Effects of specimen shape and size on the permeability and mechanical properties of porous concrete

Abstract

Porous concrete, which is generally considered as an environment-friendly pavement, plays an important role in sponge city. However, measuring its strength and permeability with different specimen shapes and sizes has not been paid enough attention by the researchers. Therefore, the effects of the size and shape on the permeability and mechanical properties of porous concrete were investigated in this paper. Thus, two types of aggregates and three types of cement were selected to cast different mixtures in different molds (two sizes of cylindrical and cuboid specimens). All porous concrete specimens were tested to evaluate the influence of shape and size on the permeability of porous concrete firstly. Then the different cube and cuboid specimens were nominated to measure the compressive strength and flexural strength of porous concrete respectively. Two different sizes of cylindrical specimens were selected to test the compressive strength and splitting strength. The results show that porosity, aggregate size, aggregate type, cement grade could affect the strength of porous concrete. Moreover, the compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting strength of the porous concrete with two different sizes, and the compressive strength and splitting strength with different shapes are significantly different.