dimensions, plumb &
stability, inserts fixed, ties tightened and
thread conditions checked, sealed against
kicker, panel joints sealed, waterstop
installed, filling over nail holes
 Release agent applied
 Formwork cleaned out
 Stripping – nails bent/removed, resuable
materials separated
66

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Formwork

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Formwork

 Formwork consists of contact face material and

 Accuracy of Concrete Shape

formworkers and the public

 Stage 2: during conc. Placement

 Stage 3: after conc. Placement

 \Particular care should be observed that

Column, wall, large beam 12 h 300

 The speed of construction

 Steel in lattice configurations or cold

formed sections (standard/proprietary)

 Aluminium (Al Alloys) sections

 Slab support system

 Waffle and trough moulds

 Tie rods are the most critical parts in the formwork

2) 2.5 for mild steel

 Bearing plates/washers to be checked if

bearing stresses acting on the timber

concern for aesthetic reasons 40

Concrete is still hydrostatic

Concrete has been hardening

 C2 is coefficient depending on mix ingredients

Design procedures follow the design of

3) Minimum Stability Force and Full

wind speed limit below which operations

 Discontinuity in Face Sheeting and

 Kickers for column form

 Stopend forms for wall form

 Sloping soffit form

 Bracing for beam form

 Bracing for column form

 The system is intended for continuous

 The shutter rises from 150 to 300 mm per

vibrate it in final position

the lower jaws to raise the yoke and the

(iv) and each cycle gives a rise of about

concrete chimneys, silos, shaft linings,

layout over the height (despite overall

be maintained throughout the process

equipment layout in the initial setup

higher labor costs

 Working platform to be protected from

adverse weather e.g. high wind, heavy

completion of demoulding could facilitate easy

works, or composite sandwich/hollow units

concerned must be adhered to during

condition and dimensions

guardrails, toeboards, ladder/stairs

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