Water Drinking Concrete
Another one of those cool things that shows up in my Facebook feed. News of a new type of concrete that absorbs a whole lot of water, thus believed to be some use in alleviating flooding. I'm wondering if claims are oversimplified? Don't get me wrong. I think it's neat, but maybe one of those easier said, or thought, than done things.
After all, the concrete soaks up lots of water, but where does the water go? Depending on the ground beneath it, it could very well get too much water and flood anyway, unless some pretty heavy duty work was done beneath the road to drain off the excess. And if you had to do that, how much would this increase the cost of a mile of roadway? Never mind the maintenance costs the article alludes to.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:52 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I could be wrong, but I think a version of this was used when they re-did the freeway in Arcata. I happened to walk by on a rainy day and noticed that while water stayed on the roadway on the older part of the road, splashing as cars went over it, the new part of the road seemed to have none of that surface flow, and no splashing. No big clouds of mist behind fast moving cars. I thought of this product when I saw that.
I'm with you on it probably not being all that they showed in the video. But it sure seemed to do great with the small puddles that are normally, or perhaps in this case were normally, would gather on the road. A car doesn't need much water to hydroplane, and this roadway seemed to be taking a big chunk out of that volume that would just be sitting there.
Good point. If nothing else, it could help prevent some hydroplaning, when cars are driving along and all of the sudden hit a puddle of water.
Post a Comment
<< Home