Mechanical Characteristic of Pervious Concrete Considering the Gradation and Size of Coarse Aggregates

Pervious concrete is a kind of sustainable pavement with high permeability which is becoming more common as a storm water management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of coarse aggregate on physical and mechanical properties of the pervious concrete such as density, strength, porosity and permeability at 7, 28, 56 days. This experimental investigation conducted by comparing nine different mixtures. Taguchi design of experiments used to optimize the performance of these characteristics. To test the influence of aggregate systematically, water to cement ratio (w/c), paste content and coarse aggregate size were kept constant at 3 levels. 9.5, 12.5 and 19.0 mm were used for maximum aggregate sizes. The relationship between strength and porosity for pervious concrete are found to be dependent on coarse aggregate size. The test results demonstrated when the maximum size of the coarse aggregate increased, the strength decreases and the permeability and porosity grows up. An increased aggregate amount resulted in a significant decrease in compressive strength due to the subsequent decrease in paste amount. Age and coarse aggregate size had effect on the pervious concrete characteristic. To meet the specification requirements in the mix design of pervious concrete, considering both compressive strength and permeability is necessary. Finally, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of design factors on the properties of porous concrete. The general equations for pervious concrete are related to compressive strength and void ratio for different aggregate sizes.