Cement Alternatives

There are alternatives materials that can supplement clinker without compromising the performance of cement as a construction material. These materials have inherent cementitious qualities and are classified into two types: mineral additions and supplementary cementitious materials. The advantage of using these alternatives to clinker is that it reduces the amount of clinker produced, with consequent savings in raw materials, electricity, fuel, and emissions. Cements using these materials are called blended cements.

Mineral additions such as ground limestone can be added in small amounts at the final grinding stage of cement manufacturing.

Supplementary cementitious materials include fly ash (from coal-burning power stations), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (from the steel industry) and silica fume. The use of SCMs reduces the quantity of clinker or cement required. They are added to cement either through intergrinding with cement clinker or by blending with cement after grinding; or can be added during concrete batching to supplement the cement. Because of differences in chemistry, SCMs affect the performance of cement in concrete to suit different applications.

The use of SCMs allows the industry to maintain the performance expected of cement while reducing the amount of clinker required in cement. As a result, this reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases, a key measure in the industry of environmental performance

b) Read the text again and make a list of additional topical vocabulary (10 to 15 words and word-combinations). Consult a dictionary to finalise the choice of the Russian equivalents. Memorise the new vocabulary.

Discussions

1. Why is China the biggest consumer of concrete, do you think?

2. Is it possible to construct reliable buildings without cement and concrete?

3. Building a country house what type of concrete will you need? How much of it will you use?

4. Are residential buidings from concrete blocks practical and healthy? Are they good in our climate?

Unit 6. Wood and wood-based materials

Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Vocabulary to memorise

1. fibrous [‘faibrəs] - волокнистый, жилистый, фиброзный

2. lumber [‘lʌmbə] амер. - пиломатериалы; строевой лес, брёвна

3. timber [‘timbə] брит. - лесоматериалы; строевой лес; древесина

4. board [bɔ:d] - доска; планка

5. plank [plæɳk] - брус; толстая доска; планка

6. bending - изгибание, сгибание; изгиб, кривизна

7. log - бревно; кряж; лесоматериал, годный для распиловки

8. bark [ba:k] - кора (дерева)

9. personal ['pə:snl] wood-lot - частный лесной участок

10. harvest ['ha:vist] trees - заготавливать древесину

11. mechanizing ['mekənaiziɳ] saw - бензо-/электропила

12. dimensional lumber - мерный пиломатериал; пиломатериалы стандартных размеров

13. felling ['feliɳ] - рубка, вал а (леса)

14. wood pulp [wudpʌlp] - древесная масса; целлюлоза

15. pulpwood [pʌlpwud] - балансы, балансовая древесина

16. rough [rʌf] lumber - нестроганый пиломатериал

17. finished ['fini∫t] lumber - готовый, отделанный, обработанный пиломатериал

18. furniture-making ['fə:nit∫ə] - изготовление мебели

19. cutting ['kʌtiɳ] - резание, обработка резанием; резка

20. shaping ['∫eipiɳ] - придание формы; формирование, фасонирование

21. hardwood ['ha:dwud] - твёрдая древесина; древесина лиственных пород

22. softwood ['sɔftwud] - мягкая древесина; хвойная древесина

23. coniferous [kəu'nifərəs] - хвойный, шишконосный

24. high-grade flooring - высокосортные половые доски; высококачественный настил пола;

25. timber-framed construction – деревянная рамная конструкция, деревянное каркасное строительство

26. supporting material - подпорный материал; вспомогательный, дополнительный материал

27. interior [in'tiəriə] doors - внутренние двери

28. door frame - дверная коробка

29. exterior [eks'tiəriə] cladding - наружная обшивка стен; облицовка (стен)

30. sawn [sɔ:n] planks - обработанный брус (толстая доска)

31. shuttering material - опалубка

32. break down (broke, broken) - измельчать

33. chips [t∫ip] - щепа, крошка, стружка

34. cellulose ['seljuləus] - клетчатка; целлюлоза

35. chipboard ['t∫ipbɔ:d] - древесно-стружечная плита, ДСП

36. engineered wood – композитные материалы на основе древесины; инженерные деревянные элементы;

37. hardboard - твёрдая - древесно-волокнистая плита; сверхтвердая древесно-волокнистая плита; твёрдый картон

38. fiberboard [‘faibəbɔ:d] - древесно-волокнистая плита

39. medium-density fiberboard (MDF) - древесно-волокнистая плита средней плотности

40. oriented ['ɔ:rientid] strand board (OSB) - ориентированно-стружечная плита; структурно-ориентированная плита

41. wood derivatives [di'rivətiv] - производные, вторичные древесные материалы

42. laminate flooring – ламинированные напольные покрытия

Pre-Reading exercises

Ex. 1. Match the adjective in A with a noun in B and translate the phrases, e.g.: fibrous plant ‘волокнистое растение’.

A	B
fibrous	structure
various	production
large	material
mass	size
dimensional	species
modern	cladding
structural	style
standard	lumber
coniferous	uses
exterior	plant

Ex. 2. Translate the following verbs. Consult the dictionary to make sure. Divide the verbs into two groups:

A) – standard (regular),

B) – non-standard (irregular).

cut; press; use; keep; be; compress; bend; grow; decide; process; need; strip; notch; have; harvest; build; tend; put; make; supply; finish; require; shape; include; begin; find; know; fell; saw; form; pour.

Revise the forms of the non-standard verbs.

Ex. 3. Translate the word combinations, consisting of participles in the attributive position and nouns:

A) participle I + noun;

B) participle II + noun.

A) growing conditions; supporting material; building materials; mechanizing saws; shuttering material; differing qualities;

B) unprocessed form; needed length; finished lumber; timber-framed construction; felled trees; sawn planks; reinforced concrete; engineered wood; oriented strand board.

Ex. 4. Fill in the gaps with the proper preposition from the suggested list: of, for, in, under, as.

product ____ trees; used ____ construction purposes; used ____ building; flexible ____ load; different types ____ wood; important ____ deciding quality; production ____ dimensional lumber; material ____ construction; available ____ many species; to supply ____ standard sizes; commonly known ____ lumber; unsuitable ____ construction

Ex. 5. Look through the nouns which are to be transformed into verbs. Divide them into two groups:

A) conversion verbs (requiring no changes in the form);

B) derivational verbs (adding suffixes or prefixes).

Product; strength; quality; condition; form; length; bark; part; harvest; material; construction; shape; industry; shelter; house; frame; shutter; chip; engineer

Make the necessary changes.

Consult a dictionary and translate both the nouns and the verbs.

Ex. 6. Translate the following words and word combinations:

flexible under load; incredibly strong; to compress vertically; tree species; for deciding quality; in unprocessed form; stripped of bark; a personal wood-lot; to harvest trees; to tend to a wood-lot; invention of mechanizing saw; dimensional lumber; to put up a building; lumber/timber; wood pulp for paper production; to supply rough lumber; finished lumber; pulpwood; furniture-making; shaping; hardwood; in standard sizes; softwood from coniferous species; high-grade flooring; building shelters; domestic housing; timber-framed construction; supporting material; in roof construction; interior doors; door frames; exterior cladding; felled trees; sawn planks; shuttering material; to form mould; wood in its native form; may be broken down mechanically; chipboard; engineered wood; medium-density fiberboard (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB); wood derivatives; wood fiber; laminate flooring.

Read text 1 ‘WOOD’ and find information on the following:

• unprocessed wood, its forms and uses,

• processed wood, its form and uses,

• engineered wood, its forms and uses.

Then read the text again and do the text-based exercises coming after the text.