# Civil Works Expert

https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/construction-and-architecture-2-c2

- CEFR: C2 (Proficient)
- Theme: Professional & Specialized
- Words: 22
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- Locked: no

How a dam or tunnel is watched for failure long after it opens: piezometers and inclinometers tracking pore water pressure and effective stress, the piping…

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## Word list

* **piping**: The formation of a narrow channel through a dam or its foundation as seeping water slowly carries soil particles away, which can widen until the structure collapses. — “Muddy water at the toe drain signalled early **piping** inside the embankment.”
* **heave**: An upward or outward movement of soil or rock that happens when water pressure beneath it becomes greater than the weight pressing down, common in excavations and cofferdams. — “Rising groundwater pressure caused dangerous **heave** at the base of the excavation.”
* **pore water pressure**: The pressure of water filling the tiny spaces between soil particles, which reduces how firmly the particles press against each other. — “Rapid loading raised the **pore water pressure** and weakened the clay layer.”
* **effective stress**: The share of the total pressure on a soil that is actually carried by the solid particles touching each other, once the pressure carried by water is taken away. — “As the **effective stress** dropped, the sandy layer lost its shear strength.”
* **factor of safety**: A number engineers calculate by comparing the forces holding a structure or slope stable against the forces trying to push it apart, showing how much margin remains before failure. — “The revised design raised the **factor of safety** for the spillway walls.”
* **piezometer**: An instrument installed in the ground or in a structure to measure how much pressure the water trapped inside it is under. — “Engineers read the **piezometer** weekly to track pressure inside the dam.”
* **inclinometer**: An instrument lowered into a borehole to measure tiny changes in the tilt of the ground or a structure over time, revealing slow movement underground. — “Data from the **inclinometer** showed the slope was slowly shifting downhill.”
* **instrumentation**: The complete set of monitoring devices installed in and around a structure, and the system used to record their readings, so engineers can track its behaviour over time. — “Extra **instrumentation** was installed after the review raised safety concerns.”
* **squeezing ground**: Rock or soil around a tunnel that slowly closes in on the excavated space because it cannot support its own weight once the tunnel is dug. — “The tunnel crew met **squeezing ground** that closed the bore overnight.”
* **face stability**: How well the exposed wall of soil or rock at the front of a tunnel excavation holds itself up without collapsing before support is installed. — “Poor **face stability** delayed the shield's advance for several days.”
* **convergence**: The gradual inward movement of a tunnel's walls and roof after excavation, measured to check whether the support is holding. — “Monitoring showed **convergence** of nearly 40 millimetres in one week.”
* **overbreak**: Rock removed beyond the planned excavation line during tunnelling or blasting, which is wasted material that must still be filled or supported. — “Poor blast design led to significant **overbreak** along the tunnel crown.”
* **consolidation grouting**: A programme of injecting a thick cement mixture into shallow, closely spaced holes in rock beneath a dam to close small cracks and stiffen the foundation. — “The foundation received **consolidation grouting** before any concrete was poured.”
* **alkali-silica reaction**: A slow chemical process inside concrete between certain minerals in the aggregate and substances in the cement, which creates a gel that swells and splits the concrete apart over years. — “Pale, glassy staining across the spillway piers pointed to **alkali-silica reaction**.”
* **thermal cracking**: Splits that appear in a large concrete pour, such as a dam block, when the hot centre cools and shrinks faster than the cooler outer surface, building up internal stress. — “Temperature monitoring during placement is meant to prevent **thermal cracking** in mass concrete.”
* **creep in concrete**: The slow, ongoing shortening of a concrete member under a load that stays in place for a long time, continuing years after the load was first applied. — “**Creep in concrete** was factored into the design of the prestressed girders.”
* **probable maximum flood**: The largest flood that could reasonably occur at a site, estimated from the worst realistic combination of rainfall and ground conditions, and used to size a dam's spillway. — “The spillway was sized to safely pass the **probable maximum flood**.”
* **scour**: The gradual removal of soil or rock from around the base of a structure by fast-moving water, which can undermine its foundation. — “Engineers monitored **scour** around the bridge piers after the storm.”
* **stilling basin**: A built concrete basin, often lined with baffle blocks, that forces fast spillway water into a turbulent standing wave to safely absorb its energy. — “Turbulent flow dissipated harmlessly inside the **stilling basin**.”
* **flip bucket**: A curved concrete ramp at the end of a spillway that throws high-speed water up and outward into the air, so it lands safely away from the dam's base. — “The **flip bucket** sent the spillway discharge arcing into the plunge pool.”
* **impervious core**: A zone of clay or similarly tight material built into the middle of an earth or rockfill dam to block water from seeping through its body. — “Compacted clay formed the **impervious core** of the earthfill dam.”
* **riprap**: Large loose stones placed on a slope or riverbank to stop the surface from wearing away under waves or fast-flowing water. — “Crews placed **riprap** along the reservoir's upstream face to resist wave action.”

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