| Formwork for Concrete has been written to serve a broad range of needs for information on formwork. For the experienced designer or builder of formwork, it is a ready reference on material properties, design data, and construction suggestions. For the engineer-architect it adds guidance in relating details of the structure's design to the problems and possibilities of executing them in concrete. For the novice the book provides an introduction to many common formwork practices, explaining basic design principles and encouraging a rational rather that rule of thumb approach to formwork.
In the four decades since the first edition appeared in 1963, Formwork for Concrete evolved through five more editions to become recognized as the "green bible" of the formwork industry. Universities throughout the United States have adopted it as a text for instruction of construction and engineering students, and labor organizations have purchased it for their training courses. This new seventh edition preserves the standard established by past editions, but has been updated to include manufactured wood and other new products used in form construction. Other information has been updated for consistency with ACI's latest construction-related recommendations. The text has grown from the 340 pages in the first edition to more than 500 pages in the seventh edition.
Throughout the book, "formwork" is used in the broadest sense to include the total system of support for the freshly placed concrete - form lining and sheathing plus all the necessary supporting members, hardware and bracing. The fundamental philosophy expressed is that the form builder must always be concerned with three primary objectives:
- Quality. To design and build forms accurately so that the desired shape, position, and finish of cast concrete are attained.
- Safety. To build substantially so that support is provided for all dead and live loads without collapse or danger to workers or to the structure.
- Economy. To build efficiently, saving time and money for the contractor and owner alike.
Formwork planning, safety of operations, and definition of responsibility for design, inspection, approval, and removal of forms are emphasized in the opening chapters. Chapter 4 describes sawn lumber, plywood, manufactured wood products, and other framing and facing materials; hardware and fasteners; prefabricated forms; and shoring and other support structures.
Chapter 5 explains vertical and lateral loads that must be considered in form design, including weight and chemistry coefficients for lateral pressure, as well as a simplified analysis of multistory shoring systems. Chapter 6 gives step-by-step numerical examples showing how to design wood formwork for bending, shear deflection, and bearing. Design tables of Chapter 7 show safe spans for formwork components made of plywood and four different species/grades of lumber. For the seventh edition, some tables have been recalculated to reflect new base design stresses and appropriate stress adjustment factors. Chapter 8 presents sample formwork drawings.
Chapter 9 describes the many methods of building beam, slab, and wall forms, and includes a section on segmental box girder bridge construction. The following chapters tell how to handle, erect, and strip forms, and what to do in cold weather. Methods of forming architectural concrete, tunnels, and mass concrete are each treated in separate chapters. Special construction methods such as slipforming are explained in another chapter. Copiously illustrated with more than 550 photographs and drawings.
In addition to dealing with the basics of form design and construction, Formwork for Concrete presents chapters devoted to specialized problems of architectural concrete, mass concrete, shell structures, underground structures, and special construction techniques. The form design examples and the form design tables of Chapters 6 and 7 have been further revised for the seventh edition to reflect recent changes in lumber design standards, particularly with respect to horizontal shear stresses.
The text has been revised for consistency with the 2004 report of Committee 347, "Guide to Formwork for Concrete,: which is reprinted completely in the appendix. The appendix also reprints verbatim the 2003 OSHA regulations for concrete and masonry construction, as well as building code provisions for formwork from "Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-02)."
Revisions for the seventh edition were reviewed and approved by the American Concrete Institute Committee 347. |
