Small cracks appear, even in this crazy flexible stuff, as a result of stress. When it rains, the new concrete creates calcium carbonate “scars” through a reaction between the carbon dioxide in the air and the rainwater. The scars leave the concrete as strong as the day it finished setting according to Li.

The composite material has already been used in Japan (for residential buildings) and in a Michigan bridge, where it eliminated the need for those giant metal teeth builders call expansion joints.

The major setback, as always, is cost. Up front the new composite will run three times the price of normal concrete, but with reduced maintenance cost, lower road noise, and the obviation of seismic countermeasures, flexible concrete actually saves money in the long run. Time to write Ted Strickland a strongly worded letter.

Source: National Geographic

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