Foreign media: China has developed a super-light, high-porosity "foam concrete" used in the runway end safety area (RESA) of aircraft runways. It looks like ordinary concrete, but its porosity exceeds 80%, and it weighs only 200 kilograms per cubic meter, which is one-tenth of ordinary concrete. This material can fracture upon impact, gently absorbing the kinetic energy of the aircraft to achieve a "soft landing" effect.
To control the fracture and energy absorption performance, the material strength is precisely controlled between 0.30 and 0.35 megapascals. Compared with expensive foreign ettringite cement systems, China's solution uses ordinary cement, introducing a rosin-modified double-chain air-entraining agent through a "blowing bubbles" foaming process to reinforce the bubble film and prevent collapse. At the same time, a two-stage strength regulation technology is adopted to ensure long-term weather resistance of the material.
Currently, this system has been applied in 14 airports in China. Monitoring data show stable performance with fluctuations of only 3%, far below the design tolerance of 10%.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837135504020484/
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