Bridge Falsework

MAB1053 Principles of Bridge Engineering

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

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Introduction - Definitions
 Falsework – any temporary structure used to support a
permanent structure while it is not self-supporting
 Formwork and forms – the erection of the temporary
works used to give the required shape and support to
poured concrete. It consists primarily of sheathing
material (e.g. wood, plywood, metal sheet or plastic
sheet) in direct contact with the concrete, and joists or
stringers that directly support the sheathing.
 Scaffold – a temporarily provided structure that provide
access, or on or from which persons work, or that is
used to support material, plant or equipment.

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Introduction - The Code of Practice
 BS 5975 : 1982 is the code of practice which gives
recommendations for the design and use of falsework on
construction sites. For guidance on the design and use
of access scaffolding and special scaffold structures
other than falsework, reference should be made to BS
5973.
 The importance of falsework is often not fully
appreciated and there is a tendency for civil engineering
contractors to underprice this work in their tenders and
as a result of this, design standards and construction are
apt to suffer. If falsework subsequently collapses,
permanent work might be damaged and workers injured
or killed.

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Bridge Falsework - diagrammatic

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Site Supervision and Checking of
Falsework
 The importance of in-situ checking of falsework and
associated materials before, during, after erection has been
emphasized in both the Bragg Report 1979 and the
Falsework Report 1971. These report indicate that the large
number of falsework failures were due inadequate attention to
the connections and other details and design and more
importantly, erection.
 The purpose of the inspections are to ensure that the falsework
has been erected by accordance with the specification and
drawing provided by the designer, and that is continues to
remain in a structurally sound condition.
 Inspections of all falsework should be carried out at an early
stage during the erection, and then at least weekly. The
falsework should undergo a final thorough check before
loading, and for large structures, intermediate checks during
the loading sequence are strongly advisable.
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Materials
 Before erection commence it is advisable to check that the
material do conform to the specification. Scaffold tubes must be
checked for corrosion and moderately corroded tubes must be
rejected or modified factors used for design calculation
Modification factor
Lost of thickness of
applied to cross sectional
material
area and modulus of
(%)
ine rtia
0 1.00
10 0.80
15 0.54
50 0.27
25 0.00 (re ject)

Table on Modification factors to allow for corrosion of steel.

(Technical Report on Falsework 1971)
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Materials
 Bent tubes or props must always be rejected and steel
and alloy tubes separated so that they will not be used
together as their difference stiffness make them
incompatible.
 Proprietary falsework should be double-checked to
ensure that welds have not been ‘missed’ or have not
cracked due to brittle fracture.
 The grading of timber must be checked and if stress
graded timber has been specified in the design then that
grade of timber must be used in the falsework.
 Particular attention should also be given to specified
universal beams to check that they are correct weight,
and also that the webs do not contain a proliferation of
holes.
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Foundations for Falsework
 The importance of early supervision and checking cannot
be overemphasized as basic faults can usually be
remedied at a low overall cost.
 The presumed bearing value of soil must be checked
against the design value, and factors such as estimated
settlement, and changes in ground water level must be
assessed. An increase in the ground water level can halve
the presumed bearing value of the ground or double the
estimated settlement obtained for a dry soil.
 Scaffold standards must be placed on sole plates which
are centrally placed and spiked to timber sleepers. The
slippers should be placed on the top soil but should be
bedded on compacted ground covered by 50mm of
blinding.
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Good Base Details

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Main Falsework Structure
 As a preliminary to the main structure it is wise to ensure
that the falsework can be struck.
 Sometimes the foundation level is higher than assumed
in the design and a situation may arise where the
adjustable base plates and U-heads have insufficient
adjustment left for striking.
 The maximum extension of the U-heads and base plates
must be measured and compared to the drawings.
 The safe working load of both of these components is
directly related to their extension measured from the
ends of the scaffold tubes.

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Main Falsework Structure
 Care must be taken to ensure that timber beams
are placed centrally in the U-head and that they
have sufficient bearing area.
 To resist horizontal forces at deck level, timbers
with a greater width to depth ratio of 1 : 4 should
be prevented from toppling over by using
nogging timbers.
 There must also be substantial connections
between the individual timbers, both primary and
secondary beams, and also between the timbers
and the scaffold structure.

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Main Falsework Structure
 A careful assessment of the amount and quality of diagonal
bracing must be made. The bracing should not be inclined to
horizontal at an angle greater than 60 degree or less than
30 degree, and should extend to the ground.
 Member separation at nodes must be kept at a minimum to
avoid placing scaffold tubes in bending and the correct
scaffold fitting as specified by the designer must be used.
 Particular attention should be given to steel beams to
prevent them from buckling and overturning due to
horizontal forces and also to make sure that web stiffeners,
if required are accurately positioned under point loads.
 Pre-cambered beams must be placed the correct way up
and the compression flanges restrained if called for in the
design.

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Overall Stability
 Generally, falsework structures have a lack of horizontal
stiffness and may be increased by the addition of extra diagonal
bracing and plan bracing but can be significantly increased by
ties, to or around permanent structures. Hence it is necessary
to check the adequacy of horizontal and vertical ties and ensure
that loosening will not occur due to vibration.
 Horizontal loads can be applied to falsework from several
sources: crane impact loads, wind, shutter vibration, water
pressure at foundations, broken formwork ties and the method
of concreting.
 The concrete must be placed in the correct sequence as
specified by the designer, and static pump tubes, used when
pumping concrete, should not be fixed to the falsework.
 The base of the falsework should be protected against vehicular
impact and any access roads passing under the falsework
should be curbed with baulk timbers.
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Striking the Falsework
 Normally, falsework is not struck until the concrete has
reached at least its 7-day strength. With continuous slabs
care must be given to ensure that the falsework is removed in
the correct sequence and any back propping required is
carried out.
 If falsework is providing long term support to a structure it is
important to slacken or tighten the adjustable base plates or
U-heads to allow for moderately large movement due to the
expansion and shrinkage of timber which is used to form the
soffit.
 During the process of checking falsework attention must also
be given to the means af access. A safe means of access
must always be provided and provision should be made for
adequate ladders guard rails and toe boards.

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Loads Applied to Falsework
 Section 4 of BS 5975 1982 deals with loads applied to
falsework, whereby falsework should be designed to cater
for self weights, imposed loads and environmental loads.
 Whenever possible, the precise loading conditions and the
exact weights of materials should be determined. If
estimated allowances are used for design purposes, a
check should be carried out when details of the falsework
and loading conditions are known and the design
confirmed.
 Where not given in the code, self-weights of materials
should be taken form BS 648 and imposed loads taken
from CP3: Chapter V : Part 1. Recommended figures for
the masses and densities of some commonly used
materials are given in the Appendix E of the code.
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Force Combinations in Falsework
1. Wave forces
2. Working area loads
3. Out-of-vertical by
design
4. Erection tolerance
5. Self-weight of
falsework &
formwork
6. Self-weight of later
stage of falsework
7. Horizontal friction
between concrete & 12. Reaction from active
soffit concrete pressure
8. Impulse loads 13. Loads from stacked
materials
9. Loads from cast
concrete 14. Force from permanent
work (thermal)
10. Mobile plant load
15. Wind forces on falsework
11. Applied permanent
load (from 16. Wind forces on formwork
concrete)

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Self-Weight of Falsework
The total self-weight should include the self-
weight of :
 the falsework structure;
 any ancillary temporary works connected to the
falsework e.g.; access ramp, hoist and other
tower structure; loading storage platforms;
raking and flying shores.
 the formwork;
 any permanent works elements forming an
integral part of the formwork and falsework.

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Worked Example
 A bridge is to be constructed in-situ using pumped
concrete. The RC slab is 400mm thick and the minimum
headroom of the bridge is 2.6m.
 The structure is to be supported on timber formwork
which is in turn supported by conventional tube and
scaffold.
 Prepare calculations to justify member sizes for the
design of suitable falsework.
 Dead Load = 10KN/m2 (self-weight of timber ignored)
 Live Load = 2 KN/m2 (temporary works, stands, workers
etc)
 Assume Main timbers = 250 x 100mm
Secondary Timbers = 75 x 100mm
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Worked Example
 Estimate ply spacing from Table Ply Spans.
Assume deflection > 1/360th of span. Ply spacing
for secondary timbers = 406mm.
 Use say, 400mm centres and assume beams
continuous over 2 supports.
 Design of main beams, secondary beams, check
wind loading & design of bracing members.

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Worked Example
RC slab
400mm

2.6m

75x100 1000

250x100
1000

400 centres (2000)

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Shear Force & Moments
w

0.375w 1.25w 0.375w

Shear Force Coefficients

0.125

0.070 0.070

Bending Moment Coefficients

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Worked Example- secondary
beams
 Check Bending Stress
Max. BM = (0.125)x(0.4x12x1.0)x1.0 = 0.6KNm
Bending stress = 6M/(bd2) =
6(0.6x102)/(75x1002) = 4.8 N/mm2
From Table 8 (clause 18.3 BS5975) using SC3
Timber, the allowable bending stress parallel to
grain = 6.05 N/mm2 > 4.8 N/mm2 ……… OK

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Worked Example- secondary
beams
 Check bearing between primary & secondary
Contact area = 100 x 75
Bearing stress = (6x103)/(75x100) = 0.8N/mm2
Table 8 (Clause 18.3e) Allowable stress
= 2.63 N/mm2 > 0.8N/mm2 ……… OK
(Provided there is 75mm of timber each side of
bearing)

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Worked Example- secondary
beams
 Check Deflection
Use simply supported beam formula :
d = (5wL3)/(384EI) Clause 18.2.10 use mean
value of E modulus.
Deflection = (5/384) (4.8x1000x10003x12)
75x1003x7344
= 1.4mm
Allowable deflection = span/360 = 1000/360
= 2.8mm > 1.4mm ………… OK

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Worked Example- design of main
beams
 Check bending stress
Span length = 2000mm
Size = 250x100mm
Max. BM = 0.125x(12x2x1)x2.0 = 6KNm
Stress = (6x6x106)/(100x2502) = 5.76N/mm2
Allowable bending stress
= 6.05N/mm2 > 5.76N/mm2 ………….. OK

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Worked Example- design of main
beams
 Check shear stress
Max shear force = 1.25x2x1x12 = 30kN
Average shear stress = (30x103)/(2x100x250) = 0.6N/mm2
Clause 18.2.8 Allowable shear stress = 1.5x0.6
= 0.9N/mm2 > 0.6N/mm2 ……..OK
 Check deflection
Deflection = (5/384) (2x1x12x103x20003)
100x2503x4838
= 3.96mm
Allowable deflection = span/360 = 2000/360
= 5.5mm > 3.96mm ……….. OK
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Worked Example- design of main
beams
 Check bearing stress
Bearing force = 30kN
Bearing stress = (30x103)/(150x100) = 2.0N/mm2
Clause 18.3e Allowable stress = 1.5x0.6
= 2.63N/mm2 > 2.0N/mm2 …… OK

100mm

150mm
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Worked Example – check for wind
loading
slab 500
270
1m 1m 1m 1m 1m
1400

1400 Wind direction

Wind
6000
parallel to
1400 secondary
beams

1400
2000
centres

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Worked Example – check for wind
loading
 Maximum wind force for single outside vertical tube.
Design wind speed, Vs = VxS1xS2xS3 m/s where, V = basic wind
speed, say = 40m/s, S1 = 1.0, S2 = 0.7, S3 = 0.77 (Clause 28.1.8)
Vs = 40x1.0x0.7x0.77 = 21.56m/s
Dynamic wind pressure, q = 285N/m2 (Table12)
Calculation of max. wind force on windward face:
Wm = q x Ae x Cf x η N
Where, Ae = effective frontal area = (6000-270)48.4 +
(5x2000x48.4) + 20% (clause 28.1.9) = 0.913 m2
Wm = 285 x 0.913 x 1.2 x 1.0 = 312.2 N
Table 13, Cf = 1.2 for individual circular section.
Clause 28.1.11 shielding factor η = 1.0
Thus, max wind force on windward face for single outside vertical
tube = 312.2 N
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Worked Example – check for wind
loading
 Shielding Factor for Interior Tubes

Table 14 of BS 5975,
Shielding factor, η is proportional to (β = Φw x 1.2)

Φw = (Effective Frame Area)/(Area enclosed by boundary)

= (0.913x103)/(6000-270)x2000 = 0.079
This is within the limits given by the code, β = 1.2x0.079 = 0.09

Spacing = (Distance c/c parallel to wind) = ½ = 0.5

(Distance c/c perpendicular to wind)

From Table 14, η = 1.0 (i.e. no shielding) and the wind force due to the
remaining 5 tubes = 5 x 285 x 0.913 x 1.2 x 1 = 1561 N
Total wind force per row of verticals = 1561 + 312 = 1873 N
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Worked Example – check for wind
loading
 Calculation of Forces on Formwork

For soffit & supports with wind blowing parallel to secondary

beams (Clause 28.1.12.2) where,
Cf = 2.0, η = 1.0, Ae = d1xLf and where d1 = thickness of timber
beneath the slab = 270mm, Lf = 2000
Thus Wm = q x Ae x Cf x η = 285 x (0.270x2) x 2 x 1.0 = 307 N

For side formwork (slab sides = 500mm).

Clause 28.1.12.2 Cf = 2.8
Wn = 285 x (0.500 x 2) x 1.8 x 1.0 = 513 N
If the limit 4000 ≥ 8d then, 4000 = 8 x 500 …………. OK
Hence no shielding is required and total wind force on formwork
= 2 x 513 = 1026 N
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 Worked Example – check for wind
loading
Side  Check Maximum Wind Force
formwork 1026 N
Total horizontal force = force on
307 N
verticals + force on beams + force on
side
= 1873 + 307 + 1026 = 3206 N
1873 N
Maximum wind force (Clause 28.1.13)
= 1.2q x (full windward face area)
= 1.2 x 285 x (6.5x2.0)
= 4446 N > 3206 N ………….. OK

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Worked Example – Design of Bracing
Members to Transmit Horizontal Forces
 Check value of 2.5% applied
vertical loads (Clause 43.4.1)
Ao = 2x0.5

Assume live load = 2 KN/m2

Maximum vertical load on 4
standards = 4x30 = 120 KN
Vertical load on the outside
standards = 2x(2x0.5)x2 = 4 KN
Total vertical load = 120+4 = 124KN 2.0m
2.5% of 124 KN = 3.1KN.
Therefore use horizontal force of 0.5m
3.206KN per 2m run.
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Worked Example – Design of Bracing
Members to Transmit Horizontal Forces
 Calculate Forces Acting 1000mm
on Bracing Members 3.2KN
θ
1400mm
Assume horizontal force acts at
the level of the top horizontal θ = 54.46o
members.
Assume bracing at every fourth
row of standards, then the 3.2KN
horizontal force will be θ
= 4 x 3.2 KN = 12.8KN.
R V
From triangle of forces,
V = 18.0KN and R = 22.02KN

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Worked Example – forces on
bracing members
 Assume that the vertical load is taken by the 5
standards, thus additional load per tube = 18/5 = 3.6KN
Total load in tube = 30 + 3.6 = 33.6KN
 Clause 43.3 BS5975 allowable stresses can be
increased by 25% where increase is solely due to wind.
 Try number of couplers per brace = 5
SWL per coupler (slip value) = 6.25KN
Hence for 5 couplers, SWL = 6.25 x 5
= 31.25 KN > R = 22.02 KN ………. OK
Therefore 5 couplers are sufficient to take the bracing force
to the ground
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Worked Example – Bracing members
1026
307
Check SWL of
Tubes (brace)
Brace length = 2m,
Effective length =
2m
(Table 23 BS5975)
1873 SWL = 27.9KN >
22.02KN ……… OK

moment
1m 1m 1m 1m 1m

1090 1840 1840 1840

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1840 1090 37
Worked Example – Bracing members
 Check Stability of Complete Falsework before
Concreting
Assume the frame will rotate about the lower right hand
corner. Weight of tube = 4.37 kg/m
Total weight per standard = [(6x4.37) + (5x2x4.37)] + 20% =
84 kg per standard
Weight of formwork = 50kg/m2,
Weight per standard = 100 kg/m2
Factor of safety = 23.65/13.58 = 1.76
Clause 43.5.3 :
Minimum FOS against overturning
= 1.2 < 1.76 ……… OK
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