Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55

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Journal of Hydrology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhydrol

Predicting physical clogging of porous and permeable pavements

C.F. Yong ⇑, D.T. McCarthy, A. Deletic
Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Building 60, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o s u m m a r y

Article history: Porous pavements are easily retrofitted, and effective in improving water quality and hydrology, but
Received 10 August 2012 prone to clogging. Despite being a major determinant in the lifespan of porous pavements, there is lim-
Received in revised form 10 November 2012 ited information on the physical clogging processes through these systems. The aim of this study was to
Accepted 7 December 2012
understand the main physical processes that govern physical clogging and develop a simple black-box
Available online 19 December 2012
This manuscript was handled by Laurent
model that predicts physical clogging. The key variables that were hypothesised to influence clogging
Charlet, Editor-in-Chief, with the assistance were pavement design and climate characteristics. Two compressed time scale laboratory experiments
of P.J. Depetris, Associate Editor were conducted over 3 years on three common porous pavement types; monolithic porous asphalt, mod-
ular Hydrapave and monolithic Permapave. Pavement design was found to be an important role in clog-
Keywords: ging. Permapave did not clog even after 26 years of operation in simulated sub-tropical Brisbane
Physical clogging (Australia) climate while porous asphalt and Hydrapave clogged after just 12 years, from surface clogging
Drying and geotextile clogging, respectively. Each system was tested using two different dosing patterns: (1)
Hydraulic resistance continual wetting with no dry periods and (2) variable inflow rates with drying periods (i.e. representing
Modelling more natural conditions). The latter dosing method approximately doubled the lifespan of all systems
Porous pavements suggesting the influence of climate conditions on clogging. Clogging was found to be highly correlated
Variable flow
with cumulative volume and flow rate. A simple black-box regression model that predicts physical clog-
ging was developed as a function of cumulative volume and Brisbane climatic conditions. However it is
very likely that the shape of this regression is general, and that it could be calibrated for different climates
in the future.
Ó 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction with return period of 1 in 5 years) is unmanageable and remedial

Porous pavements are very popular structures for the manage-
ment of both urban runoff quality and quantity. As their name im-
plies, they promote the infiltration of rainfall and urban runoff,
either to the underlying soil, or to a storage reservoir. Porous pave-
ments are either monolithic or modular (Ferguson, 2005). Mono-
lithic structures consist of bound granular material such as
concrete or asphalt, with the fines removed, while modular struc-
tures are constructed from individual pavers with a gap in between
each paver (Ferguson, 2005). Compared to other stormwater man-
agement measures, porous pavements are easily retrofitted in
existing dense urban environments (Newton et al., 2003) and are
capable of reducing the hydraulic connectivity of the drainage
system (Bond et al., 1999). They also trap pollutants (Legret and
Colandini, 1999) and therefore can meet common stormwater
management objectives (Bean et al., 2007).
The effective life of a pavement is defined as the number of
years it is in service, until which the hydraulic performance drops
to a level where the drainage ‘design storm event’ (i.e. the event
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +613 9905 5022; fax: +613 9905 5033.
E-mail addresses: fern.yong@monash.edu (C.F. Yong), david.mccarthy@
monash.edu (D.T. McCarthy), ana.deletic@monash.edu (A. Deletic).
works are required (Wong, 2006). This process is known as ‘‘pave-
ment clogging’’, and it is the key issue associated with porous
pavement implementation (Galli, 1992; Nozi et al., 1999). Porous
pavements when ‘‘new’’ often have infiltration capacities usually
upwards of 4500 mm/h. While some mature systems (i.e. 15–
20 years of operation) still provide infiltration rates far above the
design storm requirements (100–1000 mm/h; Bond et al., 1999;
Pratt, 1999; Kadurupokune and Jayasuriya, 2009), many have re-
ported clogging, with infiltration rates reduced to unacceptable
levels within the same period (Borgwardt, 1994; Pratt et al.,
1995; Suarman et al., 1999; Rommel et al., 2001).
Pavement design is one of many factors that can influence the
longevity of the systems. For example, smaller filter media size
and shape have been found to aggravate clogging (Skolasinska,
2006; McIsaac and Rowe, 2007; Knowles et al., 2011). The use of
geotextile in the pavement design is still controversial since there
are speculations that while it may enhance pollutant removal
(Hogland and Niemczynowicz, 1987; Niemczynowicz, 1990; Pratt,
1990) it is also detrimental to its hydraulic performance (Newton
et al., 2003). There are also speculations that modular pavements
are less prone to clogging compared to monolithic systems (ASCE
and WEF, 1998) but this is not based on significant comparative
analysis and further investigation is required.

0022-1694/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.12.009
 C.F. Yong et al. / Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55
Despite being a major factor in the performance of these sys-
tems, the processes that govern clogging are not well understood.
A large number of field studies show that clogging occur, yet in-
depth studies of the processes that could explain and quantify this
process are almost non-existent. Pratt et al. (1995) found that phys-
ical (more so than biological or chemical) clogging can result from
fine particles accumulating in the void spaces of porous pavements;
they argued that the mass of sediment that enters the system is the
most important factor. As smaller particles trap larger particles, the
rate of clogging increases as more fines are trapped, suggesting that
sediment particle size also plays a role (Balades et al., 1995). Siri-
wardene et al. (2007, 2008) studied physical clogging of storm-
water infiltration systems (such as infiltration trenches and
soakways), and found that a clogging layer forms at the interface
between the gravel filter and underlying soil, with flow rate having
no impact on the process, while sediment particles less than 6 lm
are the main cause of clogging, bearing in mind that this is case spe-
cific with critical size being highly dependent on media size.
Numerous studies have been performed to further understand
the infiltration performance of porous pavements (Illgen, 2008;
Sansalone et al., 2012) particularly studies that were done using
continuous application of one flow rate (Suarman et al., 1999;
Zhang, 2006). However, the impact of different flow and drying
conditions has not been studied, suggesting that our understanding
on how climatic regime impacts clogging is very limited.
The major software packages (e.g. the Australian MUSIC (CRCCH,
2005) or the USA SWMM (EPA, 2007)) that are currently used to de-
sign stormwater management systems do not model the clogging
of porous pavements or any other infiltration systems. Although
there are models that can predict the clogging of stormwater infil-
tration basins or trenches (e.g. Dechesne et al., 2005; Siriwardene
et al., 2007), no models are available for the prediction of porous
pavement clogging. Some of the most robust and simple clogging
models of stormwater infiltration system (e.g. Dechesne et al.,
2005) however, could still be used as the starting point. They usu-
ally predict hydraulic resistance (R), defined as the ratio between
the length of filtration media and saturated hydraulic conductivity,
as per Bouwer’s work (1969, 2002). In the case of surface clogging,
due to the fact that the clogging layer is of negligible thickness, R is
equal to a ratio between the ponding depth (measured from the
clogging layer) and the infiltration velocity (that is equal to the sat-
urated hydraulic conductivity of the clogging layer):
R ¼ L=K ¼ h=v ð1Þ
where L is thickness of the clogging layer, K is saturated hydraulic
conductivity of the layer, h is ponding depth above the layer, and
v is infiltration (Darcy’s) velocity.
This paper aims to investigate physical clogging of porous pave-
ment systems by testing the following hypotheses:
 porous pavement design is crucial for resistance of the systems
to clogging, and certain design features should be avoided to
maximise the system performance;
 operational conditions (inflow rate, drying/wetting regime) and
sediment inflow levels govern the physical clogging process;
and
 for a given climate, clogging can be assessed using a simple
regression curve between hydraulic resistance (as a dependent
variable), and the cumulative volume and inflow rate as inde-
pendent variables.
To test these hypotheses, the physical clogging of three different
pavement types was studied during two separate laboratory exper-
iments over the course of 3 years. In general the stated hypotheses
were confirmed, and a new black-box model was proposed for the
assessment of physical clogging.
49
As these experiments were conducted over a compressed time
scale, where wetting periods were exaggerated to achieve clogging
within a short time, we were not able to investigate the processes
that lead to biological clogging. Thus, the black-box model pre-
sented here only addresses the physical clogging processes and
further work is needed on the modelling of biological clogging in
porous pavements.
2. Methods
2.1. Laboratory setup
2.1.1. Porous pavement designs
For both experiments, three commercially available porous
pavement systems were used; (i) monolithic porous asphalt (PA),
(ii) modular Hydrapave (HP), a product by Boral clay and concrete,
and (iii) monolithic Permapave (PP), a relatively new product by
enviss™, Australia (Fig. 1). They present typical designs used in
practice across a number of countries. Modular HP is similar to For-
mapave and Hydrosmart in the UK, and even Rocla and Hydrocon
products marketed in Australia. The porous asphalt was designed
as per the USA standards (AASHTO); however similar designs are
used across the globe (Ferguson, 2005).
2.1.2. Laboratory rig
Each porous pavement system was installed side by side based
on manufacturer guidelines in a 2.7 m  0.45 m  1.95 m rig,
which had three separate vertical compartments (each 0.9 m
wide). Porous Asphalt (PA) consisted of a 0.075 m top layer of stan-
dard bituminous asphalt, the fines of which has been removed, fol-
lowed by a 0.04 m layer of crushed aggregate and a 0.57 m
reservoir bed, consisting of a highly permeable layer of open-
graded clean washed aggregate with at least 40% void space. The
surface itself provides for some runoff pre-treatment, while the
crushed aggregates provide stability for the reservoir layer. Hydra-
pave (HP) is an 80 mm thick concrete paver with unique edge
chamber and bevel, which permits butt joining and eliminates
the need for jointing sand. It was laid on a 50 mm course of
5 mm clean stone. The laying course is separated from the sub-
base by a layer of geotextile. The sub-base is comprised of 2 layers;
the upper sub-base consisting of a 100 mm thick layer of 5–20 mm
stone; and a 250 mm lower sub-base which consists of 10–63 mm
stone. Permapave (PP) consisted of a 50 mm thick paver of 10–
12 mm gravel (crushed stones) that was bound using polyethylene
based glue. It was placed over a 350 mm layer of similar particle
sized sub-base, as specified by the product manufacturers. This
installation was repeated for both experiments.
The rig included a 550 L tank with constant mixing provided for
by two separate aerator coils at two depths, located around the
perimeter of the tank. The aerators ensured that the stormwater
sediments were kept in a homogenous suspension and also oxy-
genated the water to remove any residual chlorine from the tap
water. A pneumatic distribution system was installed to deliver
the stormwater inflow, which consisted of a peristaltic pump and
a rotating sprinkler. This ensured the random and equal distribu-
tion of stormwater as well as sediments over the three pavement
surfaces. Three tipping-bucket rain gauges, with a volume resolu-
tion of 0.2 mm/tip, were installed for monitoring outflow rates.
2.2. Experimental procedure
2.2.1. Semi-synthetic stormwater
As per previous laboratory studies on the performance of both
stormwater infiltration and biofiltration systems (e.g. Hatt et al.,
2006, 2007, 2008; Siriwardene et al., 2007, 2008; Bratieres et al.,
50 C.F. Yong et al. / Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55

900mm

450mm

1950mm

Semi-Synthetic 75 mm Porous Asphalt Inflow

Storm Water Data
In 550 L tank 40 mm of 12.7 mm 80 mm Hydrapave
Taker
crushed rock
50 mm Permapave
Sediment 570 mm of D50 50 mm of 5 mm stone
Distributor railway ballast Geotextile
(at the base 100 mm of 5-20 mm Computer
350 mm of
of the tank) upper sub-base 5-20 mm washed
250 mm of 5-20 mm gravel sub-base
lower sub-base

Peristaltic
Pump
Rain Gauge

Tubings Electrical Lines

Pavements Perforated Pipe Samplers

Fig. 1. The experimental rig for the comparison of porous asphalt, Hydrapave and Permapave.

Table 1
water. In order to determine if the slurry recipe was delivering
Targeted ‘typical’ pollutant concentrations in semi-synthetic stormwater that was the calculated target pollutant concentration, several Total Sus-
used in the laboratory experiments (based on a review of worldwide data, Duncan, pended Solids (TSSs) tests were performed before the semi-syn-
1999; and Melbourne data, Francey et al., 2010; Taylor et al., 2005). thetic stormwater was prepared. Target concentrations (Table 1)
Pollutant Targeted Primary source of pollutant were matched to ‘typical’ worldwide (Duncan, 1999) and in partic-
concentration (added to semi-synthetic ular, Melbourne urban stormwater quality characteristics (Taylor
(mg/L) stormwater) et al., 2005; Francey et al., 2010). Both particle size distribution
Total suspended solids 150 Wetland sediment (PSD) and nutrient speciation (e.g. particulate and dissolved spe-
(TSSs) cies) of the semi-synthetic stormwater were matched as closely
Total nitrogen (TN) 2.10 KNO3, NH4Cl, C6H5O2N, wetland
as possible to typical stormwater (e.g. the speciation echoed the
sediment
Oxidised nitrogen (NOx) 0.75 KNO3(potassium nitrate)
findings of Taylor et al., 2005). This was usually confirmed in the
Ammonium (NH3) 0.27 NH4Cl (ammonium chloride) inflow samples of the semi-synthetic stormwater. The PSD of the
Total dissolved nitrogen 1.60 KNO3, NH4Cl, C6H5O2N semi-synthetic stormwater mixture were as follows; 10% of parti-
(TDN) cles were less than d10 = 5 lm, the median particles were
Dissolved organic 0.59 C6H5O2N (nicotinic acid)
d50 = 25 lm, while 10% of particles were above d90 = 147 lm. These
nitrogen (DON)
Particulate organic 0.50 Wetland sediment values closely resembled the findings from literature (Deletic et al.,
nitrogen (PON) 2000). The use of semi-synthetic stormwater mixture allowed us to
Total Phosphorus (TP) 0.35 Wetland sediment, KH2PO4 minimise variations in inflow concentration whilst maintaining a
Total Dissolved 0.04 KH2PO4 (potassium phosphate) realistic composition.
Phosphorus (TDP)
Cadmium (Cd) 0.0045 Standard cadmium solution
Chromium (Cr) 0.025 Standard chromium solution 2.2.2. Experiment 1 (E1): constant continuous inflow without drying
Copper (Cu) 0.05 CuSO4(copper sulphate)
A continuous delivery of stormwater at a constant flow rate,
Iron (Fe) 3.00 Standard iron solution
Manganese (Mn) 0.25 Standard manganese solution
without any drying, was applied, as this is very common practice
Nickel (Ni) 0.03 Standard nickel solution in past laboratory studies of clogging (Newton et al., 2003; Siri-
Lead (Pb) 0.14 PbNO3 (lead nitrate) wardene et al., 2007, 2008; Kadurupokune and Jayasuriya, 2009).
Zinc (Zn) 0.25 ZnCl (zinc chloride) Using the Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptual-
ization (MUSIC) (CRCCH, 2005), the frequency curve of runoff rates
was generated using 6 min rainfall data that fall on a totally imper-
2008; Read et al., 2008), semi-synthetic stormwater was used. Real vious surface located within two Australian cities: Brisbane with
stormwater sediments were collected from Huntingdale Wetland, sub-tropical climate (long term average annual rainfall of
Melbourne and were subsequently filtered through a 300 lm sieve. 1200 mm), and Melbourne with temperate climate (long term
Upon filtration, the solid fraction of the slurry was determined average annual rainfall of 653 mm). The inflow rate of
through a series of drying tests. Based on a careful calculation of r = 3.9 mm/h (Table 2) was selected for the experiment; it repre-
the desired target pollutant concentrations for Melbourne storm- sents the median runoff rate from a hard surface in Brisbane and
water (Table 1), known concentrations of slurry, nutrients and the 90th percentile runoff rate in Melbourne. This is equivalent
metals was then added into a constantly mixed 550 L tank of tap to the runoff discharge of 10.8 L/s/ha. Since water was added
 C.F. Yong et al. / Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55 51

Table 2
The inflow rates used in Experiment 1 (E1) and 2 (E2).

Exp. Flow type Flow rate Velocity Number of times Duration of inflow
flow type was each time flow type
simulated was simulated
(L/s/ha) (mm/h) () (h)
E1 Continuous 10.8 3.9 Continuous Continuous
1 in 5 year storm 530 191 4a 5
E2 A 0.6 0.2 26 96
B 2.9 1.0 26 48
C 7.1 2.6 26 48
D 60.9 21.9 26 48
1 in 5 year. storm 530 191 6b 5
a
Occurred approximately every 7 years under Brisbane climate.
b
Occurred approximately every 4 simulated years under Brisbane climate.

continuously, 1 week of the laboratory experiment corresponded simulated year, 21 dry weather periods were mimicked by applying
to around half a year of runoff in Brisbane climate and 1 year in fan heaters at 25 °C for 3 h (which removed 80% of the moisture con-
Melbourne. tent in the pavements). The 1 in 5 year storm was simulated on the
As the experiment was conducted over 13 weeks, a total of 13 6th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th and 24th weeks of the experiment.
and 26 years of operation were simulated under Brisbane and Mel-
bourne climate, respectively. To study the rate of clogging during
2.2.4. Sampling and data collection
typical floods, a 1 in 5 year storm of 5 min duration in Brisbane
Water quality samples were collected from both the inflow and
was selected, rs = 191 mm/h (obtained from the MUSIC analysis de-
outflow points and analysed for TSS in accordance with the stan-
scribed above); this is the typical design storm for small catch-
dard methods (APHA/AWWA/WPCF, 2005). PSD was measured
ments where porous pavements are likely to be deployed, and is
only in inflow samples using a Beckham Coulter LS100Q Laser Dif-
also equivalent to a more than 1 in 100 year Melbourne storm of
fraction Particle Size Analyser (the outflow concentrations were
5 min duration. This inflow rate was simulated in each of the
too low to permit accurate PSD measurements). The collection
5th, 10th, 17th and 25th weeks of the experiment (that corre-
method of water samples changed over time. In E1, an intensive
sponds to 2.5, 5, 8.6 and 12.5 years of operation in Brisbane (5,
daily sampling regime for TSS was conducted during the initial
10, 17 and 25 years in Melbourne). Therefore, a possible storm in
2 weeks to determine the required inflow and outflow sampling
tropical Queensland and a major storm in Melbourne were repli-
frequency. This was subsequently reduced to two separate inflow
cated, under which the systems may start to clog and cause flood-
and outflow composites per week; the 1st composite was taken
ing. Outflow rates were monitored continuously at 1 min time
over Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while the 2nd composite
intervals using the tipping-bucket rain gauges, and these records
was taken over Fridays and Mondays. Similar inflow composites
were verified using manual measurements at regular intervals.
were also taken for PSD every alternate week. In E2, TSS analyses
were performed as per E1, but were reduced to fortnightly inter-
vals as TSS concentration of most of the flows was more consistent
2.2.3. Experiment 2 (E2): varied inflows with drying/wetting sequences
than expected for both inflow and outflow. PSD analyses were also
In this experiment, five different flows were simulated along
performed fortnightly for the composite inflow samples through-
with a drying/wetting regime that is typical for Brisbane climate.
out the duration of the experiment. Clogging observations were
From the Brisbane runoff-frequency curve (obtained from the MU-
made by regularly measuring the level of ponding above each
SIC analysis above), four flow rates were chosen, each representing
pavement surface as they occurred. Each experiment continued
a different percentile group of runoff intensity (see Table 2, marked
until all the systems were clogged, defined as when ponding above
as A, B, C, D). As per E1, a design storm of 1 in 5 years was also cho-
the pavement surfaces were observed to overflow (30 mm above
sen. We simulated 26 years of operation in a Brisbane climate over
pavement surface), or when the outflow rate was 10% of the initial
the course of 1 year. Each simulated year was composed of an A, B,
outflow rate.
C and D flow type, which were applied for 96, 48, 48 and 48 h
respectively, therefore providing a total of 1243 mm of simulated
inflow (which approximately equals the average annual rainfall 2.3. Data analysis and model development
in a Brisbane climate). However, the sequence in which the flow
types were applied was entirely randomised (e.g. to simulate year To improve the efficiency and integrity of the collected data to
1, we applied the flow types in the sequence D, C, B, A, while in year be used in statistical analyses, local and global checks were first
2 we applied the flow types in the sequence C, B, D A). Further- performed manually and then automatically on the collected flow
more, the water was not applied continuously; rather a drying/ tippings. Four predictor variables that are of interest were then ob-
wetting regime was simulated. From a simple analysis1, it was tained: (i) flow rates, (ii) cumulative volume, (iii) cumulative mass
determined that an average of 21 dry weather periods occurred and (iv) cumulative mass <6 microns (lm).
during any given year in a Brisbane climate. As such, during each To investigate the influence of porous pavement design on the
1 rate of clogging, ponding depth (h) from the clogging layer was
To implement a realistic regime, the time it took for the three pavements to
significantly dry was first determined. In three repeated tests, the pavements were plotted against these variables for both experiments for all three
soaked in water and then placed under various atmospheric conditions, while the designs; in porous asphalt, h was measured from its surface which
moisture content in the pavements was monitored. An average of 4 days was acted as the clogged barrier while in Hydrapave, h was measured
determined to be required for a moisture loss of 80%.The same amount of moisture from the geotextile layer (see the results below). Permapave did
loss was achieved in the pavements located within the experimental rig by using fan
heaters at 25 °C for 3 h. Using this information, and historical Brisbane rainfall data
not clog. Since surface clogging was found to be the dominant pro-
from 1970 to 1999 (30 years), the annual average number of periods which had more cess, the influence of flow and drying on the evolution of clogging
than four consecutive dates of dry weather period was 21. over time was determined by calculating hydraulic resistance (R)
52 C.F. Yong et al. / Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55

in both experiments as per Eq. (1). R was then plotted against the regular pavement aggregates to fine-sized bedding layer showed
four explanatory variables for the clogged pavements. Initial explo- earlier signs of clogging compared to the other two pavements.
ration of the data showed that R, cumulative volume, cumulative In E1, clogging occurred after only 12 m of infiltrated water, while
mass of sediment and cumulative mass of sediment <6 lm were in E2 the system ponded after 18 m was applied. This is equivalent
not normally distributed. Data transformations also failed to nor- to receiving approximately 8 and 12 years of Brisbane rainfall
malise some of these variables. As such, the influence of inflow respectively.
variables on clogging were investigated by conducting simple In Hydrapave, similar trends of ponding were observed, but the
non-parametric regression analyses, whereby Spearman rank cor- ponding occurred just above the geotextile layer that is placed un-
relation coefficients (rs) were calculated between R (Eq. (1)) and der the bricks (Fig. 2). Therefore the geotextile layer acted as the
each of the examined explanatory variables. The best set of explan- key barrier, clogging faster than other parts of the system. Water
atory variables was determined and used to form a black-box reached the surface (i.e. first sign of clogging) after 15.5 m
regression model. (11 years) and 30 m (20 years) for E1 and E2, respectively.
According to our plots of resistance versus the other parame- Throughout the duration of both experiments, ponding in Per-
ters, we determined that the relationship between the two vari- mapave was not observed. This does not come as a surprise as Per-
ables was not linear and logging of the resistance values helped mapave pavement and sub-base were constructed with medium to
made those relationships linear. Hence, the developed log-based large sized aggregates (5–20 mm), thus facilitating a smooth flow
black-box regression model (Jewell and Adrian, 1981) was cali- of water through the system. As such, Permapave had the longest
brated using the whole data series; the model parameters that lifespan, followed by Hydrapave and porous asphalt.
could provide the best explanation for the variability in hydraulic The earlier observation of clogging in porous asphalt compared
resistance were optimised by minimising the sum of squared er- to Hydrapave supports the ASCE and WEF (1998) findings which
rors between the observed and modelled values using the general- states that clogging of monolithic systems are more common than
ized reduced gradient method to find a local optimum (Abadie and modular systems. This is further supported by Kadurupokune and
Carpentier, 1969). The optimised parameter values were then used Jayasuriya (2009) who found no signs of clogging on modular Eco-
to estimate the hydraulic resistance for each pavement type, and trihex pavers despite 17 years of simulation. Their results however,
the observed and modelled values were compared. The Nash–Sutc- contradict the clogging observed in modular Hydrapave from this
liffe efficiency criterion E (Nash and Sutcliffe, 1970) was used to study, possibly due to differences in the bedding layer stone size
evaluate the model performance. and depth despite their similar pavement physical characteristics.

3. Results and discussion 3.2. Influence of inflow dynamics

3.1. Influence of design (rate of clogging) Porous asphalt, which had the shortest lifespan, consistently
showed a smaller range in resistance values (Fig. 3) than Hydra-
In porous asphalt, ponding was observed to occur right above pave, which did not overflow. From this study, both drying and in-
the pavement, indicating the formation of a clogging layer at the flow dynamics were evidently influencing the impact of clogging.
surface (Fig. 2). A closer inspection of the pavement showed accu- However, the specific degree of influence caused by each factor is
mulated sediment on the pavement surface, and at the interface a challenge to determine due to the cumulative effects produced
between the pavement and the crushed aggregate bedding layer, by both factors in the simulation of this experiment.
the former of which was completely covered in sediment by the Regardless of pavement design, the impact of clogging appears
end of the experiment. Porous asphalt, with its transition from to be consistently delayed in E2, compared to E1 (Fig. 2),

Overflow Point Porous Asphalt

Ponding depth (mm)

60
40
20
0
- 20
- 40
- 60
- 80
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Cumulative Inflow (m)
E1 Flow E1 Storm E1 E2 Flow A E2 Flow B E2 Flow C E2 Flow D E2 Storm E2

Overflow Point Hydrapave

60
Ponding depth (mm)

40
20
0
- 20
- 40
- 60
- 80 Uppersub-base
-100
-120
-140
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Geotextile
Cumulative Inflow (m)
E1 Flow E1 Storm E1 E2 Flow A E2 Flow B E2 Flow C E2 Flow D E2 Storm E2

Fig. 2. Ponding observations (mm) versus cumulative volume (m) of porous asphalt and Hydrapave for both experiment 1 and experiment 2.
 C.F. Yong et al. / Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55 53

Porous Asphalt
3.5 800

E1 Resistance (hr)
700

E2 Resistance (hr)
3.0
2.5 600
500
2.0
400
1.5
300
1.0 200
0.5 100
0.0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Cumulative Inflow (m)
E1 Single Runoff No Drying E2 Multiple Runoff with Drying

Hydrapave
50 1200

E2 Resustance (hr)
E1 Resistance (hr)

40 1000
800
30
600
20
400
10 200
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Cumulative Inflow (m)
E1 Single Runoff no Drying E2 Multiple Runoff with Drying

Fig. 3. Hydraulic resistance (h) versus cumulative volume (m) of porous asphalt and Hydrapave for both experiment 1 and experiment 2.

suggesting the influence of operational conditions (drying and

Table 3
multiple flow conditions). Infact, porous asphalt and Hydrapave, Simple linear regression results between hydraulic resistance (R) and the inflow
which both received variable inflow and drying, had almost double explanatory variables showing spearman (rs) correlation coefficients for porous
the lifespan than the same systems tested under continuous wet asphalt and Hydrapave (p-values shown in parenthesis).
conditions in E1. This is clearly evident from the plots of hydraulic Explanatory variables Porous asphalt Hydrapave
resistance versus cumulative volume (Fig. 3). Therefore these
Spearman Spearman
experiments suggest that past studies that were done using the coefficient (rs) coefficient (rs)
continuous application of one flow rate (Suarman et al., 1999;
Cumulative volume (m) 0.650** (0.000) 0.025 (0.911)
Zhang, 2006), may have considerably underestimated the lifespan Cumulative mass (g) 0.650** (0.000) 0.025 (0.911)
of the tested porous pavements. The earlier onset of clogging in E1 Cumulative mass < 6 lm (g) 0.650** (0.000) 0.025 (0.911)
could be caused by biological growth, which occurs at a faster rate Flow rate (ml/min) 0.843** (0.000) 0.957** (0.000)
in continuous wet conditions, compared to intermittent systems **
Denotes significance at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
where the process is slower as microbes are placed under stress
from fluctuating temperatures (Watson-Craik and Jones, 1995;
Mackey and Koerner, 1999). flows can then be used in the model to predict resistance, and as
the flows are predicted (not measured) the spuriousness is elimi-
3.3. Influence of inflow variables nated. As such, hydraulic resistance in porous asphalt is proposed
to be a function of two variables, cumulative volume and flow, both
For both pavement systems, the three cumulative inflow vari- of which are easily obtained from models such as MUSIC. Both
ables (all strongly cross-correlated) resulted in identical rs values variables were subsequently plotted against each other to check
of the tested correlations (Table 3). This was very significant for for cross-correlation before being used in the model development.
porous asphalt, and concurs with that found in literature (Siri- Similarly, for Hydrapave, flow rate was strongly negatively cor-
wardene et al., 2007). The correlations however, were not signifi- related to hydraulic resistance, while the cumulative volume
cant for Hydrapave. This was hypothesised to be related to a lack parameters were not correlated to hydraulic resistance (R). How-
of sampling points due to the delayed rate of clogging in Hydra- ever, when the cumulative volume parameter was plotted against
pave. Of the three tested variables, cumulative volume was chosen R for each individual flow type (i.e. A, B, C, D and storm) significant
as it is the easiest to obtain, while still providing reliable correla- correlations were observed. Therefore, the hydraulic resistance of
tion to clogging (simpler, require less data). Hydrapave is also proposed to be a function of the same two vari-
Flow was another variable of interest, as it showed a strong neg- ables, as per porous asphalt.
ative correlation for both pavement types. This trend however, is
partly a by-product of spurious correlations; where R is a function
of measured flow Eq. (1), hence producing a strong trend with 3.4. Development of R model
measured flow (Kenney, 1982). Despite this, flow was retained in
the development of the model for the following reason. In practice, Based on the above analysis, together with plotting the explan-
the prediction of resistance for stormwater treatment devices is al- atory variables against R, it was determined that hydraulic resis-
ways coupled to a rainfall-runoff model (e.g. MUSIC) which pro- tance can be represented as an exponential function of the
duces estimates of instantaneous flow rates. These predicted cumulative volume of inflow and the flow magnitude. As such, a
54 C.F. Yong et al. / Journal of Hydrology 481 (2013) 48–55

800
Porous Asphalt y = 0.7306x + 9.7806
700
E = 0.74
600

Robs. (hr)
500
400
300
200
100
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Rmod. (hr)

800
Hydrapave
700 y = 0.619x + 2.6689
600 E = 0.62
Robs. (hr)

500
400
300
200
100
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Rmod. (hr)

Fig. 4. Observed versus modelled resistance for porous asphalt and Hydrapave.

4-parameter log-based regression model (Jewell and Adrian, 1981)
was proposed to predict hydraulic resistance (clogging) for each
pavement:
 the pavements were tested. Systems that received variable flow
0 if cum:volume < c1
Log ðRÞ ¼
C 4 þ C 3 ðFlowÞ þ C 2 ðCum:VolumeÞ if cum:volume  c1
ð2Þ
where R = hydraulic resistance (h), cum. volume = cumulative
volume of inflow received through each pavement type (m/h) per
unit of pavement surface area, flow = magnitude of flow received
through each pavement type (ml/min), and c1, c2, c3 and c4 -
= regression parameters. Using the calibration process explained
in the methods, the value of each calibrated parameter for porous
asphalt and Hydrapave was as follows; PA c1 = 17.46,c2 = 0.18,
c3 = 0.05, c4 = 0.22; HP c1 = 17.65,c2 = 0.29, c3 = 0.80, c4 = 3.5.
Fig. 4 shows the observed versus the modelled hydraulic resis-
tance for both pavements. The Nash Sutcliffe coefficient (E) of 0.74
and 0.62 for porous asphalt and Hydrapave respectively, indicate
that once calibrated, the equation can estimate hydraulic resis-
tance, and thus clogging reasonably well for both designs. How-
ever, a closer inspection of Fig. 4 shows an underestimation of
mid-range resistances (especially for Porous Asphalt) and an over-
estimation of higher resistances. The model can be easily recali-
brated using a different objective function that equally favours
the low and high R values.
4. Conclusions
It was clear that the clogging behaviour and lifespan of porous
pavements varied by their design. Porous asphalt had its clogging
layer on the surface, causing water to pond relatively quicker com-
pared to Hydrapave, which had its clogging layer just above the
geotextile layer (placed underneath the bricks). As clogging started
considerably deeper in Hydrapave, where it is not visible to pedes-
trians, failure of the system will not be noticed until significantly
later, when ponding is observed above the pavement surface, thus
masking the actual efficiency of the system unless regular testing is
performed. Permapave did not show signs of clogging at all.
The rate of clogging was dependent on the conditions on which
magnitudes, along with drying periods were found to have almost
doubled the lifespan of systems receiving continual wetting with
the absence of drying periods. These observations help inform
designers and asset managers on the average life expectancy of
porous pavement systems under drying and various wetting condi-
tions in Australia.
A simple 4-parameter black-box regression model of physical
clogging was developed where hydraulic resistance is calculated
as an exponential function of the cumulative volume and flow rate.
This model only addressed physical clogging processes and further
work is needed on understanding and modelling biological clog-
ging in porous pavement systems. As such, this model should be
regarded as a single component (likely the key component) of an
overall clogging model of porous and permeable pavements. This
model worked well for both pavement types. The shape of the
equation was the same for the two different pavement designs,
while the calibration parameters were different. This is encourag-
ing and suggests that the shape of the regression may be applicable
to other conditions.
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