Pervious Concrete Pavement

Robert Rodden, P.E.

Senior Director of
Pavement Technology
Acknowledgments

John T. Kevern, PhD, PE, LEED AP – U of M, KC

ACI 522 members
ACPA Chapters across the U.S.
Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association
PCA – Northeast
Washington Aggregates & Concrete Association
Etc…
Pervious Concrete Pavement

What is This Stuff?

What is Pervious Concrete?

Concrete with sufficient interconnected

voids to allow water to pass through it
Near zero slump
Open graded
Coarse aggregate, cement,
admixtures and water
Little or no fine aggregate
Also called “no-fines concrete”
Conventional
Pervious
Concrete
Concrete
What is Pervious Concrete?
Where Did it Come From?

1852 – used in home

construction
Caught on after WWII
Thousands of houses built this
way in UK, Germany, Holland,
France, Belgium, Scotland,
Spain, Hungary, Venezuela,
West Africa, the Middle East,
Australia, Russia, etc.
Up to 10 stories tall!
Houses in Toronto and federal building in Ottawa
Pervious Concrete Pavement

…Back to Pavements
Pervious Concrete Pavement

Used in US for over 40 years! Initial applications

(FL, GA, WA, & OR) were for flood control.
1987 Clean Water Act and NPDES brought it into
use for control of urban runoff

NOTE: NPDES = National Pollution Discharge Elimination System

Pervious Concrete Pavement

A system consisting of:

A high permeability pervious concrete surface
A subsurface storage area w/ or w/o an underdrain
A supporting soil column
Pervious Concrete Pavement

What are the Advantages

and Disadvantages?
Advantages

Controls stormwater pollution

at the source
Controls stormwater runoff
Calverton, N.Y.
Advantages

PERVIOUS CONCRETE FILTER

Water quality improvement
SAND FILTER

www.h2ohow.com
Advantages

ACI 522R-10

http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/index.cfm?action=br
owse&Rbutton=detail&bmp=137.

From ACI 522 Minutes Fall 2012 in Toronto:

“Use of enzymes and bugs to attack pollutants
within pervious was discussed.”
Advantages

Tree protection
Advantages

Noise reduction

Modi-slab, pervious concrete roadway in Netherlands

Advantages

Splash/spray, slip/fall, and glare reduction

MnROAD – Minnesota DOT

Walmart – Nashville, NC
Advantages

Improved friction and skid resistance

Advantages

Urban heat island mitigation

Advantages

More area to develop

Source: EPA-
821-R-99-012
Disadvantages

Design
Limited use w/ heavy traffic
Special attention w/ impermeable, expansive, or frost-
susceptible soils
Special attention w/ high water table
Special attention w/ freeze-thaw environment
Construction
Specialized construction practices
Extended curing time
Sensitivity to water content and control in fresh concrete
Not as many/improperly used standards
Pervious Concrete Pavement

What Applications Might

Consider Pervious?
Parking Lots
Parking Lots
Parking Lots
Parking Lots
Parking Lots
Low Volume Roads
Shoulders
Driveways
Alleyways
Wearing Course Overlays

…can be for drainage, noise mitigation, etc.

Underdrain

Lambert International Airport, St. Louis

The base under all the runways is pervious concrete
Sidewalks
Recreation Trails
Car Dealerships
Fire Stations
Odds and Ends

Swimming pool decks, greenhouse floors, reefs, etc…

… and Even Stairs and Patios!
Pervious Concrete Pavement

Design
Design Considerations

Mixture design
Pavement design
Hydrologic design
Hydraulic design
Basic Mixture Proportioning

Balancing act between aggregate, paste, water,

admixtures, and void space
Traditional
Concrete

Aggregate
Aggregate
Paste
Voids
Pervious
Concrete

Aggregate
Paste
Air-entrained paste
Mixture Design Considerations

Ultimate goal is a smooth, uniform surface with required

porosity/voids to provide strength (durability) and
permeability, which can be related to unit weight
We can achieve our design porosity by either a workable
mixture or applying more compaction energy
Main Factors: agg. shape, agg. gradation, binder content,
w/c, admixtures
Unit Weight, pcf 130 2,500

125

¦ ’c,7-d, psi
4 2,000
4
120
CL5 CL5
3
Unit Weight (pcf)

115
3

7-day fc' (psi)

1,500
110

105
2 1,000 2
100 1 1
500
95
Compaction Level (CL)
2
R = 0.997

90
0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
10 15 20 25 30 35 40

(a)(a)Porosity,
Porosity,%%
Concrete Voids (%)
(b) Porosity, %
2.50
Permeability,

3 in.
4 in.
2.00
cm/s Permeability (cm/sec.)

1.50

1.00 3 1
0.50
CL5 4 2
0.00
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Concrete Voids (%)
(c) Porosity, %
Each mixture has an inherent set of well-defined compaction
relationships, allowing QC/QA based on unit weight
Typical Mixture Characteristics

Agg: single-sized coarse or grading between ¾-3/8 in. (19-9.5

mm), rounded or crushed @ SSD
Most common: ASTM C33 sizes 7, 8, 67, and 89
Aggregate: 2,000-2,500 lb/yd3 (1,190-1,480 kg/m3)
Cementitious Content: 450-700 lb/yd3 (270-415 kg/m3)
Pores: 0.08-0.32 in. (2-8 mm)
Voids: 15-35%
Permeability: 192-1,724 in./h (0.14-1.22 cm/s)
w/cm: 0.26-0.45
Comp Strength: 400-4,000 psi (2.8-28 MPa)
Pavement Design

Pervious concrete is a rigid pavement and

structurally is designed the same as conventional
concrete
Note: The base will be saturated so use a soaked
CBR for the soil strength
ACPA’s PerviousPave
software is based on
StreetPave’s fatigue
equations
Absent Distress Failure Criteria

Surface Distress: No prediction models…yet

Resistance of surface controlled by
materials/construction
Consistent with approach on material-related
distresses in other structural design methods
Faulting: Does it happen?
Pavement Design Considerations

Permeability of soil should be verified:

Percolation rate of 0.5 in./h (13 mm/h) and a soil layer
of 4 ft (1.2 m) or more are generally recommended
Typical Pavement Designs

This is as loaded as questions come; depends on

the application, soil conditions, mixture, etc.
Pervious concrete generally 6 to 12 in. (150 to 300
mm) for street or road
Have to balance hydro
concerns with thickness
of surface and reservoir
layer(s) and also storage
location requirements
(e.g., freeze-thaw)
Hydrologic Design

Potential goals: reduce runoff volume, reduce

treatment volume, reduce impervious area
Flat base ideal

For more on stormwater BMPs see:

www.epa.gov/waterscience/stormwater
Storage Capacity

Design storm: 25 yr, 24 hr storm ~ 4.5 in. (assume base

to hold all 4.5 in. of water)
Reservoir layer void space = 40%,
Required thickness = 4.5 / 0.4 = 11.25 in., say 12 in.
Natural soil infiltration rate ~ 1 in./day = 12 days to empty
Generally, you don’t want water in the base for more than
48 hours so an underdrain
is necessary
Full Exfiltration

DO NOT OVERCOMPACT SUBGRADE!

Jones 2008
Partial Exfiltration

Jones 2008
No Exfiltration

Jones 2008
Hydrologic Design POOLING IS BAD

Terraces

French
Drains
Check
Dams See PCA EB303 for more…
Constructability is Important
Typical Details

ACI 522 has balloted some new details

Hydraulic Design

All permeable pavements are filters; filters remove

particles
Related to size of hole in filter, size of filtered
particle, amount of particles, velocity of fluid, etc.
Hydraulic Design

Also concerned with run-off versus infiltration

This is dependent on cross slope of pavement
Hydraulic Design

Simple approach* from field testing/evidence:

0:1 impervious to pervious > 500 in./hr
1:1 impervious to pervious > 1000 in./hr
2:1 impervious to pervious > 1500 in./hr
3:1 impervious to pervious > 2000 in./hr
4:1 impervious to pervious > 2500 in./hr

We still don’t know the typical and

allowable variability, so “hard”
design values are not yet specified!
Testing

Not our usual suite of concrete pavement tests

Comp strength is not

used for acceptance.
There is a wide range
of strengths possible
b/c of the relationship
with compaction.

ASTM C09.49 is developing pervious tests

Available Tests

ASTM C1688 – Standard Test Method for Density

and Unit Weight of Freshly Mixed Pervious
Concrete

Controls mixture consistency; predictor of in-place

voids, permeability, and strength
Available Tests

ASTM C1701 – Standard Test Method for

Infiltration Rate of In-Place Pervious Concrete

Predicts clogging and verifies design criteria

Available Tests

ASTM C1747 – Standard Test Method for

Determining Potential Resistance to Degradation
of Pervious Concrete by Impact and Abrasion

Predicts abrasion resistance

Available Tests

ASTM C1754 – Standard Test Method for Density

and Void Content of Hardened Pervious Concrete

100% 57 = 100% C33 sand

36% voids = 35% voids
Allows verification of in-place density and consistency
Other “Non-Standard” Tests Exist

Sufficient
Consistency
Too Wet
Other Tests Being Developed

For example, surface raveling resistance and

effectiveness of curing procedures
Freeze-Thaw Resistance

Precautions to enhance freeze-thaw performance:

Use an 8-24 in. (200 to 600 mm) thick layer of clean
aggregate base below the pervious concrete
Use air-entraining admixtures
Place perforated PVC pipe in the aggregate base and
drain water away from structure
Consider adding a small amount of sand to the
mixture
SCMs, fibers, liquid polymers, etc. can help too
Pervious Concrete Pavement

Construction
Construction Considerations

Need a good starting mixture design

Good quality rock, good quality admixtures, fibers
don’t hurt, and maybe some sand
Need proper delivered workability, so you can:
Place to the desired density
Too high it clogs, too low it ravels
Cure quickly and sufficiently
Pervious dries quickly; increased raveling potential
Protect from damage caused by other construction
traffic and runoff during and after curing
Reservoir Layer / Underdrain
This Layer might be very Thick!
Set Forms
Dampen the Subbase
Concrete Placement

Can be placed
with a
conveyor –
not a pump
Color / Stain / Stamp Are Optional
Tools of the Trade
Tools of the Trade
Moving the Concrete (as necessary)
See any
construction
concerns?
Roller Screeding
Construction Methods Vary
Compact

Riser strips may or

may not be used.
Mind the Surface

vs
Edges can be Tricky!
Edge as Required
Cover with Plastic ASAP!

10 ft.
Jointing
Jointing
Jointing
What about Longitudinal Joints?
Remove Forms…
…and CURE, CURE, CURE!

7 days for just cement mixtures; 10 days if SCMs used.

SCMs might affect curing!
AGAIN – Cure, Cure Cure!

Well secured poly,

stapled to wood form,
2x4’s nailed to form
Plastic Only Works if Edges Sealed

GOOD
BAD
… or Internal Cure
Internal Curing of Concrete

Supplying additional water internally can mitigate

shrinkage stresses in low w/c mixtures
Saturated lightweight aggregates, saturated
porous aggregates, super absorbent polymers,
etc. can supply this extra internal water
Grind if Required for Smoothness
Pervious Concrete Pavement

Maintenance
Think about During Design

Prevent driving from unpaved to pervious

Do not lay in path of wind nearby beach
Limit stormwater flow from adjacent nonpervious
and landscaped areas
Landscaped areas at lower elevations
Expected Maintenance

Permeability Maintenance
Routine Cleaning
Before Cleaning
Clogging
Winter Maintenance
Plowing
Salting/sanding After Cleaning
Pavement Distress Remediation
***The Key for Designers, Contractors, and Owners:
These are both pavements and BMPs so maintenance
will be a hybrid.
Have a Maintenance Plan!
Permeability Maintenance
Winter Maintenance

Salt similar to conventional concrete pavement; not in the

first winter (probably will use much less salt overall)
Sand not needed for pervious (sand will reduce
permeability so it will need to be swept out if used)
Plowing similar to conv.
conc. but be aware it
is a different surface
(no back dragging
with a bobcat)
Winter Maintenance
Winter Maintenance

Salt and sand required Nothing required

Pavement Distress Remediation
Pervious Concrete Pavement

Other Notable Installations

Pervious OL on RCC in Japan
Lowe’s – Kill Devil Hills, NC
US EPA Parking Lot – Edison, NJ
US EPA Parking Lot – Edison, NJ
Chicago Alleys
Industrial Park - NJ
9th Ward in New Orleans
McGuire AFB Hangar, NJ
Denver – Day after 12” snow

Photos taken directly

across street from each
other and 5 min apart
Entrance to Pet Resort, NJ
Fish Hatchery – Philadelphia, PA
Costco – Wilmington, NC
Subway Headquarters – Milford, CT
Pervious Concrete Pavement

Cost
Cost Considerations

Serves as several products in ONE

Parking lot
Collection system
Filter
Temporary detention
Difficult to give SY cost
because very
dependent on thickness of each layer,
experience of contractors, etc.
Cost

- Pavement materials cost ~8-15% more than

traditional concrete pavement
- Extra material in aggregate base
- Additional installation costs in most cases
+ Reduced or eliminated detention/retention
+ Reduced stormwater infrastructure
+ Improve site utilization (purchase less, sell more,
more taxes)
Must evaluate each project separately!!
 Discussion/Questions?

EDUCATION NEVER ENDS

Robert Rodden, P.E.
Senior Director
of Pavement Technology
[email protected]
847.423.8706
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