Figure 1
The distinction between rigid and flexible structures. Adapted from [44 D. L. Schodek and M. Bechthold, Structures, 7th ed. Pearson, 2014.].
Figure 2
The fireproof slab produced from a textile mould. Adapted from [55 L. W. G. Lilienthal, “Fireproof ceiling”, U.S. Patent 619,769, Feb. 21, 1899.].
Figure 3
Improvements made by (a) Fletcher [77 M. Fletcher, “Method and means for forming concrete structural members”, U.S. Patent 1,241,945, Oct. 2, 1917.]; (b) Govan and Ashenhurst [88 J. Govan and H. S. Ashenhurst, “Building Construction”, U.S. Patent 1,671,946. May 29, 1928.] and (c) Farrar et al. [99 D. Farrar et al., “Construction of roofs, floors, ceilings, and the like”, U.S. Patent 2,096,629, Oct. 19, 1937.].
Figure 4
A coverage produced with a fabric mould. Adapted from [1010 J. H. W. Waller, “Method of building with cementitious material applied to vegetable fabrics”, U.S. Patent 1,955,716, Apr. 17, 1934.].
Figure 5
Taq-i-Kisra arch of the ancient imperial city of Ctesiphon, Iraq [
1212 E. Newman, “Ctesiphon Arch - largest unsupported arch in the world.” https://www.flickr.com/photos/apaame/8344453087 (accessed Apr. 29, 2023).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/apaame/834...
].
Figure 6
Construction process of the “Ctesiphon” system. Adapted from [66 M. West The Fabric Formwork Book: Methods for Building New Architectural and Structural Formworks in Concrete. London and New York. Routledge, 2016.].
Figure 7
(a) Apparatus for concrete casting pipelines using inflatable tubes -adapted from [1919 T. Nose “Process of constructing culverts or pipes of concrete”, U.S. Patent 1,600,353, Sep. 21, 1926.] and (b) construction of a pipeline in Italy in 1938 -adapted from [2020 W. Sobek, “On design and construction of concrete shells,” Cement, vol. 11, pp. 23-27, 1991.].
Figure 8
Use of inflated tubes to produce hollow bricks - (a) adapted from [2121 C. B. Mathews and J. G. Ambrose, “Inflatable core for use in casting hollow concrete units”, U.S. Patent 2,485,898, Oct. 25, 1945.]; and use of inflated tubes to produce lightweight hollow concrete panels - (b) adapted from [2222 R. L. Mora, “Inflatable construction panels and method of making same”, U.S. Patent 3,388,509, Jun. 18, 1968.].
Figure 9
The Neff system for executing shells with inflated membranes. Adapted from [2424 W. Neff “Building construction”, U.S. Patent 2,270,229, Jan. 20, 1942.].
Figure 10
(a) Improvements to Neff system - Adapted from [2525 W. Neff “Improved method of erecting shell-form concrete structures”, U.S. Patent 2,892,239, Jun. 30, 1959.] and (b) identification of the horizontal rupture plane, which in the case of spherical shell corresponds to - Adapted from [44 D. L. Schodek and M. Bechthold, Structures, 7th ed. Pearson, 2014.].
Figure 11
Internal stiffening of the pneumatic casing before the external application of concrete. Adapted from [2626 L. S. Turner, “Method of molding a building structure by spraying a foamed plastic on the inside of an inflatable form”, U.S. Patent 3,277,219, Oct. 4, 1966.].
Figure 12
Stiffening of the foundation with the use of a rigid ring. Adapted from [2727 H. Heifetz, “Inflatable forms”, U.S. Patent 3,643,910. Feb. 22, 1972.].
Figure 13
Stages of construction of the Domecrete Building System. Adapted from [3131 H. Heifetz, “Domecrete building system”, Bauen+Wohne, vol. 6, pp. 262-263, 1972.].
Figure 14
Design of a secondary pneumatic enclosure at the base of the membrane. Adapted from [2828 F. Prouvost, “Construction of houses or similar buildings by means of an inflatable structure”, U.S. Patent 4,094,109. June 13, 1978.].
Figure 15
Construction method and disposition of reinforcement in Bini's shells. Adapted from [3232 D. Bini, “Method for erecting structure”, U.S. Patent 3,462,521. Aug. 19, 1969.].
Figure 16
The MUPAG Clinic [66 M. West The Fabric Formwork Book: Methods for Building New Architectural and Structural Formworks in Concrete. London and New York. Routledge, 2016.] and the Viviendas Del Parterre building [3535 R. V. D. D. C. Martín-Mantero, “Miguel Fisac y el hormigón como linguaje estético”, In Anales de Investigación em Arquitectura, vol. 5, 2015.].
Figure 17
Annual scientific production and authors' production over time [4747 Aria, M., Cuccurullo, C., “bibliometrix: an R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis”, Journal of Informetrics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 959-975, 2017.].
Figure 18
Most cited documents in the research field. Adapted from [4747 Aria, M., Cuccurullo, C., “bibliometrix: an R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis”, Journal of Informetrics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 959-975, 2017.].
Figure 19
Scientific production by country and most cited countries [4747 Aria, M., Cuccurullo, C., “bibliometrix: an R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis”, Journal of Informetrics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 959-975, 2017.].
Figure 20
Trending topics over recent years [4747 Aria, M., Cuccurullo, C., “bibliometrix: an R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis”, Journal of Informetrics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 959-975, 2017.].
Figure 21
Types of flexible moulds according to Abdelgader et al. [1515 H. Abdelgader, M. West, and J. Górski, “State-of-the-art report on fabric formwork,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Constr. Build.Technol., June 2008, pp. 93-106.]: (a) cushion moulds; (b) open moulds; (c) bag-type moulds; (d) covering moulds. Adapted from Abdelgader et al. [1515 H. Abdelgader, M. West, and J. Górski, “State-of-the-art report on fabric formwork,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Constr. Build.Technol., June 2008, pp. 93-106.].
Figure 22
Categorization according to Veenendaal et al. [1111 D. Veenendaal, M. West, and P. Block, “History and overview of fabric formwork: Using fabrics for concrete casting,” Struct. Concr., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 164-177, 2011.]. Adapted from Hawkins et al. [4949 W. J. Hawkins et al., “Flexible formwork technologies - a state of the art review,” Struct. Concr., vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 911-935, 2016.].
Figure 23
Proposal for flexible formworks categorization into families [4646 M. S. O. Soto, R. M. O. Pauletti, and L. C. Meneghetti, “Some experiments on flexible formworks for shell structures”, in IASS Annual Symp. 2020/21, 2021, pp. 1-12.].
Figure 24
Isler shells generated by suspended fabrics. Adapted from [4848 H. Isler, “Concrete shells derived from experimental shapes,” Struct. Eng. Int., vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 142-147, 1994.].
Figure 25
“Pneumatic Forming of Hardened Concrete (PFHC)” construction process. Adapted from [3030 B. Kromoser and P. Huber, “Pneumatic formwork systems in structural engineering”, Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng., vol. 2016, pp. 4724036.].
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