Description
Jake Boswell, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, at Ohio State University has created a better type of floating wetland to help with runoff of excess nutrients that are impacting the quality of many water bodies across the world. Artificial Floating Islands (AFIs) have been made of PET plastics, but those vessels are leaching chemicals affecting drinking water quality and animal habitats. Boswell and his students developed Permeable Concrete Vessels (PCVs) which are a more durable vessel produced of non-hazardous materials that can sustain a larger soil load. Beyond this, these are more aesthetically pleasing which is significant since they are highly visible. An initial full-scale lake-based installation of 20 islands showed these vessels could sustain plants and animals. Of the initial 20 vessels, 10 were cast using FORTA-FERRO macro synthetic fibers. These 10 far outperformed the other vessels in terms of overall durability and spalling.
Key Points
- Increased Toughness
- Increased Durability
- Reduced Spalling