FORMWORK

Forms or moulds or shutters are the

receptacles in which concrete is placed,
so that it will have desired shape or
outline when hardened. Once concrete
develops

the

adequate

strength

to

support its own weight they can be

taken out

Requirements of a good
formwork
The essential requirements of formwork or shuttering
are
It should be strong enough to take the dead and
live loads during construction.
The joints in the formwork should be rigid so that
the bulging, twisting, or sagging due to dead and
live load is as small as possible. Excessive
deformation may disfigure the surface of concrete.
The construction lines in the formwork should be
true and the surface plane so that the cost finishing
the surface of concrete on removing the shuttering
is the least.
The formwork should be easily removable without
damage to itself so that it could be used repeatedly.

Requirements of form work

A good form work should satisfy following
requirements:
Material of formwork should be cheap & can be reused
many time.
It should be water proof & should not absorb water
from concrete.
Shrinkage & swelling should be minimum.
It should be strong enough to take all loads coming on
it (dead load of concrete, live load of labour during
pouring, compaction & curing.
It should be stiff enough so that deflection is minimum.
It should be light as far as possible
Surface of form work should be smooth for easy
stripping
All joints of form work should be stiff so that lateral
deformation under load is minimum.
Joints should be leak proof.

Economy in formwork
Use of irregular shapes to be avoided

Fabricated in modular sizes

Structural components should be designed such
that it is possible to have use of commercially
available formworks

Use of assembly line technique

cleaned and oiled properly

Construction joints should be minimum

If mechanical vibrators are used , then bolts shall be

used in place of wires or nails for safety

Classification of Formwork
The different categories in which
formwork can be classified are:
According to size.
According to location of use.
According to materials of
construction.
According to nature of operation.
According to brand name of the
product.

Classification according to the size of

formwork

In practice, there are only two sizes for

formwork; small-sized and large-sized.
Any size which is designed for operation
by workers manually is small-sized.
Very often, the erection process is
preferably handled by a single worker,
with site work best done independently to
avoid possible waiting times.
Due to reasons of size and weight, the
materials and construction of small-sized
formwork are thus limited.
At present, the most common systems are
made of timber and aluminum, and are
usually in the form of small panels. There
is seldom medium-sized formwork.

Classification according to the

location of use
There are not many effective formwork
systems for stairs and staircases.
The complicated three-dimensional
nature of an element involving
suspended panels and riser boards, as
well as the need to cope with very
different spatial and dimensional
variances as required by individual
design situations, cannot be achieved by
a universally adaptable formwork system

Classification according to materials of

construction
Materials used for formwork are traditionally
quite limited due to finding the difficult
balance between cost and performance.
Timber in general is still the most popular
formwork material for its relative low initial
cost and adaptability
Steel, in the form of either hot-rolled or
cold-formed sections and in combination
with other sheeting materials, is another
popular choice for formwork materials.
Aluminum formwork systems have been
used in some cases but the performance is
still being questioned by many users,
especially in concern to cost and labor
control

Classification according to nature of

operation

Formwork can be operated manually

or by other power-lifted methods.
Some systems are equipped with a
certain degree of mobility to ease the
erection and striking processes, or to
allow horizontal moment using
rollers, rails or tracks

Wooden form work

Most common form work
Disadvantage
Possibility of warping, swelling,
shrinkage.
Water impermeable coating on wood
form work
is applied to reduce
warping, swelling,
shrinking
With impermeable coating shuttering
can be removed easily.

Steel form work

Steel shuttering is used for major work.
Advantages:
a) It can be put to use for high number of
times.
b) It provides ease of stripping
c) It gives smooth & even concrete
surface
d) It posses high rigidity
e) It is not liable to shrinkage or distortion
f) It is costly

Steel form work

This consist of panels fabricated out of thin
steel plates stiffened along the edges by
small steel angles.
The panel units can be held together through
the use of suitable clamps or bolts and nuts.
The panels can be fabricated in large number
in any desired modular shape or size.
Steel forms are largely used in large projects
or in situation where large number reuses of
the shuttering is possible.
This type of shuttering is considered most
suitable for circular or curved structures.

 For heavy concrete work

With reasonable care will last indefinitely
High initial cost and high handling cost

The first floor circular columns were constructed using steel

column forms. The steel column form should be oiled before
concreting.

After concreting to the first floor columns, the steel column forms
were dismantled easily.

Compared with timber formwork

Steel forms are stronger, durable and
have longer life than timber formwork
and their reuses are more in number.
Steel forms can be installed and
dismantled with greater ease and speed.
The quality of exposed concrete surface
by using steel forms is good and such
surfaces need no further treatment.
Steel formwork does not absorb moisture
from concrete.
Steel formwork does not shrink or warp.

STEEL FORMWORK AND

ACCESSORIES
Steel formwork systems for every size and
shape of ground plan, in practical
dimension & equipped with different
features to make shuttering more efficient.

Flatform Panels Form Wor

Application of Push-pull
Prop. &
Soldier System

Column
Formwork

Flat Form

Flat Form is used for forming planes

such as those of Square columns,
walls, slab floors, etc. By combining
units of various sizes, flat form can be
made to serve a wide variety of
purposes.

Corner Angle

Inside Corner Form

Outside Corner
Form

"L" - type pin & U-clip

Steel Form for Corners

Form can be assembled easily and tightly by using the
Corner Angle, Outside Corner Form & Inside Corner Form.
We can tailor-made various sizes of corner to suit
customer specific requirements & application.

Samples of Box Culvert Design

A combination of the Flat form Panels & corners are
illustrated in the application of common Box Culvert.
Versatile : complete systems made to meet the needs of
contractors;
Easy to Use : quick assembly & fixing
Proven Design : fabricated for tough working conditions

Indian Standard of Form work(IS :

456-1964)
(1) General :
The form work :
shall conform to the shape, lines &
dimensions as shown on the plans.
Shall be rigid during placing &
compacting of concrete.
Water tight to prevent loss of water from
concrete.
(2) Cleaning & treatment of forms
All rubbish, chippings, saw dust shall be
removed from the interior of form work
before placing of concrete.
Shall be
wetted

Indian Standard of Form work(IS :4561964)

STRIPPING TIME
Form work should not removed until good
strength has come.
Type of form work Time
Vertical wall, columns 16-24 hrs
Soffit of slab (Prop should be refixed
immediately) 3 days
Soffit of beam (Prop should be refixed
immediately) 7 days
Props to slab Span < 4.5 m 7 days
Props to slab Span > 4.5 m 14 days
Props of beam (Span < 6 m) 14 days
Props of beam (Span > 6 m) 21 days

Time of Removal of formwork

Sr.
No

OPC

Rapid
Hardening
Cement

Structural Member

(Ordinary Portland
Cement)

Beam sides, walls & Columns

2-3 Days

2 Days

Slab (Vertical Supports remains intact)

4 Days

3 Days

Slab (Complete Formwork removal)

10 Days

5 Days

Beams (Removal of Sheeting, Props

8 Days

5 Days

Beams & Arches (Complete

14 Days

5-8 Days

Beams & Arches (Complete

21 Days

8-10 Days

remains intact)

formwork removal) (up to 6 m span)

formwork removal) (more than 6 m span)

Indian Standard of Form work (IS :

456-1964)
(4) Procedure when removing form work
All form work shall be removed without shock or vibration as it
will damage the concrete.
Before the soffit (bottom surface ) & struts (pole) are removed, the
concrete shall be exposed, to check that the concrete has
sufficiently hardened.
Proper precautions shall be taken to allow for decrease in the rate
of hardening in cold water.
(5) Camber
It is desirable to give form an upward camber (slope) to ensure
that beams do not sag when they have taken up their deflection.
This should be done only when allowed in the design calculation
of the beam.

Indian Standard of Form work (IS :

456-1964)

(6) Tolerances
Form work shall be so constructed
that the internal dimensions are
within the permissible tolerance
specified by the designed

LOADS ON FORM WORK

The form work has to take following loads:

a)Live load due to labour
b)Weight of wet concrete
c)Hydrostatic pressure of the fluid concrete
acting against the vertical or inclined faces
of form
d)Impact due to pouring of concrete.
Live loads of labour & equipment including
impact may be taken as 370 Kg/m2.

LOADS ON FORM WORK

HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE:
Hydro static pressure due to fluid of
concrete depends on :
a)Quantity of water in concrete
b)Size of aggregate
c)Rate of pouring
d)Temperature

HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE
Hydrostatic pressure is maximum during
pouring and decreases when concrete
becomes hard.
Setting time may be taken as to 1 hour.
Only height of concrete poured in to 1
hour is taken into account for calculation
of hydrostatic pressure on form work.
For 1.5 m height of concrete, equivalent
weight of concrete may be taken as 2300
kg/m3.

HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE
For higher height, the equivalent weight of
concrete is reduced. When height of
concrete in one pour is 6 m, the equivalent
fluid weight may be 1200 kg/m3.
For intermediate heights between 1.5 to 6
m poured within the setting time of hour
linear interpolation of unit weight between
1200 to 2300 kg/m3 may be taken

SHUTTERING FOR BEAM & SLAB FLOOR

The slab is continuous over number of beams.
The slab is supported on 2.5 cm thick sheathing
laid parallel to main beam.
The sheathing is supported on wooden battens
which are laid between the beams, at suitable
spacing.
In order to reduce deflection, the battens may be
propped at middle of the span through joists.
The side forms of the beam consists 3 mm thick
sheathing.
The bottom sheathing of the beam form may be
5 to 7 cm thick

SHUTTERING FOR BEAM & SLAB

FLOOR
The end of the battens are supported on
ledger which is fixed to cleats throughout the
length.
Cleats 10 cm x 2 cm x 3 cm are fixed to the
forms at the same spacing as that of battens,
so that battens may be fixed to them.
The beam forms is supported on a head tree.
The shore or post is connected to head tree
through cleats.
At the bottom of shore, two wedges of hard
wood are provided over a sole piece

MERITS OF ALUMINIUM FORMWORK

In contrast to most of the modern construction

systems, which are machine and equipment
oriented, the formwork does not depend upon
heavy lifting equipment and can be handled by
unskilled labors.
Fast construction is assured and is particularly
suitable for large magnitude construction of
respective nature at one project site.
Construction carried out by this system has
exceptionally good quality with accurate
dimensions for all openings to receive windows
and doors, right angles at meeting points of wall
to wall, wall to floor, wall to ceiling, etc, concrete
surface finishes are good to receive painting
directly without plaster.

MERITS OF ALUMINIUM FORMWORK

System components are durable and can be used
several times without sacrificing the quality or
correctness of dimensions and surface.
Monolithic construction of load bearing walls and
slabs in concrete produces structurally superior
quality with very few constructions joined compared
to the conventional column and beam slabs
construction combined with filter brick work or block
work subsequently covered by plaster.
In view of the four day cycle of casting the floor
together with all slabs as against 14 to 20 day
cycle in the conventional method, completed RCC
structure is available for subsequent finish trades
much faster, resulting in a saving of 10 to 15 days
per floor in the overall completion period.
.

MERITS OF ALUMINIUM FORMWORK

As all the walls are cast monolithic and
simultaneously with floor slabs requiring no
further plasters finish. Therefore the time
required in the conventional method for
construction of walls and plastering is saved.
As fully completed structural frame is made
available in one stretch for subsequent
finishing items, uninterrupted progress can be
planned ensuring, continuity in each trade,
thereby providing as cope for employing
increased labor force on finishing item.
As the system establishes a kind of Assembly
line production phase wise completion in
desired groups of buildings can be planned to
achieve early utilization of the buildings

ULMA FORMWORK SYSTEM

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The ULMA CC-4 formwork system is
mainly for large surface areas with a
good finishing surface, where geometry
and distance between columns is
regular, providing high quality finishing,
directed to the requirements of building
construction.
Its elements are built in aluminium, so
the system is lightweight.
It is characterized by its safe and fast
assembly and dismantling, as its main
parts are made of aluminium.

ULMA FORMWORK SYSTEM

Drop heads CC:

It is equipped with a drop system
which assists the stripping, letting the
panels, beams & Transversals descend
to be easily retrieved. Along with the
prop, it is the only remaining part of
the system

 Transversals CC TE:

It establishes the
grid width, which can
be 1.5m or 0.75m
between axes. The
transversal
is
in
contact
with
the
concrete.
It
is
designed to keep the
joints between the
panels tights.

 .Standard boards:
The formwork face is
plywood or composite
board which fits in the
frame. The openings
in the frame facilitate
its manual handling

ADVANTAGES OF ULMA CC-4 OVER

CONVENTIONAL FORMWORK
Most system elements are manufactured in
aluminium, and some elements are plastic, thus this
is a very lightweight formwork.
This formwork stripping system is designed to
facilitate the recovery of material without permitting
any of it to fall to the ground-achieved by drop
head system. This helps to increased worker safety
and reduces material deterioration.
Great versatility which enables to change beam
direction; one beam can be installed at a 90 angle
to its adjacent beam.
Easy to adjust height and to level the formwork
because of few props used in setup.
High efficiency of assembly and disassembly

GROCON FORMWORK
SYSTEM

Grocon climbing systems form vertical

elements such as columns and walls,
providing employees with a safe work
environment. The formwork, working
platforms, trailing screen assemblies and
rams are attached to overhead truss
assemblies, so with each lift the whole
system rises simultaneously.
It can be raised in only one hour with one
fully-trained operator having control over
the process. Jacking points that raise the
system are located below the truss
assemblies to give clear access to all
working platforms

 The top-working platform is left clear for storing

crane-handled equipment and provides clear
access for workers. Vertical formwork elements
are suspended from members located in the
top chord assemblies of the truss system
allowing vertical, lateral and horizontal
adjustment. High-level construction accuracy is
therefore possible within the system
In all stages of the jump from operating cycle
the workers are fully enclosures their complete
safety & that of all other workers & members of
the public. At no time can the workers fall or
lose their to cause accidents and hence offers
full safety

 The Grocon jump from operates as

one system. This eliminates the
possibility of creating opening in the
system when one section is raised
before another section.

ADVANTAGES OF GROCON OVER

CONVENTIONAL FORMWORK

Standard plywood used on the lubeca system

can be used up to 77 pours. By treating two
stories as one the need to replace wall from
plywood is reduced.
Down time costs are minimised or eliminated.
The system is as effective as a steel formwork
alternative without the associated weight &
cost penalties.
Less pours means a saving on re-enforcement
laps bars & concrete with a consequence
increase in efficiency & productivity.
Forming two floors at a time halves the number
of plumbing & surveying operations during
construction of the core.

ADVANTAGES OF GROCON OVER

CONVENTIONAL FORMWORK

The system does not rely on the most

recent concrete pour, with jacking beams
supported by concrete that is one cycle old.
The top deck is free of jacking masts &
other mechanical obstacles, which protects
all operational equipment from concrete
spills & the possibility of crane damage.
Long stroke, heavy duty hydraulic rams
allow over 4 meters of travel & deep single
pours, which is particularly useful for areas
such as computer floors.
Hydraulic safety features include non-return
valves, a complete backup system &
locking devices on each arm ram.