CONTENTS

Sl. No. Title Page. No.

Abstract i
List of figures ii
1 Introduction 1
2 Literature review 2
3 Necessity of Mivan Formwork Systems 5
4 Components of Aluminium Formwork 6
4.1 Beam components 6
4.2 Deck components 7
4.3 Wall components 9
4.4 Other components 10
5 Formwork Assembly 12
6 Advantages and Disadvantages 13
6.1 Advantages 13
6.2 Disadvantages 13
7 Conclusions 14
References 15

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, RVCE

Chapter 1
Introduction
Mivan is an aluminium formwork system developed by Mivan
construction company from Europe. In 1990, the Mivan Company Ltd from Malaysia
started the manufacturing of such formwork systems. In this system of formwork
construction of concrete wall and floor slabs cast monolithic which provides the
structural system in one continuous pour. Large room sized forms for walls and floors
slabs are erected at site. These forms are made strong and sturdy, fabricated with
accuracy and easy to handle. They afford large number of repetitions. The concrete is
produced in RMC batching plants under strict quality control and convey it to site
with transit mixers.
The frames for windows and door as well as ducts for services are placed in the form
before concreting. Staircase, chejja., etc. and other pre-fabricated items are also
integrated into the structure. This proves to be a major advantage as compared to
other modern construction techniques. The method of construction adopted is no
difference except for that the sub-structure is constructed using conventional
techniques. The super–structure is constructed using Mivan techniques. The
formwork system is precisely-engineered system fabricated in aluminium. Using this
system, all the elements of a building namely, load bearing walls, columns, beams,
floor slabs, stairs, balconies etc can be constructed with cast in place concrete. The
resulting structure has a good quality surface finish and accurate dimensional
tolerances. Further, the construction speed is high, and the work can be done in a cost-
effective manner.
The modular nature of the formwork system allows easy fixing and removal of
formwork and the construction can proceed speedily with very little deviation in
dimensional tolerances. Further, the system is quite flexible and can be easily adapted
for any variations in the layout.

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Chapter 2
Literature Review
Aviad shipara [1] presented a new new Israeli formwork standard as a case study for
contemporary trends in formwork standardization. The main novelty in the new
standard is its similar treatment of the design of temporary structures to that of
permanent structures, resulting in the replacement of the traditional allowable-stress
approach with the concept of limit-state design and partial safety factors to both
increased safety and more economic solutions. In that regard. While the preparation of
the new Israeli standard, American, European, and Australian standards and similar
documents were closely studied; some comparisons of design and loading data that may
affect construction safety and economy are also presented in this paper.
Eder Martinez et al [2] evaluated a decision-making method for section of
formwork systems based on choosing by advantages(CBA). For CBA implementation,
A case study Research was carried out. After the implementation, each project
participant engaged in semi-structured interviews to assess their experience with the
CBA method. Interviews lasted twenty minutes on average and were audio-recorded for
transcription and analysis. Decision-makers should use a sound decision-making
method able to deal with complexities associated with selecting a formwork system.
Russ Miller-Johnson [3] proposed fabric formwork as alternate formwork system
in this paper, two recent residential projects in rural Vermont are presented to illustrate
the sustainable advantages of geotextile fabric as part of formwork system. The fabric
formwork was used for walls, columns, and elevated slab soffits, resulting in savings in
formwork material weight of at least 35% compared to a standard wood panel system.
This also translates to reduced energy use for material transport, less waste, fewer pour
operations, and the use of so called local labor that is not dependent on larger scale
concrete operations experience. Once stripped, the fabric has the potential to be reused
on-site as subgrade stabilization.
Edmond W. M. Lam et al [4] compared aluminium formwork system using in
Highrise buildings construction with the conventional formwork system. The floor cycle
will be 7 to 10 days when the Aluminium formwork used in typical floors, and hence
the structure duration will be reduced by 35 to 40 percent over the conventional method
of construction. The Aluminium Formwork System can achieve not only faster rate of

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construction but can also bring down the structural cost by 20 to 25 percent over the
conventional method with lesser labor inputs.
Lara Jailon et al [5] examined Conditions and Constraints in the Formwork
Systems for Complex High-rise Building. Formwork systems are among the key factors
determining the success of a construction project in terms of speed, quality, cost and
safety of works. This paper, supplemented with several recent Hong Kong cases studies,
highlights conditions and constraints in the application of formwork, and illustrates the
practices and methods that the local construction industry uses to construct complex
buildings of various kinds.
L. J. R. Cole [6] evaluated Emerging Trends in Formwork - Cost Analysis &
Effectiveness of Mivan Formwork over the Conventional Formwork. He examined
different parameters like Cost effectiveness, Time effectiveness, Quality control,
Quantity parameter. He concluded concluded that quality and speed must be given due
consideration with regards to economy. Good quality construction will never deter to
projects speed nor will it be uneconomical. In fact, time consuming repairs and
modification due to poor quality work generally delay the job and cause additional
financial impact on the project.
Hisham A. Abu Ibrahim [7] examined the role of formwork in high rise
buildings. The role of formwork systems in high-rise projects goes beyond erecting
concrete elements to set the pace of construction processes at different fronts.
Innovative features provided by advanced formwork technologies play a major role in
streamlining concrete and non-concrete activities where downstream tasks are more
sensitive to formwork pace. Advanced formwork systems provide innovative solutions
for today’s complex high-rise developments and open the doors for greater
improvements in construction methods. Future studies can link the use of advanced
systems to the implementation of lean ideals on high-rise projects, such as waste
reduction, Takt time calculation, and the use of pull systems and Kanban cards.
A.S. Ganar et al [8] carried out Comparative analysis on cost and duration of
Mivan formwork building and Conventional Formwork building. The data needed for a
project, interaction with builders, engineers and interviews with some of the selected
respondents regarding the main objective of the topic was conducted for the data
analysis stage. For accomplishing this project, Collection of the information regarding
conventional methods of building technologies and study various concepts of MIVAN
formwork building and its various applications is to be done by visiting ongoing site.

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Cost-effectiveness of Mivan formwork building over conventional formwork buildings

will be formulated. He concluded that Cost of Mivan formwork building is 14.04
percent cheaper than the Conventional Formwork building. The construction of Mivan
building can be done in half duration of construction of conventional building of 12
floors.
Ummer Farooq Hurrah et al [9] presented on Mivan formwork and construction
equipments. Data collection includes primary data and secondary data for the
preparation of questionnaire survey. It includes literature survey, observation methods,
telephonic interactions and interviews. Data collected is analyzed whether it satisfies the
requirement of the research of the project. Data should be relevant to the project work to
get necessary inputs. The task of housing due to the rising population of the country is
becoming increasingly monumental. In terms of technical capabilities to face this
challenge, the potential is enormous; it only needs to be judiciously exploited. Civil
engineers not only build but also enhance the quality of life. Their creativity and
technical skill help to plan, design, construct and operate the facilities essential to life. It
is important for civil engineers to gain and harness the potent and versatile construction
tools.
Jio Takagi et al [10] Compared of Conventional, Aluminium and Tunnel
Formwork. The current formwork field in India is labor intensive and skilled labors are
also lacking. So, to avoid or minimize the manual errors, System formwork is being
adopted by the contractors for speedy and economic construction. Frequency of
accidents in Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) construction because of inferior
formwork and scaffolding is also accountable. So, system Formwork has the challenge
of safety during the construction along with faster completion of the projects. From the
results obtained he came to a finale that when the aluminium formwork is utilized in the
Villa project, the sum project cost can be reduced by nearly 40 % and the duration of
the project can be reduced by 50% compared to conventional formwork. Although the
Aluminium system formwork is the costliest formwork type in terms of high initial cost,
it proves to be economical if the number of repetitions is between 200 and 250 in
construction of villa project.

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Chapter 3
3. Necessity of the Mivan Formwork System:
The disparity between the supply and demand for affordable housing is
tremendous. Rapid urbanization has resulted in a geometric increase in the housing
demand, which cannot be fulfilled using conventional materials and methods of
construction. The traditional or conventional method of construction for mass housing
is comparatively, a slow process, limited quality control, particularly when a large
project is involved. It is therefore obligatory to work out a method or a scheme where
the speed and quality of construction are controlled automatically by a systematic
approach. Therefore, Mivan Formwork System identified to be suitable for Indian
conditions for mass housing construction where quality and speed can be maintained
at a reasonably high pace. It is adoptable for any design of a building and establishes a
kind of assembly line production.
The methodology of using Mivan formwork takes in to consideration the
important parameters namely the no. of housing units & the time that is available and
works out the component of input as formwork. The whole structure is constructed with
load bearing walls cast-in-situ by using pre-engineered aluminium forms with form-
finished concrete and no plaster on any face. In contrast to most of the modern
construction systems, which are machine and equipment oriented, the formwork does
not depend upon heavy lifting equipment and can be handled by unskilled labors. Fast
construction is assured and is particularly suitable for large magnitude construction of
respective nature at one project site. Construction carried out by this system has
exceptionally superior quality with accurate dimensions for all openings to receive
windows and doors, right angles at meeting points of wall to wall, wall to floor, wall to
ceiling, etc. concrete surface finishes are good to receive painting directly without
plaster. Monolithic construction of load bearing walls and slabs in concrete produces
structurally superior quality with very few constructions joined compared to the
conventional column and beam slabs construction combined with filter brick work or
block work subsequently covered by plaster. In view of the four day cycle of casting the
floor together with all slabs as against 14 to 20 day cycle in the conventional method,
completed RCC structure is available for subsequent finish trades much faster, resulting
in a saving of 10 to 15 days per floor in the overall completion period [9].

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Chapter 4
4.Components of Aluminium Formwork

The basic element of the formwork is the panel, which is an extruded

aluminium rail section, welded to an aluminium sheet. This produces a lightweight
panel with an excellent stiffness to weight ratio, yielding minimal deflection under
concrete loading. Panels are manufactured in the size and shape to suit the requirements
of specific projects. The panels are made from high strength aluminium alloy with a 4
mm thick skin plate and 6mm thick ribbing behind to stiffen the panels [9]. Once they
are assembled they are subjected to a trial erection to eliminate any dimensional or on-
site problems. Following are the components that are regularly used in the construction.

4.1. BEAM COMPONENTS:

The beams like soffit corners are shaped to support floor slab panels during
their placements. Props of unique design in turn support the beams. They have
maximum length of 1500 mm to minimize deflection. The beam soffit panels are used
as beam side cover. The beam soffit bulkheads are used as beam bottoms above
openings such as doors and windows.

a. Beam Side Panel: It forms the side of the beams. It is a rectangular

structure and is cut according to the size of the beam

Fig 4.1 Beam Side Panel [11]

b. Prop Head for Soffit Beam: It forms the soffit beam. It is a V-shaped head for
easy dislodging of the formwork.

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Fig 4.2 Prop Head for Soffit [11]

c. Beam Soffit Panel: It supports the soffit beam. It is a plain rectangular

structure of aluminium.

Fig 4.3 Beam Soffit-Panel [11]

4.2 DECK COMPONENTS:

Deck panels support maximum deck loading with minimal deflection. They
have maximum dimension of 450 mm X 1400 mm. They are supported with beams
within deck. At perimeters of the deck areas they are supported by soffit corners and
soffit lengths. The soffit lengths are used in the straight portion of the corner joint of
wall and slab. Props support the beams. They stay in continuous contact of concrete
even while the wall and floor slab panels are being removed. Therefore, under standard
building practices the AFS allows for earlier removal of formwork, reduced cycle time
and a greater rate of production. Prop head are fitted on the top of the prop and touch the
concrete surface from the bottom.

a. Deck Panel: It forms the horizontal surface for casting of slabs. It is built for
proper safety of workers.

Fig 4.4 Deck Panel [11]

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b. Deck Prop: It forms a V-shaped prop head. It supports the deck and bears
the load coming on the deck panel.

Fig 4.5 Deck Prop [11]

c. Prop Length: It is the length of the prop. It depends on length of the slab.

Fig 4.6 Deck Prop Length [11]

d. Deck Mid -Beam: It supports the middle portion of the beam and holds
the concrete.

Fig 4.7 Deck Mid- Beam [11]

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e. Soffit Length: It provides support to the edge of the deck panels at their
perimeter of the room.

Fig 4.8 Soffit Length [11]

4.3 WALL COMPONENT:

Wall panels are the basic element of formwork, which consists of extruded
aluminium rail sections around the perimeter of the panel welded to an aluminium face
sheet with reinforcing ribs. This produces a lightweight panel with excellent
stiffness/weight ratio yielding minimum deflections under concrete loading.
The panels are made of high strength aluminium alloy with a 4 mm thin skin
plate and a 6 mm thick ribbing behind to stiffen the panels. Rocker is a unique feature
attached to the bottom of wall panels. This allows the panel to be struck by pulling the
top of the panel away from the wall. This action results in panel pivoting freely at the
wall to floor slab joint. The panels are connected to each other using simple steel pins
and wedges. This allows panels to be assembled into a full housing unit using only a
hammer. The pins are made of mild steel. The wall panels are kept in a fixed distance
apart by wall ties, specially fabricated from high specification steel for various wall
thicknesses.
a. Wall Panel: It forms the face of the wall. It is an Aluminium sheet properly cut
to fit the exact size of the wall

Fig 4.9 Wall Panel [11]

b. Rocker: It is a supporting component of wall. It is L-shaped panel having

allotment holes for stub pin.

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Fig 4.10 Rocker [11]

c. Kicker: It forms the wall face at the top of the panels and acts as a ledge
to support

Fig 4.11 Kicker [11]

d. Stub Pin: It helps in joining two wall panels. It helps in joining two joints

Fig 4.12 Stub Pin [11]

4.4 OTHER COMPONENTS:

a. Internal Soffit Corner: It forms the vertical internal corner between the walls
and the beams, slabs, and the horizontal internal cornice between the walls and
the beam slabs and the beam soffit.

Fig 4.13 Internal Soffit Corner [11]

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b. External Soffit Corner: It forms the external corner between the components.

Fig 4.14 External Soffit Corner [11]

c. External Corner: It forms the external corner of the formwork system. The
panels are connected at the vertical intersections by corner simply connects two
panels together at a right angle and has no contact with concrete face. In cast in
situ concrete, the wall to floor slab joint is the most important connection &
difficult in execution. Therefore, MFS has a special soffit corner for connecting
wall and floor slab panels. External soffit corners are used as soffit corner form
the external side of the building.

Fig 4.15 External Corner [11]

d. Internal Corner: It connects two pieces of vertical formwork pieces at

their exterior intersections.

Fig 4.16 Internal Corner [11]

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Chapter 5
5.Formwork Assembly

Fig 5.1 Wall Assembly Details [8]

Fig 5.2 Beam Assembly [8]

Simplicity – pin and wedge system
The panels are held in position by a simple pin and wedge system that passes
through holes in the outside rib of each panel. The panels fit precisely, simply and
securely and require no bracing. Buildings can be constructed quickly and easily by
unskilled labour with hammer being the only tool required. Once the panels have been
numbered, measuring is not necessary. As the erection process is manually, tower
cranes are not required. The result is a typical 4 to 5-day cycle for floor-to-floor
construction.

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Chapter 6

6.1 Advantages

• Good speed of construction, because:

– Not much time and skilled workmanship required for fabrication on site
– Definitive location of components avoids delay in assembly
– Simple and quick inter-connections using pins and wedges
– Marking consumes less time owing to the provision of kicker pieces
– Shifting of light-weight components through a slot in the floor slab itself
reduces time and labour involved and avoids lifting machinery also
– Checking can be done quickly
– Total system forms the complete monolithic concrete structure [includes
staircases, balconies, etc and is custom-designed.

• Excellent degree of pre-engineering [includes minor detailing, sleeves for

electrical main lines, etc.
• Accurate dimensions and right angles, no surface undulations, good smoothness:
Good quality finish is achieved even without plastering the external surfaces.
• Durability of the structure is more than that of the conventional system.
• Debris is reduced, hence an environment friendly method.
• Panels can be re-used for more than 200 times.
• Nails are not required; hence, injuries are avoided.
• Convenient movement of personnel within the area of work, unlike the
conventional forms that occupy a lot of space in stacking, fabrication, etc.

6.2 Disadvantages

• Finishing lines are seen on the RCC surfaces owing to small-sized components.
• It requires modular designs as well as uniform elevations to be cost effective.
• Modifications are not easily possible as all members are cast in RCC.
• Large volume of work should be available to be cost-effective.

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Chapter 7

7. CONCLUSIONS

The advantages of the Mivan formwork System is its speed construction due to
simplicity of the formwork, it also eliminates the need for beam formwork and
corresponding centering. Number of cold joints in concrete work is reduced
substantially. The joints between brick masonry walls and beams & columns are
eliminated which coupled with the strong and dense controlled concrete used to satisfy
the durability criteria as called for by the specifications make these structures virtually
maintenance-free for several years. The walls and the slabs form a rigid, monolithic,
and strong structure. It is also worth noting that the dimensions and right angles at
meeting points of wall-to-wall, wall to floor, wall to ceiling etc. are very accurate [4].
The Aluminium Formwork System can achieve not only faster rate of
construction but can also bring down the structural cost by 20 to 25 % over the
conventional method with lesser labour inputs [11]. This system is ideally suited for
Indian conditions; where total dependence on heavy plants and machinery as in case of
precast factories can be avoided without sacrificing the speed of construction. Hence
Mivan System is an excellent solution to the problems in the present housing situation
because of its specific merits.

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References
1. Aviad Shapira, “contemporary trends in formwork standards - a case study”
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, April 2009, volume 125.
2. Eder Martinez, Iris Tommelein and Ariana Alvear “Formwork System Selection
Using Choosing by Advantages” Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management, March 2016, volume 135.
3. Russ Miller-Johnson, “Fabric Formwork – an Alternative Concrete Construction
System” Construction Research Congress 2016.
4. Edmond W. M. Lam, Albert P. C. Chan, and Daniel W. M. Chan, “aluminium
formwork system using in Highrise buildings construction”, Journal of
Construction Engineering and Management, March 2018, volume 143.
5. Lara Jailon, C S Poon, “Conditions and Constraints in the Formwork Systems for
Complex High-rise Building”, journal of automation in construction” September
2008.
6. L. J. R. Cole, “evaluated Emerging Trends in Formwork - Cost Analysis &
Effectiveness of Mivan Formwork over the Conventional Formwork”, Journal of
Construction Engineering and Management, june 2016, volume 131.
7. Hisham A. Abu Ibrahim “The role of formwork in high rise buildings”, Journal of
Construction Techniques, June 2005, volume 156.
8. A.S. Ganar, V G Jana, “Comparative analysis on cost and duration of Mivan
formwork building and Conventional Formwork building”, Journal of
Construction Engineering and Management, July 2016, volume 132.
9. Ummer Farooq Hurrah, Farook Hamzeh, “Mivan formwork and construction
equipments”, Indian Concrete Journal”, August 2005, Volume 79, pp. 41-46.
10. Jio Takagi, A B Shah, “comparison of Conventional, Aluminium and Tunnel
Formwork” Journal of Construction Teqniques, June 2005, volume 156.
11. G.M fair and G C Geyer “Aluminium Formwork alternative to conventional
formwork”, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management”, September
2017, Volume 140, pp 22-26.

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