In a matter of minutes, flooding can create extremely hazardous conditions and incredibly costly damage. Even a minor flood can amount to a puddly parking lot or city street with unsafe driving conditions—or at the very least ruin a dry pair of shoes and sour your day.
The culprit is usually poor drainage and an abundance of hard, variable surfaces that will contain water rather than soak it up or allow it to flow consistently out of the way.
There is a new material that helps solve this problem and it could make modern infrastructure much safer and dryer, even during a serious deluge.
The Significance Of Free Flowing Water
Tarmac Topmix Permeable is an extra porous concrete that appears to soak up water like a sponge. The material has been designed and developed by LaFarge Tarmac, a UK based building materials company.
Their remarkable creation not only makes parking lots, sidewalks, and driveways much dryer, it allows rain and flood water to flow freely back into the ground, which is great news as water conservation becomes a bigger issue.
Ultra-Porous Paving
The specialized concrete is capable of “absorbing” over 1,000 gallons of water in about a minute, although Tarmac Topmix Permeable isn’t really soaking up the water as much as allowing it to drain downward, naturally, through to a layer of pebbles and sediment and down into the soil.
The ultra-porous paving material can be used just about anywhere conventional concrete would be used, from sidewalks and parking lots to playgrounds and bike paths.
However, Tarmac Topmix Permeable isn’t currently an ideal choice for areas where ground freezing is common. Should water contained within the material freeze, the system would be compromised. LaFarge Tarmac is attempting to overcome this considerable drawback.
Will It Save Property, Money And More?
In the meantime, Tarmac Topmix Permeable could potentially be used in areas where ground freezing doesn’t typically occur. If the developers are able to make the material work for widespread use, the innovation could mean serious mitigation of the loss of property, cost, and even lives that can occur from flooding.
What are your thoughts on this material development? Would you like to see it used in your area? Tell us what you think in the comments.
Article Sources:
http://gizmodo.com
http://inhabitat.com
http://hackaday.com
http://www.techinsider.io
