Geotechnical Engineering Terms

noun a wall used to support or retain soil or water on one side

• The retaining wall was constructed to prevent soil erosion in the hilly area.
• They built a retaining wall to stop the soil from sliding down the slope.
• We put up a big wall to hold back the dirt on the hill.
• Sometimes we need a mental retaining wall to keep negative thoughts from overwhelming us.

noun material used to refill an excavated area or hole

verb to refill an excavated area or hole with material

• The construction crew used backfill to fill in the trench after laying the utility lines.
• We need to backfill the hole in the backyard before the party tomorrow.
• Hey, can you help me backfill this project before the deadline?
• She tried to backfill her lack of experience with confidence during the interview.

noun a record or graph of acceleration as a function of time, typically resulting from a seismic event

• The engineers used accelerograms to study the ground motion during the earthquake.
• I saw some cool accelerogram graphs in my geology class today.
• Check out this accelerogram data, it's pretty wild!
• The accelerogram of her emotions showed a sudden spike when she received the news.

noun a record of acceleration as a function of time, used in earthquake engineering to study the effects of earthquakes on structures

• Accelerograms are used in structural engineering to study the response of buildings to seismic activity.
• Scientists use accelerograms to see how buildings shake during earthquakes.
• Yo, check out these accelerograms showing how buildings wiggle when the ground shakes!
• The accelerograms of her emotions showed a sudden spike when she received the news.

noun a condition in which something is frozen or stuck together by ice

verb to freeze or become stuck together by ice

• Adfreeze is a term used in geotechnical engineering to describe the freezing of soil around a structure.
• I had never heard of adfreeze until I started studying civil engineering.
• I'm so over this adfreeze weather, I need some sunshine!
• The tension in the room was like an adfreeze, nobody wanted to make a move.