UTILIZATION OF LOCAL MATERIALS FOR PERMANENT FORMWORK PRODUCTION FOR LOW-RISE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Problem Statement. Ukraine’s construction industry has been severely impacted after russian full-scale invasion, with more than 167,000 residential buildings destroyed and a significant reduction in the workforce. Additionally, the country faces a massive accumulation of construction waste due to widespread destruction. Traditional construction methods are labor-intensive and costly, further hindered by the shortage of skilled labor. There is an urgent need for innovative solutions to reduce construction time and costs while addressing environmental sustainability by recycling building debris. Objective. This research aims to explore the feasibility of using local materials, such as granite screenings, slag, and recycled concrete, to produce permanent formwork in low-rise building construction. It seeks to evaluate the mechanical properties of these materials through compression and flexural tests, compare the labor and cost efficiency of permanent formwork to conventional systems, and propose methods to optimize the formwork design to reduce construction labor intensity and material costs. Conclusion. The study demonstrated that local materials, such as granite screenings can be used for permanent framework production and reducing final costs. Mechanical characteristics of samples from local materials were tested and the research found some correlations between material density and structural strength in part of samples, indicating that higher-density materials can improve durability. This approach presents a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative for Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts, reducing reliance on skilled labor and mitigating the challenges posed by the war-damaged construction sector.