THIRSTY CONCRETE

CONCRETE
Concrete is a composite material
composed of aggregate bonded together
with a fluid cement which hardens over
time. Most use of the term "concrete"
refers to Portland cement concrete or to
concretes made with other hydraulic
cements, such as cement fondu.
However, road surfaces are also a type of
concrete, "asphaltic concrete", where the
cement material is bitumen.
 About thirsty concrete
The building material company
Tarmac has developed a new kind
of concrete that is capable of
absorbing up to 4,000 liters (1057
gallons) of water in the first
minute. On average, one square
meter of this new road surface,
called Topmix Permeable, can
drain 600 liters (159gallons) in a
minute
 WHAT IS THIRSTY
CONCRETE
A type of concrete that drinks water on its surface
is being marketed to areas where flash flooding
and puddles are a problem.
The Topmix Permeable concrete by Tarmac can
absorb 880 gallons of water in 60 sec, one sq area
according to a recent article in the Daily Mail.
The daily newspaper said the concrete solution
works by having a permeable layer of concrete on
the surface that allows the water to seep through
large pebbles and into a loose base of rubble.
 Tarmac said on its that the product not only
could help flash flooding problems, it also might
help to reduce the temperature of concrete
surfaces in hot weather.
Permeable concrete allows surface water to
freely drain through the wearing surface to the
underlying ground with the ability to act as a
reservoir during periods of high downfall, the
company said in its
Permeable Concrete Solutions Guide.
 Topmix can help rapidly remove water
from roadways, preventing the potentially
dangerous buildup of standing water. As
it is absorbed, storm water is filtered
through a porous layer of pebbles,
removing petroleum hydrocarbons and
other pollutants commonly found on
roadways before the water is ultimately
returned to the water table
 USE OF THIRSTY
CONCRETE
During some periods this characteristic
can aid in delaying the discharge of
surface water into water courses or
drainage systems reducing the risk of
overwhelming systems and causing flash
flooding. During periods of rising
temperatures and intense rainfall, water
stored within the system evaporates
creating a cooling effect reducing surface
temperatures,
WHY WE USE THISTY CONCRETE
. As the worlds population continues to shift from rural
to urban areas, natural drainage systems are being
replaced with impermeable mostly concrete that
hinder the environments ability to drain rainwater. In a
forest, for instance, somewhere between 80 and 90
percent of rainwater is absorbed back into the ground
in urban areas, that absorption can fall to just 10
percent of rainwater. Humans have dealt with this by
creating our own system of infrastructure storm water
drainage systems and sewer systems but much of this
infrastructure is becoming increasingly outdated and
unable to keep up with an increase in precipitation
events linked to climate change
 When extreme precipitation events
overwhelm a citys available
infrastructure, flash floods become an
increasingly damaging threat. In 2007,
intense floods throughout the United
Kingdom caused some $4.8 billion in
damage but only 12 percent of
flooding incidents were related to an
overflow from rivers. The rest were
caused by an overflow of surface water
and inadequate drainage.
 Rather than use sand-based concrete, Tarmac
uses something calledno-fines concrete. It's
made up oftiny pieces of crushed
granitepacked together. While Burgess says the
mixture is extremely dry, the pieces are packed
loosely enough to allow water to pass through.
The system can accommodate three designs:
full infiltration, partial infiltration, and full
attenuation.
 Full infiltrationrefers to a system where all water
goesthrough Topmix to flow into the soil underneath.
It's particularly useful in wet areas that don't need to
collect the rainwater.
Partial infiltrationinvolves a semi-permeable barrier
beneath Topmix that acts as a drainage system into
nearby sewers or waterways useful whenthe layer
beneath Topmix can't pass the water through on its
own.
Full attenuationuses a capture system to store all the
water that flows through Topmix. This option is most
useful in areas with unclean water and high recycling
rates, since the captured water can be reused later.
 LIMITATIONS
The technology isn't quite ready for wide-
scale deployment.
Tarmac notes that the permeable surface is
prone to damage from freezing water and
therefore not suitable for use in subzero
temperatures.
Furthermore, the product is not suitable for
use on high-volume roadways that bear
heavy loads, although it can be used on
shoulder lanes, residential streets,
pedestrian and bike paths and parking lots
 CONCLUSION
"Being able to control and actively
manage the drainage of rainwater from
the developed landscape significantly
reduces the risk of surface water
flooding, protecting both the natural and
built environment,"
THANK YOU