Performance of Pervious Concrete Pavement in Freeze-Thaw Conditions and With Winter Maintenance

In 2007 the Cement Association of Canada, industry members and the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology at the University of Waterloo partnered to carry out a study to evaluate the behavior of pervious concrete pavement in the Canadian climate. Field sites have been constructed and monitored and laboratory testing has also been carried out on pervious concrete pavement. This paper focuses on the behavior that has been demonstrated by pervious concrete in the laboratory when exposed to two factors: freeze-thaw cycling and moisture; and winter maintenance. The behavior was assessed in terms of permeability and surface distress development. Freeze-thaw cycling and moisture proved to on occasion alter the interior structure of the pervious concrete pavement. The extent to which this occurs is deemed to be related to the paste characteristics. Salt solution as a winter maintenance technique was found to be very damaging to the pervious concrete samples. Sand as a winter maintenance method led to minimal surface distress development. Permeability was decreased with the use of sand and salt solutions as winter maintenance techniques; however, remained adequate with both. This laboratory research presents results that should be applied to field sites for verification in full scale scenarios. In general the presence of freeze-thaw cycles, moisture and winter maintenance did not lead to poor performance of the pervious concrete pavement in the laboratory.