Field Study on Water Absorption Capacity of Pervious Concrete Pavement Under Different Discharge Conditions

Abstract

Pervious concrete (PC), also called porous concrete, is a special type of concrete with high porosity and low compressive strength, which is used for several applications. Even though extensive research is being carried out on PC, the studies on its field applications are meagre. In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the water absorption capacity (WAC) of PC pavement laid in the field under different discharge conditions. A footpath was constructed with PC made of the best mix proportions obtained from the previous study (40% of 20 mm, 30% of 12.5 mm and 30% of 10 mm aggregate, 10% Fly ash with 90% OPC and w/c ratio 0.35) having compressive strength 24 MPa and permeability of 1.56 cm/s. It consists of 15 panels of size 1.2 m × 1.2 m and depth 10 cm. The soil characteristics underneath the PC panels are determined before laying PC over it. WAC of PC footpath is determined by applying the different discharges in the lateral and vertical directions in different seasons in a year. In the first season (August-2018), the discharge is applied only in the lateral direction and it is found that the WAC value is 3315.7 litres/m3, whereas in the second season (January 2019), it is found as 3064.56 litres/m3. The reduction in WAC from season 1 to season 2 may be due to the accumulation of sediments. The total amount of rain that occurred during season 1 to season 2 is 400.73 mm and the total amount of sediment accumulated is 44.028 kg. Hence, it is concluded that water absorption of PC is time dependent and also the presence of sediments in the runoff water.