Recently, according to a report of foreign news, the researchers of Brunel University London designed a new mixture of concrete which can absorb less 64% water and 90% salt than common concrete, but the strength can be 42% higher.

Every winter, mMunicipal department throws a lot of salt on the roads and sidewalks to prevent water from freeze. Finally, most of the salt will melt into the water and flow into the sewer and evaporate, but some of them are absorbed by the roads. These will affect the quality of the concrete and then rust the inside steels.

To solve this problem, the scientists of department of civil and environmental engineering of Brunel University London developed a new type of concrete. During stirring, put sodium acetate compound into the concrete and let them absorb some moisture, at last some crystals form and arrange at the pore wall of the concrete.

The crystals improve the hydrophobicity of concrete so that the hole gaps of concrete can be reduced and water absorption can be decreased as well. Moreover, when we throw deicing salt to the pavements made by this kind of concrete mixture, the protective compound in the holes gaps will help to block water and the salt in water.

The researchers said,”In our initial experiment, we observed that sodium acetate compound could reduce the water absorption of the concrete, but might lower its compressive strength. So, we devote our efforts to produce the concrete formulation with the best composite dose.

“It is fun that through many tests, finally, we produce successfully the concrete mixture with 64% lower permeability and 90% lower chloride absorption than common concrete, meanwhile, its compressive strength can be 42% higher.”