Assesment of a new constrcution technique for reinforced concrete structures

Abstract EN

Last years have shown the development of new construction techniques in the purpose of saving time and cost.

Stay-in-place metal formwork is one of those developed construction techniques that is faster to implement and does not need skilled labor.

This research paper assesses the performance of a stay-in-place construction formwork namely "COFFOR" system.

The "COFFOR" system is used for constructing various structural reinforced concrete members that includes foundation, walls, columns, beams and slabs.

The "COFFOR" system is composed of three main items : expanded metal sheets, vertical galvanized stiffeners and horizontal bent tie bars.

An experimental program comprising eleven specimens was carried out.

The specimens were divided into three groups, A, B, C, and were tested to investigate the homogeneity, axial behavior of concrete walls and axial behavior of concrete columns, respectively cast using "COFFOR" structural formwork.

The test program included three homogeneity specimens, four wall specimens and four column specimens, respectively.

The results showed that it is better to use concrete with plastic consistency in members constructed using "COFFOR" structural formwork.

The concrete members constructed using COFFOR formwork possess a good level of homogeneity.

Regarding the structural behavior, it was found that the reinforced concrete "COFFOR" walls are more ductile compared to the conventional reinforced concrete walls while a reduction in their capacity was observed.

Also, more work is needed to enhance the load carrying capacity of the reinforced concrete columns constructed using the COFFOR formwork system.