What is Formwork?
When concrete is placed, it is in plastic state It requires to be supported by temporary supports and castings of desired shape till it becomes sufficiently strong to support its own weight This temporary casing is known as the formwork or forms or shuttering The term molds is sometimes used to indicate formwork of relatively small units such as lintels, cornices etc.
Definition – What is a Formwork?
Forms or molds 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. Formwork is the term given to either temporary or permanent molds into which concrete or similar materials are poured.
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. A formwork should be easily removable without damage to itself so that it could be used repeatedly