THIRSTY CONCRETE

Just imagine that you are walking on a black asphalt road and you see a huge concrete mixing truck unloading a huge mass of water. But to your surprise, the water gets vanished. Sounds like magic? No, it isn’t. Not when road is paved with a new permeable paving material called Topmix Permeable.

Topmix Permeable concrete is developed by the British building material manufacturer Tarmac to prevent flooding caused by storms and even prevent car accidents on wet roads. Topmix employs instead of fine materials like sand, tiny pieces of crushed granite. The void content is increased from 15-40% depending upon site conditions. When rainwater falls on the road, it drains through the porous concrete and a base layer of gravel. Eventually, the rainwater percolates into the ground recharging underground water networks.

However presently it is available in UK alone. It is recommended only for walkways and parking but not for highways. It cannot tackle floods due to sea level rise and its utility in cold climate conditions is still a topic of research.

For more details, please refer:

1.      http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/30/3706935/permeable-concrete-climate-change-benefits/

2.  .    https://www.quora.com/How-does-topmix-permeable-concrete-work

3.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWiq0NbJmaw