Concrete forms 1

OPERATIONS AFTER CURING

 Removal of forms
» Forms should not be removed until the concrete has hardened sufficient so that it can
carry its own weight plus any live loads to which it may it be subjected.

» Many specifications require that the forms be left in place for prescribed intervals of
time such as 14 days for slabs and beams, and shorter intervals for wall and column
forms.

STRENGTH OF CONCRETE FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF FORMS

STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION MINIMUM

COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH, psi
A. Concrete not subject to appreciable bending or direct
stress , nor reliant on forms for vertical support, nor liable 500
to injury from form-removal operations or other
construction activities

Examples:
Vertical or approximately vertical surfaces on thick sections
Tops of sloping surfaces

B. Concrete subject to appreciable bending and/or direct

stress and partially reliant on forms for vertical support:

1. Subject to dead load only 750

Examples:
Vertical or approximately vertical surfaces on thin sections
Underside of sloping surfaces steeper than 1:1
Arch of tunnel lining against solid rock
2. Subject to dead and live loads
Examples: 1,500
Columns
Sidewalls and arch of tunnel lining against unstable materials
C. Concrete subject to high bending stresses and wholly or
almost wholly reliant on forms for vertical support 2,000
Examples:
Roof or floor slabs and beams
Undersides of sloping surfaces flatter than 1.1

Failure of Forms
Many failures of forms have occurred as a result of: improper design, construction, or use
of the forms.

Some deficiencies are:

1. inadequate cross bracing of shores

2. Inadequate horizontal bracing and poor splicing of double tier multiple story shores.
3. Failure to regulate properly the rate of placement without regard to drop in temperature.
4. Failure to regulate properly the rate and order of placing concrete horizontally to prevent
unbalanced loadings on the forms works.
5. Unstable soil under mudsills.
6. Failure to inspect formwork during concrete placement to detect abnormal deflections or other
signs of imminent failure.
Concrete forms 2

7. Lack of proper inspection by an engineer to ensure the design is properly interpreted.

8. Failure to provide for lateral pressures.
9. shoring not plumb
10. Locking devices on metal shoring inoperative, missing, or not locked.
11. Overturning by wind
12. vibration from adjacent moving loads
13. Form damage in excavation because of embankment failure

PATCHING

► Holes left by tie rods should be hammer packed with stiff, dry mortar of the same materials as,
but somewhat learner than, that in the concrete.
► Smoothing the mortar neatly with a wooden block will render the patch inconspicuous.
► Smoothing the mortar neatly with a wooden block will render the patch inconspicuous.
► Defective areas should be repaired at once., by approved methods and not merely by
plastering over them.
► Defective honeycombed areas should be cut out to a depth at which sound concrete is exposed,
and filled with concrete matching that of the structure.
► Spalled areas caused by concrete sticking to the forms when the forms are removed should be
chipped back to obtain a good mechanical bond, undercut at the edges, and repaired with
mortar matching the concrete.
► Pitted surfaces caused by dried mortar adhering to the forms at the time of concrete placement
should be acceptably repaired and the cause remedied in the future work.
► Throughout the operations of repairing defects and finishing the surface, the surface should not
be allowed to become dry, nor should the underlying concrete be damaged by the operations.

PREVENTION OF DAMAGE

► Heavy impact on green concrete by construction operations may disrupt the mass and should
not be permitted.
► Floors are subject to surface marring and should be covered.
► Any projecting ornamentation should be protected from falling materials.

► Rough handling of projecting reinforcement bars during the early stages of hardening, after the
concrete is no longer plastic, may rupture the bond between concrete and steel, between
concrete and steel.

► Workmen should be prevented from climbing on projecting bars or subjecting them to severe
usage.

► Stripping of forms to which they are attached or through which they protrude should be delayed
until there is no longer danger of damage to bond.