Rotating Formwork for Hollow Concrete Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing monolithic reinforced-concrete construction elements face challenges in achieving high structural strength, optimal tolerance control, and efficient manufacturing times and costs, particularly due to issues with joint formation, concrete disintegration, and complex formwork systems that limit the versatility and precision of modular construction elements.
Innovation Solution
A method and installation that allow for partial setting of side walls during formwork of floor and ceiling slabs, enabling strongly attached union joints and minimizing concrete movement, with only three moving parts during the process, ensuring high homogeneity and precise control of dimensions, and allowing for efficient stripping and reuse of formwork structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If fixed formwork is used for vertical concreting, then the element shape is obtained, but concrete disintegration occurs due to considerable travel distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the concreting dimension from vertical to horizontal. The formwork system is positioned horizontally during concreting, allowing concrete to be poured without excessive vertical travel distance. After concreting, the formwork rotates to vertical position to achieve the final prismatic shape, thus separating the concreting phase from the shaping phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The formwork system is made dynamic through rotation capability. The formwork can rotate between horizontal position (for concreting) and vertical position (for final shaping and stripping). This dynamic transformation allows the system to optimize for different process requirements at different stages.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rotating formwork is used for horizontal concreting, then high monolithism is achieved, but device complexity increases due to large rotating structure
Solution Approach 1:
The formwork system is segmented into separate components: the base platform, the formwork panels, and the rotation mechanism. This segmentation allows the rotation mechanism to be simpler and more manageable, rather than rotating an entire large mass. The formwork panels can be independently positioned and secured.
Solution Approach 2:
The formwork is assembled and positioned in the horizontal plane before concreting begins. All formwork components are secured and fixed in position prior to concrete pouring, eliminating the need for complex mechanisms to maintain formwork stability during concreting. The rotation occurs after concreting is complete.
3Productivity
If rotating formwork is used, then mass-manufacturing is enabled, but manufacturing time increases to four times the minimum setting time
Solution Approach 1:
While one element is curing in the formwork, the formwork system can be prepared for the next element. The rotation mechanism can position the completed element for stripping while simultaneously preparing the formwork for the next concreting operation. This overlapping of operations reduces idle time and improves overall manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The formwork system is designed for rapid stripping and reuse. After the element achieves sufficient strength, the formwork is rotated and stripped efficiently. The formwork components are then quickly repositioned and prepared for the next element, minimizing the time the formwork is idle between uses and maximizing its utilization rate.
4Strength
If thin-walled reinforced elements are produced with vertical concreting, then structural strength is achieved, but blowholes and honeycombing occur due to reduced passage section
Solution Approach 1:
By changing from vertical to horizontal concreting, the patent eliminates the problem of concrete traveling through long vertical distances in thin walls. The horizontal pouring allows concrete to flow smoothly across the thin wall sections without being obstructed by reinforcing bars, preventing blowholes and honeycombing while maintaining structural strength.
5Strength
If four prefabricated panels are attached to steel frames, then structural strength is improved, but monolithism is reduced due to post-setting joints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the four wall panels into a single monolithic concrete element by casting them simultaneously in the horizontal plane. The steel frames are integrated within the concrete mass during casting rather than attached afterward, creating a truly monolithic structure with continuous material flow and no weak joints between panels.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 1e~1g
Figure 1h~1i
AI summary
Method for manufacturing modular, hollow, prismatic, monolithic reinforced-concrete elements of rectangular section, which includes the stages of concreting their side walls in two horizontally arranged formwork structures, carrying out a rotation of said formwork structures so as to leave them arranged vertically on either side of a third formwork, with said third formwork horizontal, then concreting the floor slab, placing formwork between the side walls for concreting of the ceiling slab and withdrawing the modular element, so that a high degree of monolithism is achieved, a method in which all the concretings are carried out in the horizontal, and precise control is achieved over the measurements of the element obtained.