| Blast Furnace Slag | (Concrete Engineering) A non-metallic waste product developed in the manufacture of pig iron, consisting basically of a mixture of lime, silica and alumina, the same oxides that make up portland cement, but not in the same proportions or forms. It is used both in the manufacture of portland blast furnace slag cement and as an aggregate for lightweight concrete. |
| Bleeding, Bleed Water | (Concrete Engineering) A form of segregation in which some of the water in a mix tends to rise to the surface of freshly placed concrete. Known also as water gain. |
| Capillarity | (Concrete Engineering) A wick-like action whereby a liquid will migrate vertically through material, in a upward direction; as oil in a lamp travels upward through the wick, |
| Carbonation | (Concrete Engineering) 1) Reaction between the products of portland cement (soluble calcium hydroxides), water and carbon dioxide to produce insoluble calcium carbonate (efflorescence). 2) Soft white, chalky surface dusting of freshly placed, unhardened concrete caused by carbon dioxide from unvented heaters or gasoline powered equipment in an enclosed space. 3) Carbonated, dense, impermeable to absorption, top layer of the surface of concrete caused by surface reaction to carbon dioxide. This carbonated layer becomes denser and deeper over a period of time. 4) Reaction with carbon dioxide which produces a slight shrinkage in concrete. Improves chemical stability. Concrete masonry units during manufacturing may be deliberately exposed to carbon dioxide after reaching 80% strength to induce carbonation shrinkage to make the units more dimensionally stable. Future drying shrinkage is reduced by as much as 30%. |
| HRM High Reactivity Metakaolin. | (Concrete Engineering) Refined form of an ASTM C618, Class N (natural) pozzolan. A high performance, mineral admixture, similar in performance to silica fume, additionally comparable in cost. Pure white powdered in form will, not effect the natural color or darken concrete as silica fume does. Suitable for high-performance color matching in architectural concrete. Dosage at 5% to 10%, of cement by weight. No bleed water, better finishability, more creamy, cleanup is easier with slightly higher 28 day strengths and 25% - 35% less plasticizer is required than silica fume. |
| Hydrogenesis | (Concrete Engineering) Another term for condensation. The term is especially applied to base and soil substrates under highway pavements. where the barometric pump causes the inhalation of humid air, which then condenses in those structures, causing an ever increasing moisture content and sometimes instability. |
| Hydrologic Cycle | (Concrete Engineering) The Hydrologic Cycle consists of the evaporation of water from oceans and other bodies of open water; condensation to produce cloud formations; precipitation of rain, snow, sleet or hail upon land surfaces; dissipation of rain or melted solids by direct run-off into lakes and by seepage into the soil. Thereby producing a continuing endless source of water in the sub-grade. |
| Impermeable | (Concrete Engineering) The ability of a material or product to reduce or eliminate gaseous transmissions through it's mass; measured as the rate of Water Vapor Transmission (WVT). Note: Not all materials that are waterproof are vaporproof; all materials that are vaporproof are inherently waterproof. |
| Neat Cement-Paste | (Concrete Engineering) A mixture of water and hydraulic cement, both before and after setting and hardening. |
| Non-evaporable Water | (Concrete Engineering) The water in concrete which is irremovable by oven drying; chemically combined during cement hydration. |