Formwork Design Research Articles

Analysis of Formwork System Selection Criteria for Building Construction Projects: A Comparative Study

The formwork system (FWS) in reinforced concrete (RC) construction is a critical component. The appropriate FWS is selected based on a number of conflicting and compromising criteria, and the selection of the FWS is carried out by construction professionals with different technical and/or administrative backgrounds. The perspectives and perceptions of construction professionals and companies involved in the FWS selection process may vary depending on their motives. In addition, some building structural parameters may have a significant impact on the FWS selection criteria. Most of the former studies investigated the FWS selection criteria from only the perspective of contractors and neglected the potential differences in the perspectives and perceptions of different construction professionals (i.e., owners (CO), project managers (PM), construction managers (CM), site engineers (SE), planning engineers (PL), procurement engineers (PR), technical office engineers (TO), and formwork design and/or formwork sales engineers (FD/FSL)) and companies specialized in different fields (i.e., project management service (PMS), engineering and design (ENG/DSG), formwork and scaffolding (FW/SCF), and general and/or sub-contractor (GC/SC)) regarding this issue. Moreover, the impact of building structural parameters on the FWS selection criteria has not been investigated. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap through analysing the FWS selection criteria for building construction projects while comparing the perspectives and perceptions of different groups of construction professionals and companies and investigating how FWS selection criteria are affected by the building structural parameters. Based on a comprehensive literature review, 35 FWS selection criteria were identified and a questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire data obtained from 222 Turkish construction professionals were statistically analysed using mean score analysis, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and the Mann–Whitney U test. According to the study’s findings, the FD/FSL group presented significant statistical differences regarding the FWS selection criteria as compared to the CO, PM/CM/SE, and PL/PR/TO groups. Moreover, the total area of building construction and total building height significantly affected the FWS selection criteria. This study serves to underscore the perspectives of various groups of construction professionals and the critical connection between the structural parameters and FWS selection criteria. The findings of this study may guide construction professionals to select the appropriate FWS for their building construction projects.

Level of awareness of formwork design in the Ghanaian construction industry; enabling future technology application

PurposeIn the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI), the option for stakeholders to adopt formwork design as a building construction requirement is uncommon place. This is due to the low level of awareness and practice of formwork design. As a result of this, there have been formwork accidents, cost and time overruns in construction. This paper aims to solicit the view of stakeholders on the awareness of formwork design practices in the GCI.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopted the interpretivism research philosophy and inductive reasoning. Through a semi-structured interview guide, data was collected. The data (interview) recorded was transcribed using the Amberscript web application. This study used thematic analysis in analyzing the data collected using Nvivo 10 software.FindingsThe data collected from the 22 professionals indicated that the respondents were unaware of the concept of formwork design and its practice, neither could they speak to the existence of any specific regulation nor code of practice. However, the respondents established that there was a need to design formwork and stated some benefits of it.Originality/valueFrom the literature, little research has been done on formwork design and its context in the GCI is yet to be explored. This research attempts to fill this gap. The findings indicate that to practice formwork design, there must be education and training of human resources for formwork design, there must be a code of practice to guide the design process and legal backing through policies and regulations to mandate the design.

Construction Technology and Analysis of High and Large Formwork for Automobile Ramp

A square project in Hangzhou has the characteristics of high floors, deep foundation pits, large loads, and dense surrounding buildings and various municipal pipelines, which brought great difficulties to the construction, especially the formwork support part. This paper takes the construction of the tall formwork of the automobile ramp as an example to illustrate the design process and construction technology of the tall formwork of the project’s automobile ramp. The rationality of the design of tall formwork was checked by PKPM software. The quality and safety monitoring measures of the construction process are also given.

Research on design of the real-time monitoring system for full hall steel tubular scaffolds

Full tubular scaffolds are widely used in substation engineering. However, full hall steel tubular scaffolds collapse can lead mass casualties without effective safety management. The real-time monitoring system for full hall steel tubular scaffolds can prevent collapse accidents. Aiming at the monitoring demand of full hall steel tubular scaffolds, research on design of real-time monitoring system is carried out. This paper mainly discusses system design principle, system function design and system formwork design. The function design part refines the different function permissions of users in different roles, and the framework design part analyzes the composition of the system and the way of data transmission.

Adaptive Design of Formworks for Building Renovation Considering the Sustainability of Construction in BIM Environment—Case Study

Progressive technologies and practices are shifting the possibilities of building design and improving work efficiency. Constantly changing site conditions require different procedures and designs that take into account these changing conditions, whether it is a design solution, a change in environmental conditions, or just sustainability factors. Adaptive building design offers opportunities to cope with changing factors to achieve the ähighest possible level of building quality. This case study deals with the topic of adaptive formwork design for building renovation, taking into account sustainability. The aim of the article is an investigation and demonstration of the building information modeling (BIM) environment used for the adaptive design of formwork elements for the building renovation in the context of sustainability. The object of the case study is a building in the center of Kosice, Slovakia. The BIM environment allows prompt and correct adaptation of the formwork design to changing lighting conditions, ventilation, heating and temperature during the design of the building.

Exploring the Design and Construction of Aluminum Formwork Based on BIM Technology

Aluminum formwork is a new type of formwork system. It is easy to install and disassemble, can be turned over many times, has good forming effect, and has the advantages of green environmental protection. The application of aluminum formwork construction in construction projects can improve engineering construction efficiency and ensure project quality. BIM technology has the advantages of visualization, simulation and synergy. Combining the design and construction of aluminum formwork with BIM technology can give full play to the advantages of both, and use BIM technology to design, mold and construct aluminum formwork, effectively improving the design efficiency, optimization of the model. And in order to improve the level of aluminum formwork management, we can standardize the operation of construction personnel through the three-dimensional cross, so as to improve the level of construction technology. In view of this, this paper will summarize the application of BIM technology in the design and construction of aluminum formwork. The matters needing attention in the light of the BIM technology and the concept of aluminum template, combined with the principle and characteristics of BIM technology, and briefly analyze its economic benefits.

Perfecting technology of winter concreting of cast-in-situ columns

The article deals with an analysis of the existing systems of the heating method of reinforced concrete structures. It is demonstrated that, concreting of rectangular columns, the area of angles is characterized by a lower concrete quality than in other areas, which causes extensive damage in indicated zones. To remove the existing limitations, the formwork design for concreting of cast-in-situ columns is offered in the article. It was established that during the removal of column formwork one can often observe palled angles with reinforcement uncovering. Corners are the most vulnerable parts under impact forces or static loads during the exploitation. Repair and restoration of the exterior view and protective properties of concrete in column corners often require using materials or repair methods, which increase the cost of construction. The reasons of concrete lower quality are in the incompact joints of formwork elements and the chilled temperature of concrete hardening. Furthermore, the reason is in low temperature in columns corners. It is the consequence of the deficiency of existing heating systems ignores the irregularity of heating proper emission of the heat and increased heat loss in the corners of the columns.

Optical fiber sensors implementation for monitoring the early-age behavior of full-scale Timber-Concrete Composite slabs

The study of the early-age behavior of Timber-Concrete Composite (TCC) structures is of great interest as it provides valuable information for manufacturing specification development, quality control, and optimization of the formwork design. In this study, the results of the continuous monitoring of the short-term behavior of TCC slabs using Brillouin Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors (DOFS) are reported. Two TCC slabs with 8.5 m of length were monitored. The composite elements are constituted of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) connected to a High-Performance Concrete (HPC) slab. During a monitoring period of about 30 days, the early-age temperature/strain variation in the fresh concrete and in the CLT slab was measured in great details by DOFS. From the presented results, the significant influence of the curing conditions on the early-age shrinkage was highlighted. It was also observed that creep and the daily hygrometric variations of environment affect considerably the composite action between the timber and the concrete. In addition, it was experimentally demonstrated that such mechanisms generate considerable structural changes in the composite elements even before their entry into service.

Computational design of fabric formwork

We present an inverse design tool for fabric formwork - a process where flat panels are sewn together to form a fabric container for casting a plaster sculpture. Compared to 3D printing techniques, the benefit of fabric formwork is its properties of low-cost and easy transport. The process of fabric formwork is akin to molding and casting but having a soft boundary. Deformation of the fabric container is governed by force equilibrium between the pressure forces from liquid fill and tension in the stretched fabric. The final result of fabrication depends on the shapes of the flat panels, the fabrication orientation and the placement of external supports. Our computational framework generates optimized flat panels and fabrication orientation with reference to a target shape, and determines effective locations for external supports. We demonstrate the function of this design tool on a variety of models with different shapes and topology. Physical fabrication is also demonstrated to validate our approach.

Improving modern technology and construction of multi-storey residential buildings by optimizing shuttering works

This article deals with the selection of optimal sets of formwork of the object under construction, depending on the space-planning and design solutions. Improving the use of system formwork design. The areas of formwork application are characterized, the requirements for formwork systems are given. The author presents modern types of formwork, which have different design characteristics and are designed for different climatic conditions. In the article the author characterizes the main types of formwork systems used in modern monolithic construction. Development of technology of monolithic reinforced concrete works is largely constrained by the structural shortcomings of formwork systems. The paper proposes a formwork construction module that allows concreting structures with different lengths for each object using one unified formwork panel, based on the space-planning and structural solutions. Thus it is necessary to change only places of fastening of face elements of a timbering. The practical significance of the study lies in the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of system formwork.

Occupational safety needs into construction formwork market. Perception of stakeholders

DOI: 10.7764/RDLC.18.1.16 This manuscript presents a comparative research about the perception of safety needs in the design and use of formworks. Needs were evaluated compiling opinions from different stakeholders in the construction sector in Spain and United Kingdom. Research methodology involved different phases: definition of the territorial and population context, research tool design, data collection and data analysis and findings. Thus, an ad-hoc questionnaire was designed and distributed to project designers, construction companies and manufacturing formwork companies, in order to identify needs in the design phase, construction phase and legal issues. The findings in both countries showed a high agreement in items related with productivity and final cost during the design phase of the formwork/falsework. Suppliers and customers showed different perception about the training services, especially in Spain. This study has allowed the identification of the sector's needs through the opinion of the main participants in the formwork trade. This should be a good basis for the development of measures that improve health and safety levels in formwork activities.

Making Formwork Design Lean

Traditional formwork design processes entail considerable waste, increasing non-value-adding manpower costs and operational time. The purpose of this research is to use lean thinking in formwork design so as to enhance design correctness and eliminate waste through establishing a Lean Formwork Design Process. In the design process, the concurrent design concept is adopted to provide a visual communication platform for design team members using Building Information Modeling (BIM). Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) are used as a protocol for sharing design artifacts. Design correctness is established to review and correct design errors, thus allowing for the construction of an organizational learning environment. Finally, the Lean Formwork Design Process is conceptualized using stock-flow diagrams. A real case is used to validate the applicability of the proposed approach. Application results show that the proposed method can enhance design correctness and reduce manpower waste and operational time in formwork engineering. This study is one of the first to apply lean thinking to improve practices in formwork design.

Robotic variable fabric formwork

Abstract Casting is one of the most widely used construction techniques. Complex geometries produced via computational design processes are not readily achievable through traditional rigid formwork and are subject to increased material waste. More suitable casting techniques are required to represent digital design output efficiently. This article presents a variable fabric formwork developed to work in conjunction with a 6-axis robotic arm for casting doubly curved panels based on hyperbolic paraboloid geometry. The variable formwork is designed to be extendable in length and width so that it can produce a wide range of outcomes within a single formwork. The interface established in the workflow allows the physical formwork and digital design to influence each other. The article concludes by discussing a verification method used to confirm the accuracy of the outcome. This variable fabric form-work reduces construction waste and is a more sustainable method for casting complex geometries. Highlights Robotic arm used to manipulate a bespoke mould for fabric formwork casting. Constraints of mould design used to inform robotic arm of its fabrication limits. Workflow allows the physical formwork and digital design to influence each other. Verification of result reveals future area of research.

An experimental study on the lateral pressure in foam-filled wall panels with pneumatic formwork

Applications of structural wall panels using flexible formwork systems have recently attracted the attention of architects and engineers. Many of such panelised systems in the market are foam-filled walls, mainly presented in the form of sandwich panels. Knowledge of cast-in-situ induced lateral pressure on the formwork is critical for the economical and safe design of flexible formwork for construction. Formwork cost, on the other hand, comprises a high proportion of the total cost of a building constructed by cast-in-situ materials. Although extensive research has been conducted on the lateral pressure of concrete formwork, the components and mechanics of the lateral pressure in foam-filled walls have not been thoroughly understood. This paper will investigate the lateral deformation, and then lateral pressure on flexible fabric formwork used for construction of polyurethane foam-filled panels. From the lateral pressure on the formwork, the tension forces in the ties are calculated by measuring the compressive force developed between the formwork edges. The results are used for design of intermediate ties for controlling the lateral deformations in an innovative foam filled panelised system, which has been designed for rapid assembly of semi-permanent buildings for post disaster housing.

Automated optimization of formwork design through spatial analysis in building information modeling

Abstract Formwork construction for reinforced cast-in-place concrete work is costly, often time-consuming and complex to plan and design. Even though the process of calculating the proper formwork design is lengthy and complex, the responsibility is usually left to a field manager/engineer which may not have enough time and resources identifying all possible options to select the most effective formwork. The design aspects that go into formwork include several parameters such as concrete pressure, bending, deflection, and horizontal shearing. Even though there are equations and calculations for each of those parameters in the design of concrete formwork, the process of performing the calculations for each concrete formwork application is still lengthy. Therefore, construction managers often rely on their previous work experiences and apply similar formwork designs for most situations. By developing a BIM (Building Information Modeling) based automatic formwork design system, this research aims to optimize the formwork design process required to perform the calculations for the design of the formwork by automatically extracting the properties and data from a BIM model. The case study shows that the proposed formwork design approach successfully automates the formwork design in BIM modeling using IFC extension by comparing the different materials and costs. The result of the case study reveals that the efficiency of the formwork design process could be greatly improved by utilizing the proposed formwork design system.

Relation between slab thickness and dimensions of formwork

In 2015, there was one of the awful incidents in civil engineering. That was the collapse of the formwork strength of the building inside the Qassim University, resulting in the death and injury a number of engineers and workers. This is just an example of the long‐recorded history which tells us about a large number of different collapses of formwork, which resulted in the loss of many lives and equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a new vision for the design of formwork using many different sectors to ensure access to the lowest possible cost, taking into account the safety aspect. This goal can be achieved by certifying the stability of the sectors when taking into account the effects of bending stresses, shear stresses, and deflection. Calibration was achieved using the beforehand published method in 2000. This method is used to ensure the results obtained for the slab thickness less than 15 cm then the results were extrapolated to include slabs with a larger thickness. The results of the present search come out into a set of indicating curves point to the required quantity of lumber for each sector. This strategy is much easier and straightforward to help in the design process rather than using conventional equations.

Influence of the placement rate on the fresh concrete lateral pressure in the design of formworks

Abstract The fresh concrete lateral pressure generates a load that has great influence in the design of the formworks of columns, walls and lateral faces of the beams.Its prediction must be performed in such a way in order to approach precisely well over the rate values supported by the formworks, avoiding, therefore, the oversizing or undersizing of these temporary structures which represent up to 12% of the total cost of the construction. The calculation of the lateral pressure that fresh concrete exerts on the formworks involves several variables; one of them is the placement rate. The main objective of this work was to study the influence of the placement rate, in situ, on the lateral pressure of fresh concrete calculated from theoretical models presented by norms and international references. For this purpose, measurements of the placement rate were conducted on columns of five building work places at Goiânia city, Goiás, Brazil and it was calculated the maximum pressure supported by their respective formworks from the dimensions and spans between the supports of the components that constituted them. The obtained results indicate that the placement rate in the field observations reach 249 m/h, exceeding the values limited by the theoretical methods of calculation, and that the lateral pressure estimation produced from the placement rate measured in situ exceed the maximum values supported by the formworks up to 604 times. Thus, it was concluded that it is necessary to adjust equations to estimate the lateral pressure of fresh concrete at high rate of concrete placement, according to the current practices in the construction market.

Comparative Study of Aluminum Formwork Design Using Various Codal Methods

Comparative Study of Aluminum Formwork Design Using Various Codal Methods

Utilising Building Component Data from BIM for Formwork Planning

Advancements in the computing realm have assisted the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry to progress significantly by automating several design tasks and activities. Building Information Modelling (BIM) authoring tools have played a significant role in automating design tasks and reducing the efforts required by the designer in redundant, repetitive or production-oriented activities. This paper explores one such approach that, with the help of BIM authoring tool and its Application Programming Interface (API), reduces the efforts expended on formwork design for concrete structures. The paper utilises the concept of using BIM data as input to compute the quantity of formwork, and generate visualisations and schedule of formwork. The developed approach first takes data input from semantic BIM to the API environment for computation and design of formwork systems, which is then placed within the BIM model, to generate visualisation and prepare schedules. The research work utilises a structural concrete wall as an example to demonstrate the presented approach. The approach will be influential in streamlining the formwork design process in the BIM environment and reducing efforts required by the designer and the planning engineer. Since the formwork elements are generated as 3-Dimensional (3D) solids and smart BIM elements, the generated model of formwork can be used for resolving clashes, scheduling, and resource planning.

Peculiarities of Russian Standards Application in Horizontal Formwork Design

The article deals with a typical technological map for the installation and dismantling of the formwork of a German manufacturer, the loads listed in the technological map according to the German regulatory documents are considered. The calculation of the loads acting on the formwork was performed in accordance with the Russian regulatory documents. A table comparing the results is presented from which it can be seen that the loads calculated in accordance with DIN 4421 and GOST R 52085-2003 for the same formwork differ in the values obtained. The conclusion is made that it is necessary to apply the Russian normative documents when calculating and using the formwork in the territory of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the Russian regulations, when calculating the distances between girders and contractions, calculations must be made for the two limiting states - from the strength conditions of the shield according to the carrying capacity and the shield strength by deformation. The distances between girders and contractions calculated in this way will meet the requirements of the normative documents of the Russian Federation. The article proposes a method for determining the distances between girders and contractions in two limiting states and shows the derivation of the formulas used in the calculations.