Angle of Internal Friction-Theoretically a pure clay would have a value of 0° and φ would rise with increasing sand content and density to approximately 40° for a compact sandy loam soil. Loose sands range between 25 to 30°.
Ballast – Heavy material such as gravel, sand concrete used to stabilize a structure or in our case a lightweight pump chamber against the uplift forces of groundwater.
Bal-Last – The trade name for our product designed to secure lightweight pump chambers made of polyethylene mold filled with high strength concrete and made to conform to the outer pump chamber wall by interlocking with the chamber wall. This forms a structural bond to the pump chamber and provides an engineered ballast solution.
Buoyancy – The ability or tendency to float in water.
Concrete-Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that cures over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water and is the most widely used building material.
Density-Typically, concrete has a density of 150 pounds per cubic foot, which means that a block of concrete that is one foot wide, one foot long, and one foot high would weigh 150 pounds. Water has the density of only 62.4 pounds per cubic foot.
HDPE-High-density polyethylene or polyethylene high-density is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called “alkathene” or “polythene” when used for HDPE pipes.
Interlocking- Two or more things having parts that overlap or fit together.
LLDPE-Linear low-density polyethylene is a substantially linear polymer, with significant numbers of short branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with longer-chain olefins.
Saturated Soil- a soil in which the voids are filled with water. Saturation does not require flow. For the purposes of this definition, soils shall be considered saturated if standing water is present or if the pressure of a person standing on the soil causes the release of free water.