Concrete Bridge Design and Construction. No. 5: Concrete bridge formwork and falsework

During remediation of distressed buildings in Dublin, horizontal cracks more than 20mm wide have been seen in the concrete block sub-structure walls. When pyrite-rich calcareous aggregate oxidises beneath a ground floor slab, it can raise and crack the concrete floor. In addition, it has been found that when tightly compacted fill expands, it may grip the substructure walls such that the whole super-structure is lifted off these support walls.

This final article in the composite part of this construction compendium looks at three aspects of construction; the provision of lateral restraint to the beams, whether the steelwork is propped and how the concrete is levelled.

This note describes how steel fibre reinforced concrete groundbearing slabs are designed.