Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 3187–3192
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Construction and Building Materials
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat
Performance comparison of laboratory and field produced pervious
concrete mixtures
Xiang Shu ⇑, Baoshan Huang, Hao Wu, Qiao Dong, Edwin G. Burdette
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 29 October 2010
Received in revised form 18 February 2011
Accepted 1 March 2011
Available online 26 March 2011
Keywords:
Pervious concrete
Performance
Evaluation
Laboratory mixes
Field mixes
a b s t r a c t
Portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC) is an environmentally friendly paving material that has been
increasingly used in parking lots as well as low volume and low speed pavements. Although specifications are available for the mix design and construction of pervious concrete, there still remains a need
for laboratory tests to ensure the anticipated performance of laboratory designed pervious concrete. In
this study, the performance of laboratory and field produced pervious concrete mixtures as well as field
cores were evaluated and compared through laboratory performance tests, including air voids, permeability, compressive and split tensile strengths, as well as Cantabro and freeze–thaw durability tests.
Two types of coarse aggregate, limestone and granite, with two gradings, No. 8 and No. 89 specified in
ASTM C33, were used to produce the mixtures. Latex, air-entraining admixture (AEA), and high range
water reducer (HRWR) were also added to improve the overall performance of pervious concrete. The
results indicated that the mixtures made with limestone and latex had lower porosity and permeability,
as well as higher strength and abrasion resistance than other mixtures. Even for pervious concrete, the
addition of AEA could still help to improve the freeze–thaw resistance. The comparison between laboratory and field mixtures showed that a properly designed and laboratory verified pervious concrete mixture could meet the requirements of permeability, strength, and durability performance in the field.
Published by Elsevier Ltd.
1. Introduction
Portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC) is an environmentally friendly paving material. PCPC consists of portland cement,
water, uniform coarse aggregate, and little or no fine aggregate.
Use of uniform coarse aggregate and little or no fine aggregate
gives PCPC much higher porosity and permeability than conventional concrete, which enables quick drainage of stormwater [1–
4]. Therefore, PCPC is a very effective stormwater management tool
to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff and the concentration
of pollutants [5]. In addition, pervious concrete can also reduce urban heat island effect and acoustic noise [6,7].
Since it was first introduced into the United States in the mid
1970s, pervious concrete has been used in many applications for
over 30 years [8]. During the last few years, pervious concrete
has attracted more and more attention in concrete industry due
to the increased awareness of environmental protection. Many laboratory and field studies have been conducted to investigate into
various aspects of pervious concrete [1–4,9–12]. Researchers at
the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (NCPTC) developed the mix proportions for pervious concrete in cold weather climates [1,9,10]. Delatte et al. [11,12] verified that PCPC can perform
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel. +1 865 974 2608; fax: +1 865 974 2669.
E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Shu).
0950-0618/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.03.002
well in freeze–thaw environments based on the results from field
visual inspection and laboratory performance tests.
Due to its high porosity, pervious concrete generally has significantly lower strength and durability properties than conventional
concrete. Yang and Jiang [6] suggested using appropriately-selected aggregates, adding fine aggregates and organic intensifiers,
and optimizing mix proportion to improve the strength and abrasion resistance of PCPC. Kevern [3] showed that the addition of
polymer (styrene butadiene rubber, SBR) significantly improves
workability, strength, and freeze–thaw resistance of pervious concrete while maintaining its high porosity and permeability. Huang
et al. [13] improved the strength properties of pervious concrete
through polymer modification. Kevern et al. [14] identified that
coarse aggregate type has a direct effect on the freeze–thaw durability of pervious concrete and certain aggregates approved for traditional concrete may not be suitable for pervious concrete.
Many studies revealed that unlike conventional concrete, the
performance of pervious concrete is highly dependent on both concrete materials and construction techniques [1,11,12]. The focus of
pervious concrete technology is the balance of permeability and
mechanical properties as well as durability. If the mixture is too
wet and easy to compact, the voids will be clogged and the permeability will be compromised. However, if the mixture is too dry and
hard for compaction, the pervious concrete pavement will be weak
and vulnerable to various types of distress. Although specifications
3188
X. Shu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 3187–3192
are available for the mix design and construction of pervious concrete, there still remains a need for laboratory tests to ensure the
anticipated performance of laboratory designed pervious concrete.
This study presents the comparison among laboratory and field
produced mixtures as well as field cores in terms of air voids, permeability, strength, Cantabro loss, and freeze–thaw durability. The
results showed that a properly designed and laboratory verified
pervious concrete mixture could meet the requirements of permeability, strength, and durability performance in the field.
Mixture F1
Mixture F2
Mixture F3
2. Research objective and scope
The objective of the present study was to evaluate and compare
the laboratory and field produced pervious concrete mixtures as
well as field cores through laboratory performance testing. The laboratory testing employed for the evaluation included the tests for
air voids, permeability, compressive and split tensile strengths,
Cantabro loss, and freeze–thaw durability.
3. Laboratory experiment
3.1. Materials
Ordinary Type I Portland cement was used in the mixtures. Two
coarse aggregates, limestone and granite, with two gradings, No.
89 and No. 8 specified in ASTM C33, were used to produce the pervious concrete mixtures. To improve the overall performance of
PCPC, fine aggregate, latex, monofilament polypropylene fiber,
high range water reducer (HRWR), air-entraining admixture
(AEA), and viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA) were added to
the mixtures. The mix proportions for the laboratory and field
produced pervious concrete mixtures in this study are based on a
laboratory mix design presented in Table 1.
3.2. Sample preparation
The laboratory produced pervious concrete mixtures were
mixed using a rotating-drum mixer. The field mixtures were collected in the middle of placement from a truck mixer at a ready
mix concrete plant (the field project was in the plant). Laboratory
test specimens were made by applying standard rodding for compaction. The specimens were cured in a standard moisture curing
chamber until the days of testing. The pervious concrete pavement
was compacted with manual rollers (Fig. 1). Field cores 150 mm. in
diameter were extracted from the pervious concrete pavement
3 weeks after construction and transported to the University of
Tennessee for laboratory testing.
Fig. 1. Pervious concrete field project.
3.3. Air voids test
Since pervious concrete has a relatively high porosity, it is not
suitable to use the submerged weight measurement to obtain its
bulk volume. Neither does geometrical measurement of a specimen dimension reflect its surface texture and true volume. Therefore, a vacuum package sealing device, CoreLok (Fig. 2), commonly
used to measure the specific gravity and air void content for asphalt mixtures, was used in this study to obtain the air voids of
pervious concrete specimens. This test was conducted by following
the ASTM D7063 procedures.
3.4. Permeability test
Due to high porosity and permeability, Darcy’s law for laminar
flow is not applicable to pervious concrete. In this study, a falling
head permeability measurement device (Fig. 3) and a method
developed by Huang et al. [15] for porous asphalt mixtures (similar
to pervious concrete in permeability) was used to obtain the pseudo-coefficient of permeability of pervious concrete mixtures. Detailed information about the test and the analysis method can be
found in Huang et al. [13,15]. 150 mm 75 mm cylindrical specimens were used in this test.
3.5. Compressive and split tensile strength tests
The compressive strength test was conducted at 28 days in
accordance with ASTM C39. An INSTRON testing machine was used
to perform this test on 100 mm 200 mm cylindrical specimens.
The
split
tensile
strength
test
was
conducted
on
150 mm 63.5 mm cylindrical specimens with an MTS machine
Table 1
Mix. proportions for laboratory and field produced mixtures (kg/m3).
Mix. type
Laboratory mixtures
Mix. no.
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
F1
F2
F3
Cement
Water
Coarse aggregate
380
100
GR
No. 89
1420
107
38
–
1150
–
500
390
140
LS
No. 89
1440
109
–
–
1160
–
500
390
100
LS
No. 89
1440
109
39
–
1160
–
500
390
140
LS
No. 89
1440
109
–
–
1160
390
500
390
100
LS
No. 89
1440
109
39
–
1160
390
500
360
110
LS
No. 8
1440
100
36
–
470
690
500
360
95
LS
No. 8
1440
100
36
–
940
690
500
350
90
LS
No. 8
1490
100
–
0.9
470
700
500
Fine aggregate
Latex
Fiber
HRWR (ml)
AEA (ml)
VMA (ml)
Field mixtures
Note: GR – granite, LS – limestone, HRWR – high range water reducer, AEA – air-entraining admixture, VMA – viscosity modifying admixture, No. 8 and No. 89 are specified in
ASTM C33.
X. Shu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 3187–3192
3189
In this study, the Cantabro test was used to characterize the
abrasion
resistance
of
pervious
concrete
specimens.
150 mm 101.6 mm cylindrical specimens were used in the test.
3.7. Freeze–thaw test
The freeze–thaw test was conducted to determine the freeze–
thaw resistance of pervious concrete mixtures using procedure A
of ASTM C666, in which specimens were subjected to continuous
freezing and thawing in the saturated condition. Relative dynamic
modulus (RDM) and mass loss were used to characterize the
freeze–thaw durability of pervious concrete. The durability factor
is calculated as follows [14]:
DF ¼
PN
M
ð3Þ
where P = relative dynamic modulus of elasticity or relative mass at
N cycles in percent, N = number of cycles at which P reaches the
specified minimum value for discontinuing the test or the specific
number of cycles at which the exposure is to be terminated, whichever is less. The criteria for P were 60% for RDM or 3%, 5%, or 15%
when calculated for mass, and M = specified number of cycles at
which the exposure is to be terminated, 300 cycles.
Fig. 2. CoreLok for air voids test.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Air voids
Fig. 4 shows the air voids results for the laboratory and field
produced pervious concrete mixtures. For the laboratory mixtures,
the mixture made with limestone and latex (L3) exhibited lower
air voids than that with granite (L1). The air void content of Mixture L3 (made with latex) was also lower than that without latex
(L2), which means that incorporation of latex to pervious concrete
would lower the mixture’s porosity. For the field mixtures, with
the decrease in water content (Mixture F3 < F2 < F1), the field mixtures showed an increase in air voids (Mixture F3 > F2 > F1). This is
due to the fact that Mixture F1 was too wet and its air voids were
either filled with or blocked by cement paste/mortar, whereas Mixture F3 was too dry and hard to compact. It can be seen from Fig. 4
that the field cores extracted from the previous concrete pavement
showed higher air voids than the test specimens made with field
mixtures, which could be attributed to the difference in compaction method and compaction effort.
Fig. 3. Permeability test setup (after [13]).
in accordance with ASTM C496. The vertical load was continuously
recorded, and split tensile strength was computed as follows:
St ¼
2Pult
ptD
ð1Þ
where St = split tensile strength, Pult = peak load, t = thickness of
specimen, and D = diameter of the specimen.
3.6. Cantabro Test
The Cantabro test was initially used for testing the abrasion
resistance of asphalt open-graded friction course (OGFC) – a porous asphalt mixture [16]. This test is conducted with the Los Angeles (LA) abrasion machine (ASTM C 131) without the steel ball
charges. The weight loss after the test (called the Cantabro loss)
is calculated in percentage as follows:
Cantabro Loss ¼
W1 W2
100
W1
ð2Þ
where Cantabro loss = weight loss in percentage, W1 = initial sample weight, and W2 = final sample weight.
4.2. Permeability
The permeability results of the pervious concrete mixtures are
shown in Fig. 5. It is evident that the permeability results were
consistent with the air voids results because air voids and permeability are highly correlated. The laboratory mixture made with
limestone and latex (L3) showed lower permeability than that with
granite (L1) or the mixture without latex (L2). The ranking of the
field mixtures in terms of permeability was F3 > F2 > F1 due to
their difference in air voids. The field cores also showed higher permeability than the test specimens made with field mixtures.
4.3. Compressive and split tensile strengths
Figs. 6 and 7 compare the compressive and split tensile
strengths of laboratory and plant produced pervious concrete mixtures. The mixtures showed very similar trends in compressive and
split tensile strength. The laboratory mixture with limestone and
latex (L3) had higher compressive and split tensile strengths than
the mixture with granite (L1) or the mixture made without latex
(L2). Two field mixtures (F1 and F2) had higher compressive and
X. Shu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 3187–3192
30
Effective Air Voids (%)
Effective Air Voids (%)
3190
25
20
15
10
5
0
L1
L2
30
Field Mixtures
25
20
15
10
5
0
F1
L3
Field Cores
F2
F3
Mixture Type
Mixture Type
(b) Field mixtures
(a) Laboratory mixtures
Fig. 4. Air voids results.
Split Tensile Strength (MPa)
Permeability (mm/s)
4
3
2
1
0
L1
L2
L3
4
3
2
1
0
Mixture Type
L1
L2
L3
Mixture Type
(a) Laboratory mixtures
(a) Laboratory Mixtures
4
Field Mixtures
Split Tensile Strength (MPa)
Permeability (mm/s)
4
Field Cores
3
2
1
0
F1
F2
F3
Mixture Type
Field Mixtures
Field Cores
3
2
1
0
F1
(b) Field mixtures
F2
F3
Mixture Type
(b) Field Mixtures
Fig. 5. Permeability results.
Compressive Strength (MPa)
Fig. 7. Split tensile strength results.
lower strengths than the laboratory mixtures. As expected, the
field cores exhibited lower split tensile strength than the test specimens made with field mixtures due to their higher porosity.
60
50
40
4.4. Cantabro loss
30
20
10
0
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
F1
F2
F3
Mixture Type
Fig. 6. Compressive strength results.
split tensile strengths than the laboratory mixtures. The third field
mixture, F3, was too dry and hard to compact, and thus exhibited
The Cantabro loss results obtained from the Cantabro test are
shown in Fig. 8. It can be seen that except for the field mixture
F3, other laboratory and field mixtures had a Cantabro loss of less
than 20% (most less than 15%), which means that they had a good
abrasion resistance. The comparison between the Cantabro loss results with those of air voids and strength shows that mixtures with
higher air voids and lower strength exhibited higher Cantabro loss
than the mixtures with lower porosity and higher strength. As expected, field cores had higher Cantabro loss than the test specimens made with field mixtures due to their higher porosity and
lower strength.
3191
X. Shu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 3187–3192
Cantabro Loss (%)
30
Field Mixtures
Table 2
Durability factors obtained from freeze–thaw test.
Field cores
25
Mixture
Lab Mixture
Mix. designation
20
15
10
5
0
F1
F2
F3
L1
Mixture Type
Fig. 8. Cantabro loss results.
DF (RDM)
DF (% mass remaining)
60%
85%
95%
97%
Laboratory mixtures
Granite
L1 (with latex)
Limestone L2 (control)
Limestone L3 (with latex)
Limestone L4 (with AEA)
Limestone L5 (with AEA and latex)
25%
24%
26%
77%
39%
51%
55%
60%
98%
77%
46%
56%
53%
98%
63%
44%
48%
50%
98%
59%
Field mixtures
Batch 1
F1 (with latex)
Batch 2
F2 (with latex)
Batch 3
F3
45%
48%
25%
98%
96%
51%
98%
96%
48%
98%
92%
43%
100%
suggestions by Kevern et al. [14]. The results clearly show that
the two field mixtures (F1 and F2) and two laboratory mixtures
with AEA (L4 and L5) performed much better than the other mixtures. F1 performed well because of its low air voids and permeability. However, its very low porosity made it unsuitable for use
as pervious concrete. Mixtures L4 and L5 performed well because
they contained air-entraining admixture (AEA), which indicated
that even for pervious concrete, the addition of AEA could help to
improve its freeze–thaw resistance.
Mass Remaining
L1
90%
L2
L3
L4
80%
L5
F1
F2
70%
F3
60%
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
5. Conclusions and summary
Freeze-Thaw Cycles
The following conclusions and summary are derived from the
present study:
(a) Mass loss
Relative Dynamic Modulus
100%
80%
L1
60%
L2
L3
L4
40%
L5
F1
20%
F2
F3
0%
0
30
60
90
120 150 180
210 240 270 300
Freeze-Thaw Cycles
(b) Relative dynamic modulus
Fig. 9. Decreases in mass and dynamic modulus with freeze–thaw cycles.
4.5. Freeze–thaw test results
Fig. 9 shows the changes in mass and dynamic modulus of elasticity of the pervious concrete mixtures in the freeze–thaw test. It
can be seen that, with the increase in the freeze–thaw cycles, both
the mass and the dynamic modulus of the specimens decreased.
Compared to dynamic modulus, the mass loss seemed to start later. However, once started, the mass loss was much faster than
the reduction in dynamic modulus. Fig. 9 shows that the field mixtures F1 and F2 and the laboratory mixtures with air-entraining
admixture (AEA) (L4 and L5) performed better than the other mixtures in terms of freeze–thaw resistance.
Table 2 presents the durability factors obtained from the
freeze–thaw test. The durability factors were calculated based on
the results at 300 cycles. The criteria for test cutoff were taken
as 60% for RDM or 3%, 5%, or 15% for mass loss following the
1. The pervious concrete mixtures made with limestone exhibited
lower porosity and permeability, as well as higher compressive
and split tensile strengths than the mixtures made with granite.
2. The pervious concrete mixtures made with latex exhibited
lower porosity and permeability, higher compressive and split
tensile strengths, and higher abrasion resistance than those
without latex. Although some laboratory mixtures with latex
(L1 and L3) did not perform well in the freeze–thaw test, other
mixtures with latex did show better freeze–thaw resistance
than those without latex. Generally the addition of latex could
improve the performance of pervious concrete.
3. The field cores showed higher porosity and permeability, lower
strength, and higher Cantabro loss (lower abrasion resistance)
than the field mixture specimens made with the standard rodding compaction method.
4. Properly designed and laboratory verified pervious concrete
mixtures could meet the requirements of permeability,
strength, and durability performance in the field.
5. Even for pervious concrete, the addition of air-entraining
admixture led to significant improvement of freeze–thaw
resistance.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Georgia Department of
Transportation (GDOT) for funding this research project. The
authors would also like to acknowledge the Portland Cement Association (PCA) for providing a graduate fellowship to augment the
funding for the development of abrasion resistance testing procedures for pervious concrete. Thanks also go to the Tennessee Concrete Association (TCA) and the Transit-Mix Concrete Company for
help with the field project.
3192
X. Shu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 3187–3192
References
[1] Schaefer VR, Wang K, Suleiman MT, Kevern JT. Mix design development for
pervious concrete in cold weather climates. Final report, Ames (IA): National
Concrete Pavement Technology Center, Iowa State University; 2006.
[2] Tennis PD, Leming ML, Akers DJ. Pervious concrete pavements. EB302 Portland
cement association skokie illinois and national ready mixed concrete
association. Maryland: Silver Spring; 2004.
[3] Kevern JT. Advancement of pervious concrete durability. Ph.D. Dissertation,
Ames (IA): Iowa State University; 2008.
[4] Montes F. Pervious concrete: characterization of fundamental properties and
simulation of microstructure. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of South Carolina;
2006.
[5] Storm water technology fact sheet. Porous pavement. EPA 832-F-99-023 Office
of Water, Washington (DC); 1999.
[6] Yang J, Jiang G. Experimental study on properties of pervious concrete
pavement materials. Cem Concr Res 2003;33:381–6.
[7] Kajio S, Tanaka S, Tomita R, NodaE, Hashimoto S. Properties of porous concrete
with high strength. In: Proceedings 8th international symposium on concrete
roads, Lisbon; 1998. p. 171–7.
[8] Malhotra VM. No-fines concrete – its properties an applications. ACI J, Proc
1976;73(11):628–44.
[9] Wang K, Schaefer VR, Kevern JT, Suleiman MT. Development of mix proportion
for functional and durable pervious concrete. In: Proceedings, 2006 NRMCA
concrete technology forum – focus on pervious concrete (CD-ROM), Nashville,
Tenn.; 2006.
[10] Kevern JT. Mix design determination for freeze–thaw resistant portland
cement pervious concrete. Master thesis, Ames (IA): Iowa State University;
2006.
[11] Delatte N, Mrkajic A, Miller DI. Field and laboratory evaluation of pervious
concrete pavements. Transport Res Rec 2009;2113:132–9.
[12] Delatte, N., Miller D, Mrkajic A. Field performance investigation on parking lot
and roadway pavements (final report). Silver Spring (MD): RMC Research &
Education Foundation; 2007.
[13] Huang B, Wu H, Shu X, Burdette EG. Laboratory evaluation of permeability and
strength of polymer-modified pervious concrete. Construct Build Mater
2010;24(5):818–23.
[14] Kevern JT, Wang K, Schaefer VR. Effect of coarse aggregate on the freeze–thaw
durability of pervious concrete. J Mater Civil Eng 2010;22(5):469–75.
[15] Huang B, Mohammad LN, Raghavendra A, Abadie C. Fundamentals of
permeability in asphalt mixtures. J Assoc Asphalt Paving Technol
1999;68:479–500.
[16] Watson DE, Moore KA, Williams K, Cooley LA. Refinement of new-generation
open-graded friction course mix design. Transport Res Rec 2003;1832:78–85.