Innovations in flooring and surface technology are continuously making foot, bike and car traffic safer for everyone, and one of the leaders in the flooring and surface industry, Tarmac, has created a porous concrete surface that absorbs liquid. In other words, the concrete surface allows liquid to flow through it.
Standing liquids on a solid surface have long been a recipe for slip and fall accidents, flooding and more. When the surface is so solid, there are few places for the water to run. However, Tarmac’s Topmix Permeable is porous enough to absorb up to 880 gallons of water. You can see video of a demonstration of the Topmix Permeable in action here.
This superabsorbent material was designed to prevent flash flooding in urban and suburban areas, and reduce the depth and number of puddles, and floods. The company’s goal is to make sidewalks, roads, parking lots and bike paths, safer for everyone.
The way that the Topmix Permeable works is like this:
- Water hits the ground.
- It seeps through a layer of porous concrete.
- Underneath is a layer of rocks, pebbles and sand.
- Water is diffused and absorbed back into the natural groundwater. A
Another bonus of the porous concrete is that it will actually be cooler to the touch than more traditional materials during hot weather. The only downside is that the Topmix Permeable is not effective in colder climates or in locations with significant cold weather.
The applications for this interesting concrete will no doubt be of interest to those who work in professions or trades that focus on floor safety, slip and fall accidents and more, such as flooring inspectors and walkway auditors.
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