CIRCULAR COLUMN STEEL FORMWORKS DESIGN

I.​ ​OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of this study is to properly apply all the appropriate steel
specifications that we discussed under the Steel Design course in designing a steel
formwork system. At the end of this project, the researchers are purposeful to meet
the following specific goals:

● To design a steel formwork system for a 2-m diameter circular column with 8m
height.
● To design a steel formwork system that conforms to the standards stipulated in
the National Structural Code of the Philippines
● To combine the notable lessons from the steel design course
● To devise a cost efficient design of steel formwork system while showing the
realistic approach in construction field
● To exhibit a miniature model of the steel formworks system.

II.​ ​PROJECT DURATION AND DEADLINE

To design a steel formwork system ​it  is  expected  to  be  completed  within  30 
days.  This  duration  includes  all  unexpected  time  adjustments  due  to  some 
factors.  The  project  starts  in  February  2020  and  must  be  completed  in  March 
2020.  In  our  case,  the  timeline  of  designing this project was delayed because of 
the  unexpected  pandemic  that we have right now. The team will do its best effort 
to complete the project before the scheduled deadline.

III.​ ​DESCRIPTION OF THE MAJOR ACTIVITIES

A. Overview

Formwork includes the forms on or within which the concrete is poured

and the frames and bracing which provide the stability. Although it is commonly
referred to as part of the formwork assembly, the joists, bearers, bracing,
foundations and footings are technically referred to as falsework. And construction
of this may involve high risk activities like operating powered mobile plants like
 cranes, working at height and excavating foundations. The final concrete structure
design can have a majority effect on the ease of formwork construction and the
health and safety of workers during construction. In most cases, the more basic
and simple the final concrete structure, the safer it is to construct, erect and
dismantle the formwork. Designing specifically a formwork for circular columns
has different methods from fabrication to assembling different materials into a rigid
braced structure and is able to be removed easily and safely without damaging
the formed concrete or any components that remain as part of the finished
structure.

B. Project Design

For the steel formworks, we design it based on the pressure diagram. The
formwork serves as mould for concrete structural components unless such mould
is provided by the soil, other structural components, etc. It moulds the placed
fresh concrete, which in this stage normally is viscous, to the shape specified in
the drawing. Consequently, the formwork must already be available when the
necessary steel reinforcement and concrete mix are placed. Proper making of
formwork decides on the accuracy to size, strength and surface finish of the
concrete components. Formwork is required wherever monolithic concrete and
reinforced concrete structures or structural components are constructed.
Generally, each formwork is of provisional nature and is to be removed after
hardening of the concrete placed. The formwork is not to be built as strong as
possible but as strong as necessary only.
 We design our Circular Column Steel Formwork based on what our
Professor gave to us. For the first lift of the circular column formwork we design it
on the computed Pressure Diagram. The 3 meters high first lift and 2 meters
diameter having stiffener rings and the spacing are 46 centimeters, 51 centimeters
and 45 centimeters its width is 100 millimeter and its thickness is 5 millimeter. For
the horizontal stiffener the quantity is 7 and for vertical stiffener the quantity is 14.
The plate thickness is 5 millimeter. The diameter of the bolt and nut is 20
millimeter. Top and bottom flange is 2 the thickness is 12 millimeter and width is
100 millimeter. The dimension of the second lift is the same as the dimension of
the first lift. For the last lift, 2.4 meters high and 2 meters diameter having stiffener
rings and the spacing are 40 centimeter, 42 centimeter and 48 centimeter its width
is 100 millimeter and its thickness is 5 millimeter. For the horizontal stiffener the
quantity is 5 and for the vertical stiffener the quantity is 14. The plate thickness is
5 millimeter. The diameter of the bolt and nut is 20 millimeter. Top and bottom
flange is 2 the thickness is 12 millimeter and width is 100 millimeter.

C. Introduction to Design
The structural design criteria of this project is based on National Structural
Code of the Philippines, 6th edition, 2010, ACI 318-95 Building Code
Requirement for Structural Concrete, AISC Manual of Steel Construction 9th
Edition (LRFD), Uniform Building Code (UBC 97), and Building Code
Requirements for Reinforced Concrete and Commentary-American Concrete
Institute (ACI 318)1999 Edition.
D. Design Parameters

These are the important parameters for designing and installing formworks.

Proper assessment of vertical loads due to:

● Dead loads from the concrete and steel

● Formworks load
● Live loads that are based on construction live load abide by the said codes
● Live loads of formworks, bracing, sheathing and joist

Materials​ (based on AASHTO and ASTM)

● Concrete Cast In-place strength (f’c)
● Precast Concrete (f’c)
● Concrete’s Modulus of Elasticity (E)
E c = 4700√ f ′c
● Reinforcing Steel Bars (Fy)
● Structural Steel (Fs)
● Steel’s Modulus of Elasticity (E) - 200,000 MPa

Load Combinations​ (based on NSCP 2015)

● 1.2DL + 1.6LL
Design Parameters​ (​Pouring Concrete)​
● Form Height
● Pouring Height
● Unit Weight of Concrete
● Maximum Expected Lateral Load (P)
● Design Pouring Rate (R)
● Unit Weight of Coefficient for Wall & Column ( C w )

● Chemistry Coefficient with retarders ( C c )

● Concrete Temperature (T)

● Temperature Coefficient (K)
2
K = ( T 36
+16 )
● height (y)
y = P ouring Height − K
● Max. Lateral Pressure (P)
P = Cw × Cc × {7.2 + [ 785R
(T +17.8) ]}

-Design Parameters for 3 meters circular steel formworks

 -Design Parameters for 2.4 meters circular steel formworks

Pressure Diagram

-Pressure Diagram occurs on 3 meters circular steel formworks

-Pressure Diagram occurs on 2.4 meters circular steel formworks

E. Design Process

All formwork should be well designed before construction begins. The designing
required will depend on the size, complexity, and materials (considering reuses) of the
form. Formwork should be designed for strength and serviceability. System stability and
member buckling should be investigated in all cases. . Formwork should be designed
well, so that it will safely support all vertical and lateral loads that might be applied until
such loads can be supported by the concrete structure. Loads on the forms include the
weight of reinforcing steel, fresh concrete, the weight of the forms themselves and various
live loads imposed during the construction. In addition an action of the wind may produce
lateral forces which must be resisted by the formwork to prevent lateral failure. Vertical
and lateral loads should be carried to the ground by the formwork system or by the
in-place construction that has adequate strength for that purpose. In this part, we will
discuss the considerations, values, calculations and how we design our circular column
steel formworks, the sheathing design, column form stability, wind load assessment and
shoring design.

a. Sheathing Design
In Formface Sheathing we used 6mm thick and 5mm fillet weld.
The maximum expected sheathing form loading (Wu) , the diameter of
column (ø) and the spacing of the stiffener ring (S) are used to obtain the
maximum tension load (SWL). The highest value of maximum tension
load that we can get using the different value of stiffener ring spacing (S)
will govern and it will become our allowable tension load. For computing
the allowable tensile stress, 0.6 reduction factor was used ( σt = 0.60 Fy).
For the Horizontal Stiffener, we used 5mm thick and 100mm width, the
properties of the material must be known to check if the maximum stress
of it is adequate to the allowable tensile load of the sheathing. We used
5mm fillet weld which can give us an allowable working strength of
420MPa. For Bolts and Nuts (Wall Form Tie Capacity) we used the
standard value of allowable tension based on its diameter and the
maximum spacing of the M20 bolt to get the maximum tension load and if
it is safe. We can get the actual tensile stress by using the formula σt =
q*r / t and comparing it to the allowable tensile stress which is σt = 0.60 Fy
to check if the sheathing design is safe.

b. Column Form Stability Check

After we check the safeness of our formworks from the tension load
and tensile stress, we can now proceed to the column stability check. In
here, we need to get the total weight of our formworks through getting the
weight of ​sheathing from the face, horizontal stiffener, vertical stiffener
plate and top and bottom flange. It is easy to visualize if we convert it in
metric tons. Most of the dimensions that we used are from the structural
 standard and that are usually practiced in the field. In the sheathing form
face, we used 5mm late thickness. 5mm plate thickness and 100mm width
are used for the horizontal stiffener. For the vertical stiffener plate, we
used 6mm plate thickness and 100mm width. The top and bottom flange,
we used 12mm plate thickness and 100mm width.

c. Wind Load Assessment

In designing formworks, it is also important to assess the effect of
the wind load. The wind force was determined by using the formula:

Fw = Cp * q * A

where:

Cp = Cs * Ch
Cs - Shape Factor (Circular)
Ch - Height Aspect Factor
q - Design Wind Pressure
A - Windward Area, Wind Load Reduction (Less than a year)

We used 70% for the wind load reduction. The windward area is
the area of the sheathing from the face. Design wind pressure is the
additional formwork load that can be seen in the National Structural Code
of the Philippines.The height aspect factor and shape factor in circular, we
used 1.15 and 0.75 as the standard value from the code.

d. Shoring or Push Pull Props Design

We designed the shoring by using the factor of safety against
overturning of the point A and point O. In determining the factor of safety,
we first get the weight of the half column steel form panel from the total
weight of our formworks. To get the overturning moment we need the total
wind force located on the half of the column form height, while to get the
resisting moment, we need the total weight of formworks located on the
half of the column form diameter (Wf) and the push pull prop of P1 and P2.
(​See figure below​), then get the summation. The formula of factor safety
against overturning is just simply FS=RM/OM, we used FS=3 as a default
value because it
is written in the
code.In here, we
can now get the
strut required
resisting tension
and compression.
F.​ ​Design Analysis/Calculations

In this section, we showed t​he systematic process and calculations of our design.
To build the 8m height circular column, we have three lifts with the combination of
formworks height of 3m, 3m and 2.4m​. We assure that the values that we used in this
design are safe and provided by the code.

a. First Lift
b. Second Lift
c. Third Lift
G. Composition

Formwork is a term used for the process of creating a temporary mould

into which concrete is poured and formed, the materials that we’ve used are
easily to find in the market so adjustment or delays can satisfy the given time
schedule. Concrete Cast (in place​) ​is typically transported to site in an
unhardened state, often using a ready mixed concrete truck, Precast is used in
our design so it can reduce the cost as it can also reduce the construction
time.

Financial planning of this project is one of the most critical and difficult
part to express, we think of the best alternative way to accomplish this design.
We determined our current financial situation, developed financial goals with
more sets of plans even if we encounter some problems. The most important
part of this plan is reevaluating revising the plan if our budget gets too short.

H. Methodology

a. Safety Construction Control of Formworks

Safety plans for formworks systems starts with
proper planning and management of a project
that will ensure execution of construction
projects to avoid undesired events such as
formwork failure, delay of schedules and
possible loss of life. A safe work method must
be developed in consultation with workers and
their representatives who are carrying out the
high risk construction work. During the design of
in-situ concrete structures, an experienced
professional formwork designer must be
consulted to enable the health and safety risks during dismantling and
formwork construction to be considered in the design. Supervision on
the construction work, equipment utilization practices, and construction
procedure used must ensure the safety of workers and also the public.
Proper supervision must be implemented during placement of the
formworks, pouring of concrete and to its stripping is essential for
obtaining safety during the process. Filing modification due to errors of
forms or erection must be permitted and the form designer is
consulted. Safety signs and precautions must be placed to keep the
unauthorized individuals out of the working area while at the same time
giving accessible working platforms to the workers. Also the designers,
project planners, and managers must be competent to follow the
 requirement of applicable standards in order to produce good safety
planning and authorized to document temporary work platforms and
essential equipment needed to stabilize the safety environment in
constructing formworks for the workers during the process. All
formwork drawings should be certified as complying with applicable
Philippine Standards. Components of a said formworks must be abided
by the construction code and authorised by the Department of Public
Works and Highways, Occupational Safety and Healthy Administration
and any other government agencies related to this subject.

b. Fabrication
Construction of the formwork itself consists of panels fabricated out
of thin steel plates into any desired shape and size and held together
through the use of bolts,nuts and welding its stiffener along its side.
Using steel as a formwork is usually used in large scale projects and
most suitable for circular structures. When the construction of circular
steel formwork is done, stiffener will now be modified according to the
pressure that ensued due to concrete loads poured during the
construction. Prior to that, stiffener must be planned relatively to
compute dead loads that will occur. Engineers knew that proper
positioning of support to the face of the uniform pressure will result in
more efficient and economical use of materials and equipment
throughout the process. Stiffeners of a formwork will act as a support
against the pressure and with the relation to Boyles’ Law states that
pressure is directly proportional to its depth especially the vertical
stiffeners, therefore the greater the depth of a fluid will result in higher
pressure that will experience. In this case, the lower part of the
formworks needs a much more
stiffener with less spacing than to
the upper part. We start by
designing first the two circular
formworks with the same height
which is 3 meters, we set the pitch
of each end by 150 meters as the
minimum value of spacing that
stated by one of the field engineers
held to construct the Ortigas-BGC
Bridge. The rest is illustrated by
Figure 2 and it shows that the pitch
of every stiffener decreases from
its preceding value prioritizes the
critical part of the formworks which
is the lower level. Applying the
same aspects and procedure to third and final lift which is a bit shorter
formwork, a 2.4 meters height circular steel formwork shown in ​Figure
3.​ These stiffeners both horizontal and vertical made 5mm thick steel
plates will be connected to the circular body by the process of welding
connection with 2mm thick fillet weld and tied with the other half by
20mm bolts and nuts during the assembly process. Thus, designing
formworks minimize the amount of time handling and assembling
required in formwork activity. Further testing, assessment, stability
check and other parameters dealing with the design are addressed in
Chapter F Design Analysis/Calculations​.

Figure 2- Stiffeners of a 3-meter Circular Steel Formworks

Figure 3- Stiffeners of a 2.4-meter Circular Steel Formworks

c. Assembly & Stripping
Before erecting the formworks, there's few more things that are normally
involved in this kind of operation.
● Providing support needed for the work under construction, such as
beams, formworks, etc; must be resolved by the process of
“​propping​”. It is the system of structural members used to support
load during construction temporarily.
● Next is shuttering, or you may call it as derivative of formwork. It is
a vertical temporary arrangement which is to help the formworks
bring the concrete in its desired shape.
● Staging is a temporary member which is used to support formwork
and done by the props, jacks cup lock system, etc.
● Lastly is the scaffolding, the one that provides workers a platform
around the building or a structure to work at heights. It is either
movable or fixed depending on the throughout process. Frames of
the formwork should be erected progressively to ensure the
installers stability and safety of the overall structure. ​(See figure below)

As soon as practicable and designated access access ways

indicated, braces should be attached. For the first lift and concrete pouring,
a 3 meters steel circular formwork should be stabilized and erect
appropriately with the help of staging and shuttering to its sides to maintain
the stability of the shape of concrete until it is parched. Height of formwork
frames increased, the greater the need to provide lateral stability to the
frames, therefore, during the process, propping must be installed
progressively to act as support to other members connected to the
structure that are being molded through formwork and scaffolding for
enabling the workers access to the entire structure. A designer shall
check if all the procedure has been done properly to avoid errors and other
problems. In addition, all the people who erect formworks must be trained
with safe methods. After pouring the concrete in its full depth of 3 meters, it
takes 18 hours to parch and meet its yield strength then move to the
second lift. While the formwork for the first 3 meters is attached to the
structure, we may begin to pour another batch of concrete for another 3
meters. Same procedure will be carried out with the same activity of
shuttering and staging its side for the stability of formworks and additional
level of scaffoldings for the workers platform. This process is also done to
the last and final life which is using the 2.4 meters of formworks, pouring a
concrete with the depth of 2 meters to accumulate the total length of the
column which is 8 meters. All the staging and shuttering is properly
computed through the design made. After the estimated 2-3 days of
curing, stripping of formworks must be done next and there are a lot of
things to consider. If the concrete has not developed sufficiently,
formworks should not be removed. Water/cement ratio, type of cement,
grade of concrete and temperature can affect a major factor when it comes
to stripping. Connections and bracing removal must be done consequently
and must be supervised by the designer or an engineer to avoid any
defects to concrete’s surface. Activity of stripping must be approved by the
designer and engineer for the pattern and system that will result in an
efficient workflow environment. ​(See figure below)
IV.​ ​PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED AND ACTION PLANS

We started our project a week before the Enhance Community Quarantine, with
the goal that we can deal with our time appropriately. We chose to have groupings to begin the
Steel Column Miniature. All team members have equal ability, equal interest in the project and
work equally hard. Because it's based on successfully finishing the project. A non-contributing
team member can slow down or prevent completion of the work.

We have spent numerous late evenings and eating late just to complete the task. Sadly,
the miniature itself is being pointless since our nation is confronting a pandemic.

As time passes by we experienced more issues like:

● Different time of availability during our groupings.

● Lack of equipment to be used. It challenges us to make a miniature knowing that there is
a threat in our health.
● The materials to be used as a miniature of steel and particularly for the formworks in
circular columns.
● The process of lifting since we didn't experience the same project in the real world during
our OJT days.
● The measurement since it will be scaled literally.

That was the challenge we faced during the miniature work. Apparently, in written reports
and documentation it has different challenges also.

These are the following:

● We had a hard time studying the process of steel formwork design because of class
suspension and we also had a hard time on analyzing and deciding the best materials
and best capacity that we can design for the formwork to be efficient and economical, but
thankfully we have a professor that is always available and ready to answer all of our
questions.
● Since we're doing it during lockdown. Most of our guardian priorities to stock more food,
to secure the health of the family. No budget for the load and that results in no access to
the internet. It seems to be pressure for us as a student because we don't have a choice.
we have to make it finish for the sake of our grades.
● It is hard to have a brainstorming session while chatting. So hard to share thoughts
without meeting each other. Each of us has our own priority in this pandemic situation.

Though, we did our best just to finish this work and make our mind at peace. This project
week alloted for completion sounds like a long time, but it goes by quickly. You need an
implementation schedule that allocates reasonable amounts of work throughout the entire week.
Then you must stick to that schedule. Don’t be tempted to postpone work on the project because
your due date seems so far off. All that happens is that during the final few weeks you rush
madly to get something working, and a project implemented in a rush rarely works correctly!
Working together in earnest is about making the most of the fact that you are a team. Honour
your time and efforts by seeing yourself as a full-time member of the team, not just an individual
contributor. Imagine how great it would feel to be part of a team where everyone is thinking of the
team and not just themselves – make that project a success by working together

V.​ ​Conclusions and Recommendation

In this research study we were able to design the formworks of an 8m height column with
2-meter diameter. The column was divided into 3 lifts, which is the most plausible way to
construct considering the height requirement. Our designed steel circular formworks consist of a
combination of 5mm thick steel plate, channels, angles and W-shape connected by welded and
bolts.

This process of designing formworks has provided us with a greater understanding of its
progressive manner and efficiency occurs in the field of civil engineering. This documentation
suggests that the materials, design plan and workflow plays a critical role in preventing any
failures from planning to installing up to the stage of stripping. This activity can delay schedule,
make any cracks to the structures or maybe lead to a loss of life when gone wrong during the
process and really bring a major impact to the project. As an engineer, we must know that
formworks are essential as to designing concrete structures when it comes to planning a detailed
strategic system factoring different kinds of elements.

Circular Column Formwork is engineered to form concrete round columns. The formwork
system is composed of semi-circular metal panels that form the circular mould when joined with a
simple bolted joint. Circular Column Formwork is suitable for round column construction. The
circular column forms of the building are characterized by simple structure, easy manufacture
and convenient assembly and disassembly. It has light weight, industrialized construction,
smooth surface of construction concrete, and its waterproof performance, thermal insulation
performance and corrosion resistance have reached the domestic high quality level. The wood
building circular column formwork has large cladding area, less splicing, no leakage of concrete,
low cost, good toughness, high impact resistance, high strength, strong surface hardness, can be
repeatedly used, and does not occupy construction machinery when assembled.

For a cost efficient miniature model we used varieties of recycled materials such as tin
cans, sticks and leftover paints. The projected cost of our project is Php 876.00, and with the
stated initiatives we were able to reduce our cost by 56%.
VI.​ ​References

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1703/guide-formwork.pdf
http://www.mevaformwork.com/meva-media/docs/en/circo-circular-column-formwork-tim.pdf
https://kumarproperties.com/design-of-formwork/
https://www.danterr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CIRCULAR-COLUMN-FORMWORK.pdf
https://www.google.com/www.thebalancesmb.com
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmfindllc.com%2Fproduct%2Ffabrication
%2F&psig=AOvVaw3cl5e3cQfdtEhNZgEJa0rc&ust=1587715250153000&source=images&cd=vf
e&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCNiosK6K_ugCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAM
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.adaptformwork.com%2Fclr-circular-
column-formwork.ht​ml