This Concrete Could Clear Snow at Airports
Jesse Tabit January 27, 2016
Chris Tuan, a professor of civil engineering at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently to test a concrete he concocted that could clear snow at airports.
The concrete, which contains steel shavings and carbon particles in its mixture that allow it to be conductive, would ideally give off enough heat to melt any snow and ice that lands on it while still remaining safe to touch. Tuan claims that if the product was implemented, there would be far fewer weather delays at airports.
“What they need is the tarmac around the gated areas cleared, because they have so many carts to unload – luggage service, food service, trash service, fuel service – that all need to get into those areas,” Tuan said. The FAA will reportedly run tests with the material until March 2016.
For more information on this story, visit Huffington Post.
[Photo, gif: Scott Schrage, University of Nebraska-Lincoln]
There was no shortage of methods to melt the snow before Prof.Tuan came along with his 'discovery'. It's not done because the obscene electric bill from melting tons of ice would turn civil aviation impossible to operate.