Currently, many developing nations are focusing on providing better infrastructure. A rise in infrastructure developments mainly depends on the construction sector. This industry is continuously thriving to provide advanced and aesthetically pleasing building structures for both residential and commercial purposes. This requires accommodating new methods and technologies in the construction field.
There is an adaptation of new technologies in every other sector, and one such essential technology used in the construction industry is formwork. Formwork is utilized in every small or large construction project. Its requirement is increasing with more urbanization worldwide. With such high demand, the global formwork market is expected to reach USD 8.93 Billion by 2030.
What Is Formwork?
Formwork is referred to as a type of temporary mold in which concrete is poured to cast the required shape of concrete. Its wall can also be used to give surface texture to concrete that will be visible on the outside. Formwork consists of several components such as panels, reinforcing, and attachment hardware to give poured concrete a particular configuration.
There are different types of formwork and the selection of certain formwork depends on many factors including the desired configuration, the surface characteristics of the panels, its mechanical resistance to the pressure of the concrete, modularity, and ease of installation. It is basically used to provide external support to the concrete formation for better stability.
Types of Formwork
The classification of Formwork is into two main categories. The first category is types of formwork depending on its structure and final output. It consists of four types as follows.
- Wall formwork - This type of formwork is used to create straight walls.
- Circular Formwork - As its name suggests, is used to provide curved walls.
- Column formwork - It is used to create rectangular and cylindrical posts.
- Climbing formwork - In this formwork, the concrete is vertically extended by resting on other already-in-place structural elements.
The other category of formwork depends on the material used for the building of formwork. This includes materials such as wood, steel, aluminum, and others as discussed below.
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Timber Formwork
It is one of the most common types of formwork used in the construction industry. It provides onsite fabrication of the required shape and size. Timber formwork is the oldest form used in construction. It has many advantages such as its affordability, lightweight, and can be available locally.
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Steel Formwork
It is becoming popular these days mainly for large construction projects. It offers durability, strength and can be used repetitively for a long period of time. Steel formwork provides a smooth finish surface and is easy to fix or remove. It is waterproof and moisture-proof and minimizes the honeycombing effect.
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Aluminum Formwork
It has one main advantage over steel formwork and that is the density of aluminum is less which makes it light weighted than steel. It is almost the same as steel formwork in other manners except it's proven to be economical if reused repetitively for a large number of times.
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Plywood Formwork
It uses one of re-molded timber resin-bonded plywood sheets and it is attached to timber frames to make up panels of the required sizes. Even if its life is too short compared to other materials, it provides flexibility, strength and is easy to handle.
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Fabric Formwork
It is the result of advancements and adaptation of technology in the construction industry. To satisfy the need for new and complex styles fabric formwork is introduced. The flexibility of fabric makes it possible to create concrete elements of any shape and size.
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Plastic Formwork
It is now becoming popular for similar shapes and large housing schemes. These are lightly weighted, interlocking systems and can be used more than 100 times.
Role of Formwork In Construction
Formwork is essential for any construction and is yet to be replaced with any other technology upgrades. It offers appropriate access and working platforms that considerably enhance workers’ scaffold safety. Formwork facilitates exact on-time shuttering and de–shuttering of formwork resources, which results in improving project effectiveness and resource usage.
Formwork helps to lower the timeline and costs of the project by reducing the floor-to-floor construction cycle time, this way projects can fulfill their budgetary demands. It also provides good structural safety by offering solutions against all overlay loads, producing exceptionally safe and practical structures.
Such benefits of formwork technology will help it to be the key element in the construction industry. This will need formwork companies and manufacturers to focus on providing better quality materials to accomplish global consumer demand.
