Concrete Formwork

General Requirements
Safe must hold concrete in place until
cured.
Economical
provide desired shape and surface texture
Formwork usually cost more than the
concrete
Typical formwork
Can be
wood
Steel
Aluminum
Must be braced to withstand load (concrete
weighs 150pcf)

Wall form F 11-18
Double wales used above and below ties to allow
tie to be secured
Also need a spreader to keep forms correct
distance apart
Need to have good bracing at foot of form
Ties F 11-19
Most common can be broken off just inside
concrete allows for patching
Column Forms
Use column clamps for support/bracing
May have windows to making pouring easier
F 11-20
Slabs
F 11- 21 -> 11-25
Construction Practices
Forms need tight joints
Forms need to be aligned and checked for
alignment during pour
Dont forget uplift on some types of forms
Dont drop concrete more than 5
Dont vibrate previously poured concrete too
deeply could cause form failure
Carefully remove forms dont want surface
damage

Expansion and control joints
Permit differential movement in concrete
shapes
Concrete shrinkage, temperature change,
moisture change, settlement
Isolate interior columns from floor slab cut
around column

Formwork safety
Pg 321
Reinforcing Steel
Reinforcing bars
Usually deformed (manufactured with ridges
to increase bond with concrete)
Can be plain or epoxy coated
Sized by 1/8
th
inch and strength of steel
T 11-1, F 11-28
Reinforcing Steel
Welded wire fabric
Common for slabs
Smooth or deformed wire
WWF is identifier
WWF 6x6-4.0x4.0 is a welded wire fabric with
6 inch spacing longitudinally and transversely
made of W4 size (0.04 x section area) wire
Spirals (for columns)
3 standard sizes 3/8 inch, inch, 5/8 inch
diameter rods
Sprial diameters (outside to outside) 12
minimum to 33 max
Pitch from 1.75 3.25 (distance from center
to center of rod)

Placing Reinforcing
Rebar goes in areas of tension
F 11-29
Need to protect rebar from corrosion fire
and weather
Pg 325 gives min cover
Minimum clear distance between parallel bars
in columns = 1.5 or 1.5 x max aggregate size
For other shapes 1 or 1.333 x max aggregate
size
Placing Reinforcing
Rebars kept in place by ties
F 11-30, 11-31
QC
Common deficiencies
Pg 329
Inspection and Testing
Usually concrete is a fast paced activity
Need to inspect product from stockpile to
placement and then test for strength, air
entrainment, beam flexure