Concrete shells constructed on pneumatic formwork

Abstract

In recent decades the number of concrete shells constructed has continued to decline. This is in large measure attributable to the high costs of the formwork: construction of the spatially curved formwork surface using conventional formwork methods is labor-intensive and rates of pay in industrialized countries are high. Consequently, the design solutions based on conventional methods are not economically justifiable. There was, therefore, reason enough to make concrete shell construction competitive again by developing less costly formwork methods. One such method is pneumatically supported formwork.