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Construction Concepts and Terms Compilation
Construction Concepts and Terms Compilation
Pozzolans are used to reduce the heat Because concrete is unable to maintain
of hydration, increase the workability, a particular shape before it sets, it
and reduce the segregation of a mix. must be placed in a form or mold. In
building construction, this form or
Workability agents or plasticizers mold is called formwork.
increase the workability of a mix.
Flying forms are made by building a
Batching is the process of large section of form, as described
proportioning cement, water, earlier for centering, and supporting
aggregates, and additives prior to the entire section on deep steel
mixing concrete. trusses.
Truck mixers or transit mix trucks are Slip forming is a method of
truck-mounted concrete mixers capable continuously moving a form for vertical
of mixing and transporting concrete. structures, such as elevator or stair
The product they deliver is referred to shafts, upward on jacks as new concrete
as ready-mixed concrete. is placed on top of the old.
Coarse aggregate consists of gravel,
Waterstops are rubber or vinyl inserts
crushed stone, or another suitable designed to be placed in concrete
material larger than ¼ in. (6.4 mm) in joints to prevent water from
diameter. penetrating the joint.
Admixtures are materials other than
Isolation and separation joints are
portland cement, aggregates, and water often necessary to separate concrete
that are added to concrete either sections and prevent the bonding of one
immediately before or during its mixing concrete section with another, or to
to alter the properties of the concrete
separate a concrete section from
in a variety of ways. For example, they another material or structural part so
can be used to: that one can move independently of the
• Improve workability other.
• Reduce separation of coarse and The water-cement ratio selected should
fine aggregates due to settling be the lowest value required to meet
out of the heavier coarse design requirements such as durability,
aggregate strength, and impermeability.
• Entrain air
Concrete that will be exposed to a
• Accelerate or retard setting and
combination of wet-dry and freeze-thaw
hardening
cycling and de-icing chemicals requires
Water-reducing admixtures, permit a the following for durability:
lower water content, improve
• a low water-cement ratio,
workability, and increase the
efficiency of the portland cement in a • air-entrainment,
mix, which lowers a concrete's cost • suitable materials,
relative to its performance. • adequate curing, and
• good construction practices.
High-range water-reducing admixtures
(super plasticizers) are mostly used in A plastic concrete is one that is
concrete that is to be pumped. They readily molded and yet will change its
produce a mix that flows easily, with form only slowly if the mold is
no increase in its water content. removed.
Retarders- admixtures that have a Concrete is handled and transported by:
retarding effect on the set of portland
cement overcome the accelerating effect • Chutes
that temperature has on setting during • Push buggies
hot weather and in large masses of • Buckets handled by cranes
concrete, and delay the early • Pumping through a pipeline
stiffening of concrete placed under
• Pneumatically forcing through a
difficult conditions.
hose (shotcrete)
Accelerators increase the rate of early
Concrete is either delivered to the
strength development in concrete.
site by truck or, in small projects,
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mixed at the site and moved to its moving a straightedge back and forth
placement location by: with a sawlike motion across the top of
the forms and screeds
• Dumping directly from a truck's
chute. Leveling is the bringing of a concrete
• Buggy. surface to true grade with enough
mortar to produce the desired finish.
• Dumping from a truck's chute into
a large bucket, which is then Edging rounds off the formed edge of a
lifted by crane and deposited in slab to prevent chipping or damage.
its proper location.
• Dumping from a truck into a Jointing. Except when joints will be
concrete pump which delivers the later sawed, immediately following or
mix to its final location through during edging, premolded inserts are
a hose. Pumps are capable of placed in concrete slabs to control
delivering concrete over long cracking in the concrete as a result of
distances and up many floors. shrinkage.
The movement of plastic concrete into In general, floating may be done when
its final position (usually within the water sheen has disappeared and the
forms) is called placing. concrete will support the weight of the
finisher.
Shotcrete is pneumatically placed
concrete, used primarily for swimming The purpose of floating is to:
pools and other in-ground and • Embed large aggregate just
aboveground free-form structures and beneath the surface
for repairing damaged concrete.
• Remove slight imperfections,
Concrete should be compacted by a humps, and voids to produce a
method appropriate to the material and level or plane surface
its location to: • Consolidate mortar at the surface
in preparation for other
• Eliminate stone pockets and large finishing operations
air bubbles
• Open the surface to permit excess
• Consolidate each layer with that moisture to escape
previously placed
• Completely embed reinforcing and Troweling is done on slabs that are to
fixtures be left exposed or to receive thin
• Bring just enough fine material finishes, such as resilient flooring,
to the faces and top surfaces to carpet, tile, or paint.
produce the desired finish Broom Finishing. Steel-troweled
Medium- to high-slump concrete should concrete surfaces are very smooth and
be compacted and worked into place by become slippery when wet. They can be
spading or puddling. slightly roughened to produce a nonslip
surface by brushing or brooming them.
The finishing of standard-weight
concrete slabs proceeds through several Scaling is the breaking away of the
steps in a defined order. These steps hardened concrete surface of a slab to
are screeding, leveling, edging, a depth of about 1/6 to 3/16 in. (1.6
jointing, floating, troweling, and to 4.8 mm). It usually occurs at an
broom finishing or other surface early age of the slab.
texturing. Crazing is the occurrence of numerous
Generally, the dry materials used in fine hair cracks in the surface of a
making quality concrete are heavier newly hardened slab due to surface
than water. Thus, shortly after shrinkage.
placement, they have a tendency to Dusting is the appearance of a powdery
settle to the bottom and displace the material on the surface of a newly
mixing water to the surface, which is hardened concrete slab.
called bleeding.
Fuel-resistant asphalt, often based on
Screeding. The surface of newly placed a polymer-modified asphalt (PMA), is
concrete is struck off (screeded) by available and has demonstrated high
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bottom of the cut, this condition is plastic tube cast into the member)
called boiling or piping. under tension after the concrete member
has been erected.
Lateral support for the sides of an
excavation is usually provided by Consolidation is the process of
shoring. removing air voids in concrete as it is
placed.
Lagging is nothing more than sheeting
placed horizontally. Finishing is the process of bringing
the surface of concrete to its final
Sheet piling is sheeting of concrete, position and imparting the desired
steel, or timber that is designed to be
surface texture.
driven by a pile driver.
Vacuum dewatering may be employed to
Trench shields or trench boxes are used reduce the amount of free water present
in place of shoring to protect workers in plastic concrete after the concrete
during trenching operations. has been placed and screeded.
Dewatering is the process of removing Masonry
water from an excavation.
The five most common pattern bonds are
Soil permeability, or the ease with the running bond, common bond, Flemish
which water flows through the soil, is bond, English bond, and stack bond.
primarily a function of a soil’s grain
size distribution. Running bond uses only stretcher
courses with head joints centered over
Technically, a wellpoint is the stretchers in the course below.
perforated assembly placed on the
bottom of the inlet pipe for a well. Common bond uses a header course
repeated at regular intervals; usually
Vacuum wells are wellpoints that are every fifth, sixth, or seventh course.
sealed at the surface by placing a ring
of bentonite or clay around the well Flemish bond alternates stretchers and
casing. headers in each course with headers
centered over stretchers in the course
Electroosmosis is the process of below.
accelerating the flow of water through
a soil by the application of a direct English bond is made up of alternate
current. courses of headers and stretchers, with
headers centered on stretchers.
Grouting or pressure grouting is the
process of injecting a grouting agent Stack bond provides no interlocking
into soil or rock to increase its between adjacent masonry units and is
strength or stability, protect used for its architectural effect.
foundations, or reduce groundwater
flow. A bond beam is a continuously
reinforced horizontal beam of concrete
Flat Slabs. Slabs may be supported or masonry designed to provide
directly by columns without the use of additional strength and to prevent
beams or joists. cracking in a masonry wall.
Precast concrete is concrete that has Expansion or control joints in masonry
been cast into the desired shape prior walls are used to permit differential
to placement in a structure. movement of wall sections caused by
shrinkage of concrete foundations and
Prestressed concrete is concrete to floor slabs, temperature and moisture
which an initial compression load has changes, and foundation settlement.
been applied.
Flashing consists of layers of
Pretensioning places the prestressing impervious material used to seal out
material (reinforcing steel or moisture or to direct any moisture that
prestressing cables) under tension in does penetrate back to the outside.
the concrete form before the member is
poured. The bar graph or bar chart schedule is
a graphical schedule relating progress
Posttensioning places the prestressing of items of work to a time schedule.
steel (usually placed inside a metal or
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The major difference between CPM and Operating costs, however, are incurred
PERT is that PERT utilizes probability only when the equipment is used.
concepts to deal with the uncertainty
associated with activitytime Depreciation represents the decline in
estimates, whereas CPM assigns each market value of an item of equipment
activity a single fixed duration. due to age, wear, deterioration, and
obsolescence.
In the activity-on-arrow format, each
activity is represented by an arrow Investment cost (or interest)
that has an associated description and represents the annual cost (converted
expected duration. to an hourly cost) of the capital
invested in a machine.
Dummy Activity. They do not represent
any work and, hence, always have a Insurance cost represents the cost of
duration of zero. fire, theft, accident, and liability
insurance for the equipment.
Early event time. The earliest time at
which each event may occur based on an Tax cost represents the cost of
property tax and licenses for the
arbitrary starting time of zero.
equipment.
That path through the network which
establishes the minimum project Storage cost represents the cost of
duration is referred to as the critical rent and maintenance for equipment
storage yards and facilities, the wages
path.
of guards and employees involved in
Float (slack in PERT terminology) is handling equipment in and out of
the amount of scheduling leeway storage, and associated direct
available to an activity. overhead.
A simple form of the activity on-node Total equipment owning cost is found as
diagram is the circle diagram or circle the sum of depreciation, investment,
notation, in which each activity is insurance, tax, and storage.
represented by a circle containing the
activity description, an identifying Service cost represents the cost of
number, and the activity duration. oil, hydraulic fluids, grease, and
filters as well as the labor required
The precedence diagram is an extension to perform routine maintenance service.
of the activity-on node format that
provides for incorporation of lag-time Repair cost represents the cost of all
factors as well as permitting equipment repair and maintenance.
additional precedence relationships. Financial planning for a construction
When all activities are scheduled to project includes cost estimating prior
start at the earliest allowable time, to bidding or negotiating a contract,
such a schedule is referred to as an forecasting project income and
early start schedule. expenditure (or cash flow), and
determining the amount of work that a
When all activities are started at construction firm can safely undertake
their latest allowable starting time, at one time
a late start schedule is produced.
Cost estimating involves estimating the
Owning costs are fixed costs that are total cost to carry out a construction
incurred each year whether the project in accordance with the plans
equipment is operated or not. and specifications.
Owning costs are made up of the Project cost control involves the
following principal elements: measurement and recording of project
costs and progress and a comparison
• Depreciation. between actual and planned performance.
• Investment (or interest) cost.
The qualification of a contractor is
• Insurance cost.
the determination that the contractor
• Taxes.
possesses both the technical and
• Storage cost. financial ability to perform the work
required by the contract.
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