Concrete Formwork Systems

Assesses conventional, wood, metal, flying, tunnel ganged, jump, & self-raising forming systems, column-mounted shoring systems, & slipforms in terms of applications, advantages, & limitations. DLC: Concrete construction - Formwork.

The formwork that supports reinforced concrete buildings during construction contributes significantly to the overall cost of construction and can determine the safety of workers while the building is under construction. The selection and engineering of the formwork system is therefore as important as the engineering of the finished building. Formwork was formerly constructed at the job site, then discarded; prefabricated formwork is now available for many jobs. This prefabricated formwork can be more cost-effective, but only under certain conditions.Hanna's book describes the various formwork systems available for both horizontal (slabs, floors, and ceilings) and vertical (columns and walls) concrete construction. For each of the systems available for both horizontal and vertical formwork, the author provides very useful comparative tables outlining the range of utility, strengths, and weaknesses for many factors, including costs and even weather, that allow the engineer to select the most appropriate system for the particular job. The extensive tables provide design values for a variety of materials and situations. A useful feature is the solved examples that show how the tabulated values are used in design equations. The book is heavily illustrated with both photographs and diagrams, which are clear and useful.This reviewer found the writing clear for the most part, but some of the terminology is not well defined. This is probably not a problem for the working engineer, but could be for the librarian; a glossary would have been useful. Peurifoy and Oberlender's Formwork for Concrete Structures (3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1996) covers similar ground and presents more detailed illustrations of both general and specific formwork designs. Formwork for Concrete (6th ed., American Concrete Institute, 1995) provides greater detail in all areas than either and has been called "The Green Bible."Distressingly, some of Hanna's text is too conveniently similar to that of Formwork for Concrete. Compare "Formwork development has paralleled the growth of concrete construction throughout the 20th century" (Hanna, preface, p. iii) and the very first sentence of Framework for Concrete, "Formwork development has paralleled the growth of concrete construction throughout the twentieth century" (ACI, 5th ed. [the most recent in this reviewer's library], p.1-1) and, again, "Formwork was once built in place, used once, and subsequently wrecked. The trend today, however, is toward increasing prefabrication, assembly in large units, erection by mechanical means, and continuing reuse of forms" (Hanna, p. 4) and "Formwork was formerly built in place, used once, and wrecked. Because of high labor costs in the United States, the trend today is toward increasing prefabrication, assembly in large units, erection by mechanical means such as flying forms into place by crane, and continuing reuse of the forms" (ACI, 5th ed., p.1-1).While appropriate for an engineering textbook or perhaps the circulating collection, Concrete Framework Systems cannot be recommend for reference collections.Reviewer: Bruce D. Neville, Collection Management Coordinator for Science and Engineering, University of New Mexico Centennial Science Library, bneville@unm.edu Copyright 2000 E-Stream Reviews

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The formwork that supports reinforced concrete buildings during construction contributes significantly to the overall cost of construction and can determine the safety of workers while the building is under construction. The selection and engineering of the formwork system is therefore as important as the engineering of the finished building. Formwork was formerly constructed at the job site, then discarded; prefabricated formwork is now available for many jobs. This prefabricated formwork can be more cost-effective, but only under certain conditions.Hanna's book describes the various formwork systems available for both horizontal (slabs, floors, and ceilings) and vertical (columns and walls) concrete construction. For each of the systems available for both horizontal and vertical formwork, the author provides very useful comparative tables outlining the range of utility, strengths, and weaknesses for many factors, including costs and even weather, that allow the engineer to select the most appropriate system for the particular job. The extensive tables provide design values for a variety of materials and situations. A useful feature is the solved examples that show how the tabulated values are used in design equations. The book is heavily illustrated with both photographs and diagrams, which are clear and useful.This reviewer found the writing clear for the most part, but some of the terminology is not well defined. This is probably not a problem for the working engineer, but could be for the librarian; a glossary would have been useful. Peurifoy and Oberlender's Formwork for Concrete Structures (3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1996) covers similar ground and presents more detailed illustrations of both general and specific formwork designs. Formwork for Concrete (6th ed., American Concrete Institute, 1995) provides greater detail in all areas than either and has been called "The Green Bible."Distressingly, some of Hanna's text is too conveniently similar to that of Formwork for Concrete. Compare "Formwork development has paralleled the growth of concrete construction throughout the 20th century" (Hanna, preface, p. iii) and the very first sentence of Framework for Concrete, "Formwork development has paralleled the growth of concrete construction throughout the twentieth century" (ACI, 5th ed. [the most recent in this reviewer's library], p.1-1) and, again, "Formwork was once built in place, used once, and subsequently wrecked. The trend today, however, is toward increasing prefabrication, assembly in large units, erection by mechanical means, and continuing reuse of forms" (Hanna, p. 4) and "Formwork was formerly built in place, used once, and wrecked. Because of high labor costs in the United States, the trend today is toward increasing prefabrication, assembly in large units, erection by mechanical means such as flying forms into place by crane, and continuing reuse of the forms" (ACI, 5th ed., p.1-1).While appropriate for an engineering textbook or perhaps the circulating collection, Concrete Framework Systems cannot be recommend for reference collections.Reviewer: Bruce D. Neville, Collection Management Coordinator for Science and Engineering, University of New Mexico Centennial Science Library, bneville@unm.eduCopyright 2000 E-Stream Reviews