Civil Engineering Dictionary Terms : A

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Sr.TermDefinition
1AbrasionThe process of wearing away by friction.
2AbutmentA concrete support wall constructed at both ends of a bridge or an arch, in order to resist the horizontal force from the bridge or the arch, support the ends of the bridge span and to prevent the bank from sliding under.
3AcceleratorA substance such as calcium chloride (CaCl2), added in small quantities (max. 0.03% of the cement) to plain concrete to hasten its hardening rate, its set or both.
4AcquisitionThe process of obtaining Right-of-Way.
5Active Earth PressureThe horizontal push from earth onto a wall. The active earth force from sand on to a free retaining wall is equivalent to that from a fluid of density 0.25 to 0.30 times that of the sand. The force from sand on to a fixed retaining wall is very much more.
6Addendum Or AddendaWritten instruments or documents issued prior to the execution of a contract to modify or revise the bidding documents.
7Adhesion Or BondThe sticking together of structural parts by mechanical or chemical bonding using a cement or glue.
8Admixture Or AdditiveA substance other than aggregate, cement or water, added in small quantities to the concrete mix to alter its properties or those of the hard concrete. The most important admixtures for concrete are accelerators, air-entraining agents, plasticizers and retarders.
9Affidavit Of Non-CollusionA sworn statement, by bidders for the same work, that their proposal prices were arrived at independently without consultation or a secret agreement or cooperation for a fraudulent or deceitful purpose between or among them.
10AgentThe person who legally represents the contractor and acts for him on all occasions. He is often a Civil Engineer
11Air-Entrained ConcreteA concrete used for constructing roads. It has about 5% air and is therefore less dense than ordinary good concrete, but it has excellent freeze-thaw resistance. The strength loss is roughly 5% for each 1% air entrained. Air entrained concrete produced by adding an admixture to concrete or cement, which drags small bubbles of air (Smaller than 1 mm in diameter) into the concrete mix. The bubbles increase the workability and allowing both sand and water contents to be reduced.
12Alignment(1) The fixing of points on the ground in the correct lines for setting out a road, railway, wall, transmission line, canal, etc. (2) A ground plan showing a route, as opposed to a profile or section, which shows levels and elevations.
13AppurtenanceAn item which belong with, or is designed to complement something else (For example, a manhole is a sewer appurtenance.)
14ApronA floor constructed along the channel bottom to prevent scour. Aprons are almost always extension of culverts.
15AquiferAn underground source of water capable of supplying a well.
16Arithmetic MeanThe average value which is defined as the sum of all of the observations divided by the number of observations.
17Artesion WellA spring which water flows naturally out of the earth’s surface due to pressure placed on the water by an impervious overburden and hydro-static head.
18Arterial HighwayA general term denoting a highway primarily for through traffic usually on a continuous route.
19As-Built Drawings Or Record DrawingsConstruction drawings revised to show significant changes made during the construction process, usually based on marked-up prints, drawings and other data furnished by the contractor or the Engineer.
20Asphaltic Concrete Friction Course (Acfc)A hot mixture of asphalt cement with an open-graded aggregate (20% to 25% air voids) of a maximum size of 3/8 inch used as a surface (Wearing) course.
21Asphalt Rubber (Ar)A mixture of asphalt cement and rubber used as a crack sealent, binder, or membrane.
22Asphaltic Concrete (Asphalt Rubber)A hot mixture of asphalt cement, rubber, fine and coarse aggregate and mineral admixture mixed together and placed as an asphaltic concrete pavement surface layer. The advantages of this mix are: It stops cracks from reflecting through pavement layers, reduce the riding tires noise and is a useful way to dispose of the used rubber tires.
23Auxiliary LaneThe portion of a roadway adjoining the traveled way for truck climbing, speed change or for other purposes supplementary to through traffic movement.

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