Civil Engineering Materials and Soil Mechanics Lecture Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering civil engineering materials, concrete properties, soil mechanics, project planning, and sitework based on the lecture notes.

Shelby Tube

The sampler most widely used for obtaining undisturbed soil samples.

Fat Clay

According to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), a type of soil where the liquid limit is equal to or more than $50\,\%$.

Elevation Head and Pressure Head

The two terms that represent the total head at any point for the flow of water through a porous soil medium.

Vane Shear, Direct Shear, and Triaxial Tests

Laboratory procedures used to measure the shear strength of a soil.

Compaction Curve

A graph plotting dry unit weight versus moisture content for a soil sample.

Optimum Moisture Content

The moisture content of soil at which the maximum dry unit weight is attained.

Schedule 80 Steel

The pipe material recommended by the Chlorine Institute to carry liquid or dry gaseous chlorine under pressure.

Polyethylene

The recommended pipe material for a sewer pipeline planned in a wetland environment.

Hydration

A chemical reaction between water and cement that produces heat.

Calcium Chloride

An additive used in concrete to accelerate cement hydration.

Fineness Modulus

A measure of aggregate size where a higher value indicates a larger aggregate size.

Split Tensile Test

A test used to directly measure the tensile strength of concrete.

Fly Ash

A concrete additive used to reduce cement volume, increase workability, and reduce water content.

Type V Cement

The specific type of cement selected for construction of foundations exposed to heavy sulfate concentration.

Coulomb’s Earth Pressure Theory

An earth pressure theory that considers the roughness of the back of the retaining wall, unlike Rankine’s theory.

2:1 Method

A method used to calculate the stress increase at a specific depth beneath a foundation.

Punching Shear Failure

The type of failure mode expected in fairly loose foundation soil.

Ordinary Method of Slices

A slope stability analysis method based on the assumption that the side forces of each slice are neglected.

Critical Path

The sequence of activities in a project diagram that determines the minimum total duration required for the project.

Free Float (FF)

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of its successor activity.

Prismoidal Method

A mathematical technique used to calculate net total earthwork volume between multiple stations.

Swell

The property of soil to increase in volume after it is excavated from its bank (natural) state.

Shrinkage

The property of soil to decrease in volume after it has been compacted compared to its original bank state.

Angle of Repose

The steepest angle at which a sloping surface of loose material, like soil in a spoil pile, is stable.

Type C Soil

An OSHA soil classification for soil from which water is observed freely seeping from the sides of an excavation.

Balancing Line

A horizontal line on a mass diagram where the cut and fill between intersection points exactly balance.

Basket Hitch

A method for a sling to carry a load, where the capacity varies based on the angle (e.g., $90$ degrees or $60$ degrees).