Behaviour and performance of pervious concrete pavement in Canada

Pervious concrete offers sustainable and environmental benefits for stormwater management and urban development. The open void structure of pervious concrete allows moisture to move through the pavement structure and into the ground water without altering the natural hydrologic cycle. Pervious concrete can be used in low volume, low speed applications in urban and rural settings without creating impermeable space. Therefore it is a low impact development that does not put additional demand on the stormwater management system and in some applications will lower the demand on the stormwater management system. Recent use of pervious concrete in Canada includes four test areas that were constructed to evaluate the performance of pervious concrete in a freeze-thaw climate. The test areas are monitored regularly through surface distress evaluations, permeability and light weight deflectometer testing. Cores are extracted from the test areas and samples are prepared in the laboratory. Laboratory testing is carried out to evaluate performance in accelerated freeze-thaw testing, compressive and flexural strength, void content and permeability. Two of the test areas are instrumented with moisture sensors and static strain gauges. The moisture sensors are on sensor trees to follow the movement of moisture through the pavement structure. The static strain gauges represent the effect of the environmental changes on the pervious concrete. The data from the instrumentation is available in real time which allows for efficient comparisons and evaluations. The ability for pervious concrete to drain moisture from the surface is measured through permeability testing and development of distresses on the surface are noted in surface distress evaluations. Surface testing does not represent the movement of moisture once it leaves the surface. The moisture trees will present information related to the movement of moisture through the pavement structure which will provide pavement and environmental professionals with a better understanding of pervious concrete. The data from the static strain gauges will aid in the understanding of the effect of environmental changes on pervious concrete. This paper includes the findings to date from the various field and laboratory testings and the data collected from the instrumentation.