With summer approaching, we start to notice the “heat island” effect in our cities: higher street temperatures caused by the absorption of heat from the sun. The problem is that this extra heat encourages the formation of photochemical oxidants, which cause more air pollution. To fight this heat build-up, some cities use heat-shielding material on paved surfaces, although these tend to wear out quickly with the abrasive effect of heavy traffic.
To overcome this, AGC Ceramics (AGCC) has developed Tough Coore®: an extremely hard and durable heat-shielding road surface coating. It consists of ceramic pigments of alumina-zirconia eutectics, combined with a heat-shielding binder, which drastically improve the anti-abrasive properties of the heat shield. Since its introduction in 2012, Tough Coore® has proved itself on several hundred thousands of square meters of paved urban streets. What’s more, the product contains by-products from manufacturing refractory bricks used in glass melting furnaces, so it has helped AGC reduce waste.
Tough Coore® has proved successful in combination with another AGC innovation: Tough Bahn®, an anti-skid aggregate that helps prevent vehicle slippage on roads. This red-coloured coating also provides added visibility and safety for cycle lanes and smoother traffic flow for bus lanes.
The creation of Tough Coore® is seeded from AGC Group’s mission to Look Beyond and develop innovative solutions that improve people’s everyday lives. By helping to control the heat island effect on city streets, Tough Coore® improves both the thermal comfort of pedestrians and the daily lives of all city residents.