Effects of formwork on concrete

Many kinds of
interaction between
concrete and formwork
combine to affect the
quality of the product

Pressure on formwork
Freshly placed concrete exerts
h yd rostatic pressure laterally on the
f o rm s. This pressure is not affected
by the length and width of the form-
work but only by the height of the
concrete placed. The pressure at a
given depth is the same in all direc-
tions and acts perpendicularly to
the surfaces that are containing the
fresh concrete.
Pressure increases within the
forms as the height of fresh concrete
increases except that when the con-
crete sets it ceases to transmit fur-
ther pressure from above. Fo rm s
may have deflected or bulged at a
given level because of concrete
pressure. When the concrete at this
level hardens the forms will not
bulge further but neither can they
return to plane.
Offsets, deflection and tie marks produced from poor-forming materials,
leave an unsightly wall or require costly finishings Temperature affects formwork
pressure
The rate of hardening of concrete
F o rm w o rk and the way it is used
and handled affects the quality
of the concrete and the concrete
all differences in concrete surface
appearance that are sometimes at-
is of course more rapid at high tem-
peratures and slower at low temper-
tributed to the forms, howe ve r, are a t u re s, so the head of unhardened
finish. Some of the bad effects that
actually caused by them. They may concrete in the form will vary with
forms can potentially have on the
be caused by differences in con- the weather. When concreting at
surface are obvious—bad form
crete workability, the use of admix- low temperatures it is possible for
joints, offsets or poor facing mater-
t u re s, concreting temperature or very high hydrostatic heads to de-
ial—but others are not so common-
concreting practices. velop because great amounts of
ly understood or appreciated. Not
concrete can be placed before the
first concrete begins to set. For this
reason most form manufacturers
publish recommendations on
placement rates for use at va ri o u s
temperatures.
In cold weather the use of proper
heating and insulating equipment
not only serves the primary func-
tions of protecting against damage
from freezing and establishing an
acceptable rate at which strength is
gained but also reduces pre s s u re s
on formwork by causing earlier set-
ting. The forms should be kept in
place as long as required before
stripping.
In hot weather the problem is dif-
With one side formed full height, the opposing side is
ferent. To overcome rapid slump formed as the concrete is placed This keeps the trades
loss at high temperatures some peo- working, avoids high drops of concrete and eliminates
ple are inclined to soup up the mix pouring pockets.
with additional water, often in viola-
tion of good practice. An increase in
slump has the effect of transmitting
a higher pressure to the formwork.
Reinforcing steel also has an ef-
fect on pressure by increasing the
bridging action within the concrete
and reducing the load on the forms.
Large numbers of small bars have
more effect than fewer large ones.
The maximum pressure on the
f o rm w o rk, in pounds per square
foot, can be roughly approximated
by multiplying the head of fresh
concrete, in feet, by 150. It is impor-
tant to be sure that the concrete Joints can be concealed by using rustication strips at
placed does not create pressure in the form joints. These also conceal tie holes and of ten
excess of what the forms and ties are predetermine crack location in the depression left by the
known to be capable of standing. rustication strips instead of the face of the concrete.
Otherwise a breakout may occur or
forms may deflect to produce a pil- pact pressure likely to be. Forms and operation follows close behind. The
low effect on the surface of the con- ties should be of sufficient strength method not only avoids long drops
crete. to withstand these impact loads and but also makes placing and vibrat-
the rate of placing should not be ing easier and keeps all crews busy.
Placing greater than their safe load capaci-
The effects of impact during plac- ty. Vibration
ing can vary depending upon the The height of drop of fresh con- Consolidation of concrete by in-
height of the forms or the height of crete can be reduced by the use of teral vibration causes temporary lat-
the drop. Placing concrete into elephant trunks or tremies. Another eral re s s u re s. Information on their
forms of small height will have low method is to erect forms and place magnitude is limited. Care should
impact, but on higher walls the in- simultaneously. One side is usually be taken not to damage or break any
coming concrete will apply force to formed to its total height while the of the ties while vibrating because
the plastic concrete already in place second or opposing side is initially this would transfer more load to the
which will transmit this added pres- built only to the height of the first other ties and load the forms un-
sure to the forms. The faster the rate lift. As the placing starts the next lift evenly. External vibration with form
of placement the greater is the im- of forms is erected and the placing vibrators increases loads on forms
even higher and causes fluctuation
of lateral pressures.
The forms, in turn, affect the vi-
bration. Wood forms tend to absorb
vibration but steel forms tend to re-
flect the vibrations and bounce
them back.
Form joints
One of the most important mat-
ters of forming and concrete place-
ment is the way joints in both the
forms and the concrete are treated.
Both require care and close inspec-
tion. On exposed or arc h i t e c t u ra l
concrete, their presence is of prime
importance.
On job-built forms, which are
harder to maintain in good condi-
tion than factory-built, the form
joints must be straight, clean and
tight. This is rather hard to do since
as the forms become older, the ply-
wood edges take a large share of
abuse and the corners become do-
geared, making it extremely hard to
obtain a flawless finish with clean
joint lines. Where big gang sections
are used the problem is reduced
since the edges are not exposed to
rough treatment. The surface must
be kept free of nail holes or protrud-
ing nails, sawdust or any foreign
matter.
The marks left on concrete by
form joints vary with the forming
material. Plywood ordinarily leaves
a single line. Forms in which the ply-
wood is encased by steel can leave a
doubleline joint. This is no more
troublesome than a single-line joint
since both require finishing if the
surface is to be exposed .
Prefabricated forms, either steel
or plywood, produce single-line
joints of varying quality. If the forms
become bent or damaged it is diffi-
cult to restore them to their original
plane state.
One method of treating form
joints is to tape them. Another is to
use rustication strips and thereby
create a surface feature that hides
the joints.
The rustications can be V-shaped,
U-shaped, beveled or rectangular
but they should be so located as to
Prior planning for the finished
appearance is evident here,
where the tie holes were left
unfilled and rustications used to
conceal form joints providing a
pleasing pattern in the concrete.
provide a suitable pattern. The rus-
tications will also help conceal tie
marks and obscure the patching of
the tie holes. Another important
feature of their use is that if cracks
develop later they tend to fall with-
in the rustications where they are
less noticeable.
Horizontal construction joints
Concrete construction joints,
both vertical and horizontal, require
planning in the construction of
formwork. With job-built forms us-
ing plywood sheets, it is essential to
plan tie or anchor locations so that
they fall just below where the con-
struction joint will be. In the next lift
a tie should be located above this
joint. The face of the forms must be
held tightly to the concrete already
set to prevent any offsets and to pre-
vent leakage, which causes staining
or discoloration.
Prefabricated forms simplify the
choice of form sizes so that form
joints are located very close to con-
crete construction joints. Ties can
therefore be located without much
t ro u b l e. A form should be made of
proper height so that little excess
form is used. Suppose that a con-
struction joint occurred at a height
of 17 feet nine inches. Two eight-
foot forms plus a three-foot form
could be used, leaving the joint one
foot three inches down from the top.
Or, two eight-foot forms plus a two-
foot-wide form set hori zo n t a l l y
would bring the height to 18 feet,
leaving the joint down only three
inches. Since most pre f a b ri c a t e d
systems are designed for ties on
one-foot increments, this would
leave the top tie one foot down on
the form, or nine inches below the
concrete construction joint. The last
row of ties should actually be closer
to the joint than this and they ordi-
narily can be if properly planned.
When the first placement of con-
crete is being completed any irregu-
larities should be removed and a
straight, level line maintained. The
surface of the first lift must be clean,
free of loose particles and made just
rough enough for the next lift to
bond properly.
Vertical construction joints
Vertical construction joints re-
quire much of the same care and
treatment. Wherever concreting is
to stop, a bulkhead is used just in-
side the last opposing forms. If pos-
sible, the last form or two, depend-
ing on the type of form used, can be
left in place, the bulkhead removed
and the forming continued. This
provides a good tight form surface
if forms can be left undisturbed.
Metal or rubber waterstops can
be bent back into the bulkhead and
then straightened out or can be cut
through the bulkhead itself.
It is important to locate a vertical
row of ties as close as possible to
where concreting stops or just be-
fore the bulkhead. This helps hold
the forms in alignment and pre-
vents offsets.
Release agents
The form oils or other release
agents used with forms have an im-
portant influence on the concrete
s u rf a c e. Seldom do discoloration
and blemishes occur in isolated ar-
eas but when they occur it is usually
over a whole wall. The difficulty may
persist throughout the job, partly
depending upon reusage of forms.
The type of blemish may, howe ve r,
vary as the job progresses because
form materials begin to react differ-
ently with reusage, exposure to the
weather and the practices for apply-
ing form release agents.
Every form material reacts differ-
ently with form oils or other form
release agents and its behavior may
change between the first use and
subsequent reuses. Careful selec-
tion of form release agents should
be made for the surface finish de-
sired. Where the surface is critical,
complete testing should be con-
ducted under the conditions ex-
pected. It is much more economical
to correct problems found by
pretesting than to correct them after
the job has been started and a large
investment has been made in mate-
rials that can’t be used.
Form Materials
Forms made of absorptive mater-
ial must be saturated with water pri-
or to use so that the fresh concrete
does not cause the form to swell up-
on contact. Saturating the wood or
other absorptive material may have
to be repeated if it becomes dried
out by exposure to air and sun be- from any corners, projections or re-
fore use. Oiling is also necessary be- cesses as these require working
tween uses to help tighten joints, room and extra care. A wooden
provide a better finish and make wedge can be placed between the
stripping of forms easier. form and surface and tapped lightly
Reuse of forms with high ab- to free the form. Ha m m e ri n g
sorbency is a questionable practice against the face of forms will leave
since some become too nearly satu- marks in them and cause blemishes
rated and begin to affect the color in the concrete the next time the
of the concrete. Materials with a forms are used.
plastic surface provide more con- Finishing of concrete can require
stant and predictable treatment of many different treatments. The
the concrete surface. Proper care most common treatments are
and coating with form release mate- grinding of fins, patching tie holes
rials can increase their life potential. or honeycomb and correcting other
Steel-faced forms produce uni- surface defects. Tooling or painting
form color, but sometimes cause a surface can be done to produce
blowholes to form in the concrete uniformity.
during vibrating. Rust-inhibiting
oils should be used on steel-faced
forms to avoid discoloration from
iron oxides.
Form removal and finishing
When forms are being selected
thought should be given to the ease
with which they can be stripped.
Although the forms must remain
in place until the concrete has at-
tained sufficient strength, prompt
removal of forms is best where the
surface will require treatment.
Crowbars or other objects with
sharp edges or points should not be
used against the concrete to loosen
the forms. A flat object or wedge is PUBLICATION #C730429
best, so as not to mar the finish. Copyright © 1973, The Aberdeen Group
Stripping should be started away All rights reserved