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Glossary of Concrete Terms
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Accelerator - an admixture used to quicken the set time of concrete.
Cementitious - is a material containing portland cement, for one of the components for being cement-like.
Concrete consists of aggregate (sand, gravel), cement, and water.
Concrete Surface Profile - degree of roughness of a concrete pad.
Curing - something used to maintain good moisture and temperature in freshly poured concrete, will help in adequate hydration and better hardening.
Exposed Aggregate - concrete that was mixed with pea gravel and concrete is then washed off with a power washer to expose pea gravel.
Stamped Concrete - concrete flatwork which has been patterned with stamping mats to make the concrete look like flagstone, brick, or stone. bleed through - Color change caused by the diffusion of color from an underlying surface.
bleed water (bleeding) - Water that rises to the surface of freshly placed concrete due to segregation. Bleeding may interfere with finishingoperations. If a dry-shake color hardener is being applied to the concrete surface, some bleed water is needed to wet out the hardener sufficiently so it can be floated into the surface.
blistering - The formation of blisters in toppings or coatings and the loss of adhesion with the underlying substrate. On concrete surfaces, this is often caused by moisture or moisture vapor transmission problems.
bond - The degree of adhesion or grip of a material (such as coatings, toppings, repair mortars, or sealers) to an existing surface.
bonding agent - An adhesive agent used to increase the adherence of coatings or toppings to the existing surface. Also used to bond new concrete to old. Also known as a primer.
bond breaker - A material that prevents adhesion of materials to a concrete substrate.
broadcast - To hand toss a dry-shake color hardener,decorative aggregate, or other dry material in a uniform layer over fresh concrete, overlays, or coatings to add color or traction. (Also see seeding.)
broom finish - Surface texture obtained by pushing a broom over freshly placed concrete.
build - The wet or dry thickness of a coating or topping. (Also see high-build coating
bull float - A tool with a 3- to 4-foot rectangular blade made of wood, resin, aluminum, or magnesium. Used to eliminate high and low spots in freshly placed concrete slabs, embed large aggregate at the surface, bring a layer of paste to the surface needed during final finishing, and float in dry-shake color hardener. Long handles either clip on or screw into the float head so it can be pushed out onto the slab while the user stands at the perimeter. (Also see hand float.)
bush hammer - A percussive hammer with rows of pyramid-shaped points used to roughen or profile a concrete surface.
fibers Tiny filaments made of polypropylene, polyolefin, nylon, polyethylene, polyester, or acrylic used to control shrinkage cracking. Fibers do not provide structural reinforcement
Unit water content
The quantity of water per unit of freshly mixed concrete, often expressed as gallons or pounds per cubic yard. This is the quantity of water on which the water cement ratio is based, and does not include water absorbed by the concrete aggregate mix.
Masonry Cement - Hydraulic cement manufactured for use in mortars for masonry construction. Normally a blend of one or more of the following materials: portland cement, portland-pozzolan , hydraulic lime, hydrated lime, pulverized limestone, pozzolan, clay or gypsum; also may include air en-training additions. Baged cement comes in type s and n
Ultimate Strength - The maximum resistance to loads that a concrete slabr is capable of developing before failure occurs, or, with reference to cross sections of members, the largest axial force, shear or moment a structural concrete cross section will support.
Unit Water Content - The quantity of water per unit volume of freshly mixed concrete, often expressed as gallons or pounds per cubic yard. This is the quantity of water on which the water cement ratio is based, and does not include water absorbed by the aggregate.
Vapor Pressure - The pressure exerted by a vapor that is based upon relative humidity and temperature. The higher the humidity and higher temperature the greater the vapor pressure exerted.
Vapor - When a liquid changes to a gaseous form. The ability of the gas to hold moisture will reduce as temperatures reduce; more moisture can be contained in the gas as the temperatures increase.
Vaporproof - concrete that is totally immune to the passage of a gas under pressure. Any masonary material that is truly vapor proof will be waterproof.
Vibration - Energetic agitation of concrete to assist in its consolidation, produced by mechanical oscillating devices at moderately high frequencies. External vibration uses a device attached to the concrete form and is great in the manufacture of pre cast of concrete forms. Vibration employs a tool which can be inserted into the concrete base, and is more generally used for cast in place construction.
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