Materials Final Exam

Quizzes and Notes

What is soil?

A thin layer of material on the Earth’s surface in which plants have their roots.

What is soil made up of?

Weathered rock, minerals, decayed or decomposed plants, and animal matter

How many layers of earth are there for soil?

4

What is the first horizon of earth (upper layer of soil)?

Horizon A: the upper layer of soil (topsoil) that prevents erosion, holds moisture, and decays to form humus

What is the second horizon of earth?

Horizon B: contains a high concentration of leached soluble chemicals from Horizon A

What is the third horizon of earth?

Horizon C: weatherized and shattered rock

What is the fourth horizon of earth?

Horizon: Bedrock

What are the three soil types?

Sand, Clay, and Silt

What is Loam?

A soil consisting of a friable (easily crumbled) mixture of varying proportions of clay, silt, and sand.

How many earth structures are there?

5

What are the types of earth structures?

Pise (Rammed Earth), Earth Blocks (ADOBE), Sandbag, Extended Earth Tubes, and Earth Loaves + Cob

What are some aggregates and additives in earth structures?

Lime, Cement, and Natural Fibers

What are the top 5 suppliers of stone to the us?

Italy, China, India, Brazil, and Turkey

What are the three types of stone?

Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary

Where does stone come from?

The earth, dug out from quarries

What are the three types of quarries?

open air, gallery/tunnel, and pits

Stone extraction is based on what three fundamental principles?

Levering, Splitting, and channeling (carving)

What is levering?

expanding open fractures by inserting levers, crowbars or stones

What is splitting?

creating fractures (planar by strokes with a sledge hammer)(wedging by heating or blasting with explosives)

What is channeling (carving)?

making channels in the rock by carving with hammer and chisel, pickaxe or stone tools, heating with fire, sawing or drilling

How are stones named?

Based on their mineral composition, physical traits (color, luster, banding), discovery location, or people associated with them

What are the two cuts of stone?

Fleuri cut and Vein cut

What is a Fleuri Cut?

With the bed, little to no veining, good for horizontal (skyward) installations

What is a Vein Cut?

Across the bed, concentration of veining will differ depending on stone type and location in quarry

What tools are used for extracting stone?

Gang saws, mechanical saws, diamond wire, drills, chisels, hammers, etc.

What are the three main ingredients for glass

Sand, Lime, and Soda-Ash

What are the benefits of using glass?

Allows entry of natural light, provide “views” of exterior environment, and entry of sunlight provides warmth

What are the disadvantages of using glass?

Limits occupant’s privacy, lower resistance to thermal transmission, and initial/operating costs

When was glass first used in windows?

Roman times

What is the Early Processes of Crown Glass?

Heated glass blown into a sphere, reheated and spun on punty (rod), sphere becomes a disk, then cooled and cut into pieces

What is the Early Processes of Cylinder Glass?

Heated glass blown into sphere, swung like a pendulum, elongated into a cylinder, ends cut off, split lengthwise, reheated, opened, flattened into rectangular sheet, then cut into pieces

When was plate Glass introduced?

17th Century

What is the Processes of Plate Glass?

Molten glass cast into frames, spread into sheets by rollers, cooled, each side ground/polished

Why is float glass called float glass?

The glass floated across a bath of molten tin during the production process

What is Drawn Glass?

Flat sheets of glass drawn directly from a molten glass container

What did Drawn Glass replace and when?

Replaced cylinder glass in the early 20th century

When was float glass invented?

the process was invented in 1959 in England and 1963 in the US

What is glass?

a supercooled liquid with no fixed melting point and an open, non crystalline microstructure

What are individual sheets of glass called?

Lites

What is the name/type of glass that is opaque?

Spandrel Glass

What is Butt-Joint Glazing

Glass with a head and sill but the vertical mullions have been eliminated

What percent of float glass allows light through?

depends on the thickness and tinting/coating of the glass, but clear float glass typically lets 75% to over 90% of visible light pass through

What is the thickness range of float glass for the construction industry?

2 to 25 mm, but 0.5 mm is available for the electronic industry

How many faces does a two pane (dual-pane) window have?

four - two outer surfaces and two inner surfaces separated by an insulating gas space

What is a slump test?

measures workability and consistency from one batch of concrete to the next

What are the ingredients of concrete?

Portland cement, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, water, and admixtures

How do the portions of ingredients in concrete affect it?

they affect the strength, plasticity, workability, and resistance

what is a “cold” joint?

when the first layer hardens before the second layer is poured

What are the benefits of concrete?

it is versatile, pliable when mixed, strong and durable, does not rust or rot, does not need a coating, and resists fire

What is the unit of measurement for cement?

cubic yard

Is concrete good in tension or compression?

compression

What are admixtures?

used to alter concrete properties, there are air-entraining admixtures, high range water-reducers, accelerators to the curing process, workability agents, coloring agents, etc.

What are the requirements for quality concrete?

Proper selection of materials, (correct proportioning, mixing, and material transport), careful placing and consolidation, skillful finishing, and adequate curing

What is a concrete mix design?

a process to establish the desired workability, physical properties, and acceptable cost

When is a compression test done?

after 7 and 28 days

How many days does it take to cure?

28 days

What types of concrete can be used for geotech?

Lightweight Cellular Concrete (LLC), Pervious Concrete, Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM), and specialized cements like Portland composite or Pozzolanic cement

What reinforcing is used in concrete?

Steel rebar, Welded wire mesh, and/or Fibers

What is Geotechnical engineering?

a branch of civil engineering that applies the principles of soil and rock mechanics to the investigation, design, and construction of foundations, earth structures, and other infrastructure.

What are the three clay tile types?

Brick clays, Terracotta, and Mosaic

Why are soil borings and geotechnical survey so important when working on a site?

It allows you to understand how stable the soil is on your site. It is an architects way of communicating with civil engineers.

What are Igneous rocks?

the oldest rocks, having been formed by the solidification of the molten core of the earth or magma

What are three types of Igneous Stone?

Balsait (rapid cooling), Granite (very dense), and Porphyry

What are three types of Sedimentary Stone?

Sandstone, Limestone, Travertine

What are three types of Metamorphic Stone?

Slate, Marble, and Quartzite

Who patented Portland Cement?

Aspdin (named after English Portland limestone)

What is manufactured by calcining natural calcium carbonate?

Lime - it is quarried, crushed, ground, washed and screened

What are the starting materials of Portland cement

Chalk and/or limestone, and clay

What are four cement admixtures?

Plasticisers, Super plasticisers, accelerators, and retarters

What are the properties of concrete aggregates?

Crushing Strength, Size, and Grading + Shape

What are four environmental impacts of wood?

ecological imbalance, habitat destruction, erosion, and water quality

What lumber is generally less expensive?

Plain Sawn

What lumber is used for thin veneers (unraveled tree)?

Rotary Sawn

What native species is used in Thorncrown/Fay Jones Buildings?

Southern Yellow Pine

What applies to assembly of worked timber that has been planed to smooth finish?

Joinery

What applies to assembly of worked timber that has been planed as rough sawn wood?

Carpentry

What are traditional Japanese wood joinery tools

Planes, Chisels + Hammer, Saws, etc.

What do Fungi need to grow?

Food, Moisture, Oxygen, and climate control

What materials are used for formwork with concrete?

Wood, Metal, Plastic/Fiberglass, and cardboard

What are the five types of formwork for concrete?

Horizontal Panel System, Jump Form, Slip Form, Table Form/Flying Form, Vertical Panel System

What is the difference between Thermosets and Thermoplastics?

Thermosets cannot be remelted and are not recyclable, while thermoplastics are recyclable

What are the four plastics in construction?

Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyvinyl Chloride, and Kevlar

What are the two properties of wood?

Softwood (seeds not enclosed in a pod) and Hardwood (Seeds in things like nuts)

What is one difference between hardwoods and softwoods?

hardwood cellular anatomy is tighter than softwoods which means the growth is slower

How long after being planted are trees ready for harvesting?

after 25 to 35 years

What happens between harvesting and replanting

there is a year and a half of preparing the land for replanting

What does it mean when wood is hygroscopic?

it expands when it absorbs moisture

What does uneven moisture content cause?

warping, crooking, cupping, and twisting

What do molds and stains do to wood?

they don’t ruin the structure/strength, they just change the appearance

What is the difference between heavy timber and mass timber?

heavy timber is a tree log cut into a stud while mass timber multiple laminated pieces of wood to make a stud

What is biodiversity?

the balancing of multiple ecosystems

Does industrial forestry only focus on trees?

No they focus on water, soil, wildlife, biodiversity, etc.

How much of mississippi is covered with trees?

over 60% roughly 19.2 to 19.9 million acres

Why is wood put underwater?

To reduce oxygen thus killing of fungi and most insects

Does putting wood underwater compromise its integrity?

No, wood that is constantly wet can last indefinitely

Does wood have structural limitations in building codes?

Yes, moisture content, fire resistance, allowable spans/loads, specific applications, etc.

What is OSB?

Oriented Strand Board - strands of wood are oriented in layers and bonded with resin and wax, creating strong, uniform panels.

What is MDF?

Medium Density Fiberboard - fine wood fibers mixed with resin and wax, pressed into dense, smooth sheets.

What is SLT?

Stress-Laminated Timber - an engineered wood product where multiple layers (laminations) of lumber are tightly compressed together using high-strength steel rods or tendons

What is LVL?

Laminated Veneer Lumber - a high-strength, engineered wood product made by bonding together multiple layers of thin wood veneers with adhesives.