Field performance monitoring of pervious concrete pavements

Abstract

Pervious concrete pavements (PCP) have been successfully constructed in low-to-medium volume roads attributed to their sustainability benefits. Several studies have investigated the hydrological performance of PCPs, but limited attention has been given to the structural and environmental aspects. Thus, the objective of this study was to monitor the structural, hydrological and environmental performance of two PCP parking lots built using in-situ and ready-mix methods. Structural distresses were classified based on the distress identification manual, while the infiltration tests were performed every three months for three years to quantify the clogging rate. Joints/edges formed the weakest zones, while inefficient maintenance caused 98% clogging within 18 months. Further, in-situ mixing was 17% cheaper and 0.74% carbon-intensive than ready-mix technology. Overall, this research is envisioned to pave way for the development of guidelines that classify distresses and severity levels specific to PCPs, which also cover adequate maintenance recommendations for field implementation.

KEYWORDS:

• Pervious concrete pavements
• real-time field performance
• structural distresses
• functional deficiencies

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the personnel of Municipal Corporation of Tirupati and Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati for providing the necessary land, logistics and permission for construction as well as performance monitoring of pervious concrete pavement parking lots. Special thanks to Harini Constructions for providing the necessary data to quantify environmental impacts associated with pervious concrete pavement construction.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).