GB2538553A

GB2538553A - Building formwork for a concrete shuttering process

Info

Publication number: GB2538553A
Application number: GB1508744.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Law Spencer; Hague Matthew
Original assignee: TOTAL CONSTRUCTION SUPPLIES Ltd
Current assignee: TOTAL CONSTRUCTION SUPPLIES Ltd
Priority date: 2015-05-21
Filing date: 2015-05-21
Publication date: 2016-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2035-05-21
Also published as: GB2538553B; GB201508744D0

Abstract

A wall panel 10 for building concrete formwork in a shuttering process comprises a pair of spaced apart, opposing wall members connected together by a corrugated region. The wall members define at least one bend, and the corrugated region defines at least one channel that extends along the length between the wall members. The wall panel further comprises at least one resiliently flexible, elongate reinforcing member located within a respective channel, extending along the length of the wall members and around the bend. The reinforcing member may be fixed to at least one connecting member 16a, 16b and the corrugated region may define a plurality of channels. The panel may form an L-shaped or U-shaped profile, or may be curved.

Description

BUILDING FORMWORK FOR A CONCRETE SHUTTERING PROCESS

This invention relates generally to a panel for building formwork for use in a concrete shuttering process and a method of manufacturing such a panel.

Concrete shuttering is the process of creating molds into which concrete can be poured to create finished concrete structures. Conventional methods of building such molds or formwork tend to comprise the use of timber or steel sheets which are placed and connected together in the desired form, before concrete is poured or otherwise introduced into the resultant mold and allowed to set. In some cases, such formwork is then removed from the structure, although methods exist in which the formwork, thus built, can be left permanently in place.

There are a number of disadvantages associated with conventional methods of concrete shuttering. For example, timber and steel sheets are heavy and costly, and therefore make the process of building formwork difficult, time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, the process is not considered to be sufficiently environmentally friendly. Still further, such sheets of material are fixed in terms of their configuration and, therefore, do not provide much flexibility in terms of the complexity of formwork that can be built therewith. There is an ongoing desire to provide products and devices within the field of construction that are environmentally friendly, as well as cost-and time-effective, and improve efficiency in all aspects of the construction industry, whilst minimising material waste.

It is an object of aspects of the present invention to address at least some of these issues and provide a wall panel for use in building formwork for a concrete shuttering process which ameliorates at least some of the problems identified above.

Thus, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wall panel for building concrete formwork in a concrete shuttering process, the wall panel comprising a pair of spaced apart, opposing wall members connected together by a corrugated region therebetween, said opposing wall members defining at least one bend, and said corrugated region defining at least one channel that extends along the length between said opposing wall members and substantially parallel to the plane thereof, the wall panel further comprising at least one resiliently flexible, elongate reinforcing member located within a respective channel, extending along the length of said opposing wall members and around said bend.

The wall panel may comprise at least one connecting member, located adjacent to an edge of said wall panel, to which said at least one reinforcing member is affixed. The corrugated region may define a plurality of substantially parallel channels and said panel may comprise a plurality of elongate reinforcing members, each located within a respective channel and arranged in spaced apart relation along at least a portion of the width of said wall members.

In this case, the connecting member may comprise an elongate bar to which each of said reinforcing members are affixed, said connecting bar extending along and adjacent to a first edge of said wall panel, substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said channels. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a second connecting bar may be provided at a second, opposing edge thereof and extending substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the or each channel, wherein the reinforcing members are affixed at each end thereof to a respective one of said first and second connecting bars.

The wall members may define a first plane and a second plane, connected by a corner of substantially 90° so as to define a substantially L-shaped profile. In other exemplary embodiments, the wall members may define first, second and third planes, said first and third planes being substantially parallel to and spaced apart from each other, and connected together by said sccond plane, wherein first and sccond corncrs of substantially 90° arc defined respectively between said first plane and said second plane and said third plane and said second plane, so as to define a substantially U-shaped profile.

In other exemplary embodiments, the corner may be less than 90°. For example, the wall members may define a plurality of planes, connected together in a closed, configuration with angles of less than 90° therebetween so as to define a substantially polygonal plan view profile, in the general form of a pile cap configuration for example.

In yet further exemplary embodiments, the wall panel may define a curved profile. For example, the wall panel may define a closed, generally circular pile cap configuration.

In accordance with another aspects of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a wall panel for building concrete formwork in a concrete shuttering process, the method comprising providing a resiliently flexible sheet of material comprising a pair of spaced apart, opposing wall members connected together by a corrugated region therebetween, said corrugated region defining at least one channel that extends along the length between said opposing wall members and substantially parallel to the plane thereof, inserting at least one resiliently flexible" elongate reinforcing member into said channel such that it extends along at least a portion of the length of said wall members, and subsequently bending said sheet.

The method may comprise providing at least a first connecting bar at a first respective edge of said sheet such that it extends substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said at least one channel, and affixing said reinforcing member at one end to said connecting bar. The resiliently flexible sheet may comprise a double walled corrugated plastic sheet, and the at least one reinforcing member may be a metal wire. The connecting bar may comprise a metal bar and, in this case, the step of affixing said reinforcing member to said connecting bar may comprise welding.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following specific description in which embodiments of the present invention are described, by way of examples only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a double skinned fluted panel for use in a method of manufacture according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the panel of Figure], with reinforcing wires inserted through the channels and affixed to a pair of opposing connecting bars; Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the panel of Figure 2, bent into a generally L-shaped side profile configuration; Figure 3a is a schematic side view of the panel of Figure 3; Figure 4a is a schematic plan view of the panel of Figure 2 bent into a generally U-shaped configuration; Figure 4b is a schematic side view of the panel of Figure 4a; Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of the panel of Figure 2 bent into a hexagonal pile cap configuration; and Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of the panel of Figure 2 bent into a generally circular pile cap configuration.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, and in accordance with a method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the process starts with a panel 10 of fluted, twin-wall plastic, such as polypropylene or the like. As illustrated, the panel 10 thus comprises a pair of opposing wall members 12a, b connected together by a fluted or corrugated region 14 therebetween. The fluted region 14 defines a plurality of parallel, open-ended channels 14a that extend along the length of the wall members 12a, b substantially parallel to the plane thereof Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, a wire 18 is inserted into each of a plurality of channels 14a, at selected intervals or at a selected spacing, and pushed through the respective channel along the full length of the panel, such that their opposing ends protrude from the open ends of the channels. The wires may, for example, comprise 3-6mm diameter bright hard drawn mild steel, but the present invention is not necessarily intended to be limited in this regard, and other suitable materials (i.e. materials that can be bent but that will hold their bent shape under reasonable force) will be apparent to a person skilled in the art. A pair of connecting bars 16a, b may be provided, to which the ends of the wires 18 can be affixed, for example by welding.

Referring to Figure 3 of the drawings, the panel 10 can now be bent into any desired configuration (in this case, a substantially L-shaped side profile as illustrated more clearly in Figure 3a of the drawings)having at least one corner 20 or curved section. The formation of the corner 20 or curved section causes a corresponding bend in the wires 18, such that the shape and configuration of the panel thus formed is further secured simply due to the nature of the material of which the wires are formed. The panel 10 can now be cut into individual sections of any required width, and all of these processes can be performed as part of an off-site, prefabrication process such that panels of any desired shape and size can be prefabricated and delivered, ready to use, to a construction site.

Of course, variations to the above-described process will be immediately apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example, any number of wires may be provided to reinforce the panel, depending on the materials used and the degree of rigidity required to be achieved, and the present invention is not necessarily intended to be limited in this regard. It will also be appreciated that panels of any desired angled or curved configuration can be formed by means of the above-described process. Thus, for example, referring to Figures 4a and b of the drawings, a substantially U-shaped panel 22 can be formed in the manner described above, simply by bending the reinforced panel into the desired shape. In alternative exemplary embodiments, the panel 10 can be folded across the connecting bar 16a to create

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more complex (closed) polygonal shapes can be formed, for example the hexagonal shape (viewed from the top) illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings; and even curved shapes, such as the generally circular pile cap illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art from the foregoing description that modifications and variations can be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1 A wall panel for building concrete formwork in a concrete shuttering process, the wall panel comprising a pair of spaced apart, opposing wall members connected together by a corrugated region therebetween, said opposing wall members defining at least one bend, and said corrugated region defining at least one channel that extends along the length between said opposing wall members and substantially parallel to the plane thereof, the wall panel further comprising at least one resiliently flexible, elongate reinforcing member located within a respective channel, extending along the length of said opposing wall members and around said bend.
2. A wall panel according to claim 1, comprising at least one connecting member, located adjacent to an edge of said wall panel, to which said at least one reinforcing member is affixed.
3. A wall panel according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said corrugated region defines a plurality of substantially parallel channels and said panel comprises a plurality of elongate reinforcing members, each located within a respective channel and arranged in spaced apart relation along at least a portion of the width of said wall members.
4 A wall panel according to claim 3 when dependent on claim 2, wherein said connecting member comprises an elongate bar to which each of said reinforcing members are affixed, said connecting bar extending along and adjacent to a first edge of said wall panel, substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said channels.
5. A wall panel according to claim 4, comprising a second connecting bar provided at a second, opposing edge thereof and extending substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the or each channel, wherein the reinforcing members are affixed at each end thereof to a respective one of said first and second connecting bars.
6. A wall panel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said wall members define a first plane and a second plane, connected by a corner of substantially 90° so as to define a substantially L-shaped profile.
7. A wall panel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said wall members define first, second and third planes, said first and third planes being substantially parallel to and spaced apart from each other, and connected together by said second plane, wherein first and second corners of substantially 90° are defined respectively between said first plane and said second plane and said third plane and said second plane, so as to define a substantially U-shaped profile.
8. A wall panel according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said corner is less than 90°.
9. A wall panel according to claim 8, wherein said wall members define a plurality of planes, connected together in a closed, configuration with angles of less than 90° therebetween so as to define a substantially polygonal plan view profile.
10. A wall panel according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said wall panel defines a curved profile.
11. A wall panel according to claim 10, wherein said wall panel defines a closed, generally circular pile cap configuration.
12. A method of manufacturing a wall panel for building concrete formwork in a concrete shuttering process, the method comprising providing a resiliently flexible sheet of material comprising a pair of spaced apart, opposing wall members connected together by a corrugated region therebetween, said corrugated region defining at least one channel that extends along the length between said opposing wall members and substantially parallel to the plane thereof, inserting at least one resiliently flexible" elongate reinforcing member into said channel such that it extends along at least a portion of the length of said wall members, and subsequently bending said sheet.
13. A method according to claim 12, comprising providing at least a first connecting bar at a first respective edge of said sheet such that it extends substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said at least one channel, and affixing said reinforcing member at one end to said connecting bar.
14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein said resiliently flexible sheet comprises a double walled corrugated plastic sheet.
15. A method according to any of claims 12 to 14, wherein said at least one reinforcing member is a metal wire.
16. A method according to claim 13, wherein said connecting bar comprises a metal bar.
17. A method according to claim 16, wherein said at least one reinforcing member is a metal wire and said step of affixing said reinforcing member to said connecting bar comprises welding.
18. A wall panel substantially as herein described and/or with reference to the accompanying drawings.
19. A method of manufacturing a wall panel substantially as herein described and/or with reference to the accompanying drawings.