Abstract
Fabric formwork is an emerging method for construction of concrete structures, which offers a much greater freedom in creation of forms compared with the typical prismatic elements in modern built environment. While this can add a significant artistic value to architectural structures, there are many practical benefits associated with fabric formwork in terms of reduced construction time and costs, as well as the opportunity to shape structural elements appropriately and use the concrete material more efficiently. Research studies of fabric-formed beams carried out at the University of Bath, which aimed to develop practical design tools and construction guidance, have indicated that a minimum of 40% material savings are achievable with optimised design of fabric-formed concrete. Furthermore, reinforcing fabric-formed elements with FRP composite materials has shown significant advantages in terms of reinforcement installation and manufacturing techniques for producing FRP shear reinforcement with varying geometry. This paper presents experimentally tested construction approaches, proposed design methodology and experimental results, which validate the design method and demonstrate the possibility to build FRP-reinforced fabric-formed beams exhibiting ductile behaviour.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Fourth Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies SCMT4 |
| Place of Publication | Las Vegas, US |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Aug 2016 |