Concrete Formwork Svstems - Part 1 pdf

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Concrete Formwork: An Introduction

1.1 Concrete Construction

1.2 Concrete Formwork

1.3 Formwork Economy and Significance

1.4 An Integrated Concrete/Formwork Life Cycle

1.5 Formwork Materials

1.1 CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION

A quality reinforced concrete structure offers many advantages

over structures made with other building materials. Concrete is

a durable material that reduces building maintenance costs and

provides a longer service life. A concrete structure will reduce en￾ergy usage because of its mass and high resistance to thermal

interchange. The use of concrete will lower insurance costs by

virtue of its high resistance to fire. Buildings made of concrete are

also more secure against theft and vandalism. Concrete floors and

walls reduce the transfer of noise, yielding a quieter environment

and happier occupants. Reinforced concrete possesses consider￾able strength for resisting seismic and wind loads. These factors

and others make the selection of reinforced concrete an economi￾cal alternative.

1.2 CONCRETE FORMWORK

The construction of a concrete building requires formwork to sup￾port the slabs (horizontal formwork) as well as columns and walls

(vertical formwork). The terms concrete formwork and concrete

form carry the same meaning and are used interchangeably in this

book. Formwork is defined as a temporary structure whose pur￾pose is to provide support and containment for fresh concrete until

it can support itself. It molds the concrete to the desired shape

and size, and controls its position and alignment. Concrete forms

are engineered structures that are required to support loads such

as fresh concrete, construction materials, equipment, workers, var-