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.
This paper documents the results of a joint research project dealing with the loading of formwork systems used with highly flowable concretes. First calculation approaches concerning the pressure of fresh concrete on vertical formwork were developed on the basis of the investigations conducted on the material behaviour of highly flowable concretes. In doing so, construction management questions regarding, for instance, process design and quality assurance in the application of highly flowable concretes were also investigated. Different scientists from German research institutes collaborated in a research group to pool their knowledge in the field of the pressure of fresh concrete. Because of the extent and complexity of the tasks to be tackled, the joint research project was divided into five subprojects (A to E), which were performed by the research institutes according to their individual respective capacities.
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