I was sitting on my couch, watching Innovation Nation, with it having a segment on Conductive Concrete. I am awaiting an ice storm to hit us with at least 5/8” of ice. Governor Brownback has asked people to stay off the roads and ordered 200 National Guard troops to report for helping in the aftermath of the storm.
I got to thinking, would people and National Guard troops have to face Mother Nature’s wrath, if we had conductive concrete? Just imagine, being able to walk outside, without fear of falling on ice, when the sky is dropping freezing rain or sleet. The same is true for driving on the stuff.
The Conductive concrete is composed of 20% metal, being steel shavings, magnetite and carbon fillings, among regular concrete components. It would then have a low level of electricity running through it. It has a low ohm rating, so it will not harm people. Because of the magnetite, it could also shield against electromagnetic waves, including the radio-frequency waves used by mobile phones.
if you want to find out how well it works, go see the Roca Spur Bridge, a 150 foot long and 36 foot wide, three-span highway bridge over the Salt Creek at Roca, located on Nebraska Highway 77 South about 15 miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska. The weather this Sunday and Monday will be a good test on well conductive concrete works. Rock is expected to get roughly an half inch of ice. My hope is it passes with flying colors and the technology starts spreading throughout the icy regions of the world.
Just think, even it it costs a small amount more to build roads with this, how much it could save in the long run. No more salt or beet juice to treat roads or sidewalks and a huge decrease in hospital visits for ice fall caused broken bones. There would still be possible power outages due to downed power lines, but their response times could increase due to cleared roads. The FAA is thinking about using it, for areas surrounding the tarmacs at airports, so that delays for loading and unloading planes would decrease, during icy conditions.
