Concrete Waterproofing Glossary

Wagner Fineness

the fineness of portland cement, expressed as total surface area in square centimeters per gram, determined by the Wagner turbidimeter apparatus and procedure.

Wall

a vertical element used primarily to enclose or separate spaces.

Wall Form

a retainer or mold so erected as to give the necessary shape, support, andfinish to a concrete wall.

Warehouse Setting

(1) the partial hydration of cement stored for a time and exposed to atmospheric moisture;
(2) mechanical compaction occurring during storage. (See also sticky cement.)

Warping

out-of-plane deformation of the corners, edges, and surface of a pavement, slab, or wall panel from its original shape. (See also curling.)

a joint with the sole function of permitting warping of pavement slabs when moisture and temperature differentials occur between the top and bottom of the slabs, that is, longitudinal or transverse joints with bonded steel or tie bars passing through them

Wash Water

water carried on a truck mixer in a special tank for flushing the interior ofthe mixer after discharge of the concrete.

Water Blast

a system of cutting or abrading a surface such as concrete by a stream of water ejected from a nozzle at high velocity.

Water Ring

a device in the nozzle body of dry-mix shotcrete equipment through which water is added to the materials.

Water Void

void along the underside of an aggregate particle or reinforcing steel thatformed during the bleeding period, initially filled with bleed water.

Water-cement Ratio

the ratio of the mass of water, exclusive only of that absorbed by the aggregates, to the mass of portland cement in a cementitious mixture, stated as a decimal and abbreviated as w/c . (See also water-cementitious materials ratio.)

Water-cementitious Materials Ratio

the ratio of the mass of water, excluding that absorbed by the aggregate, to the mass of cementitious material in a mixture, stated as a decimal and abbreviated w / cm . (See also water-cement ratio.)

Water-reducing Admixture

an admixture that either increases slump of freshly mixed mortar or concrete without increasing water content, or maintains slump with a reduced amount of water, the effect being due to factors other than air entrainment.

Water-repellent

property of a surface that resists wetting (by matter in either liquid or vapor state) but permits passage of water when hydrostatic pressure occurs. (See also watertight.)

Water-resistant

see water-repellent (preferred term).

Waterproof

an idealized property of a material indicating imperviousness to water in either liquid or vapor state. (See also dampproofing.)
Note: because nothing can be completely impervious to water underinfinite pressure over infinite time, this term should not be

Waterproofed Cement

see water-repellent.

Waterproofing

see dampproofing (preferred term).

Waterproofing Compound

material used to impart water repellency to a structure or a constructional unit.

Waterstop

a thin sheet of metal, rubber, plastic, or other material inserted across a joint to obstruct the seepage of water through the joint.

Watertight

impermeable to water except when under hydrostatic pressure sufficient toproduce structural discontinuity by rupture.

Wearing Course

a topping or surface treatment to increase the resistance of a concretepavement or slab to abrasion.

Weathering

changes in color, texture, strength, chemical composition or other properties of a natural or artificial material due to the action of the weather.

Weigh Batching

measuring the constituent materials for mortar or concrete by mass.

Welded-wire Fabric

(obsolete) see welded-wire reinforcement (preferred term).

Well-graded Aggregate

aggregate having a particle-size distribution that produces high density, that is, low void space.

Wet

covered with visible free moisture.

Wet Process

in the manufacture of cement, the process in which the raw materials are ground, blended, mixed, and pumped while mixed with water. (See also dry process.)

Wet Screening

screening to remove from fresh concrete aggregate particles larger than a certain size.

Wet Sieving

use of water to facilitate sieving of a granular material on standard sieves.

Wet-cast Process

a process for producing concrete items, such as pipe, that uses concrete having a measurable slump, generally placed from above,and consolidated by vibration. (See also centrifugal process, dry-cast process, packerhead process, and tamp process.)

Wet-mix Shotcrete

shotcrete in which the ingredients, including water, are mixed before introduction into the delivery hose (also called wet-process shotcrete).

Wettest Stable Consistency

the condition of maximum water content at which cement grout and mortar will adhere to a vertical surface without sloughing.

Wetting Agent

a substance capable of lowering the surface tension of liquids, facilitating the wetting of solid surfaces and permitting the penetration of liquid into the capillaries.

White Cement

portland cement that hydrates to a white paste; made from raw materials oflow iron content, the clinker for which is fired by a reducing flame. wind load pressure or suction due to wind on part or all of a surface of a structure. wing pile a bearing pile,

Workability

that property of freshly mixed concrete or mortar that determines the ease with which it can be mixed, placed, consolidated, and finished to a homogenous condition.