Formwork pressure induced by highly flowable concretes - design approach and transfer into practice

An analytical model for the calculation of the pressure of concrete on vertical formwork has been developed on the basis of experimental tests on highly flowable concretes in the fresh state (see companion paper “Material investigations and large-scale tests”). The model takes into account the time-dependent material parameters of the fresh concrete, the specific properties of the highly flowable vibrated concretes and self-compacting concretes (SCC) as well as operational aspects. A proposal for the design of formwork was developed based on the experimental tests and the semi-probabilistic safety concept. It was found that the design load is often lower than the hydrostatic concrete pressure - even for highly flowable concretes. On construction sites, the pressure can be best controlled by limiting the casting rate. Insufficient experience of personnel in the handling of highly flowable concretes increases the uncertainties with respect to the design values and the safety risk.
Further investigations into construction management-related aspects regarding the use of highly flowable concretes cover the risk assessment during concreting, design of the processes on the construction site and the development of the basis for a documentation system.