June 2018
Reutilizable Carbon Fiber Composite
Materials to Improve Permeable Pavement
Performance and Durability
By: Somayeh Nassiri, Ph.D., PEng
& materials, if mechanically “sized” into
Karl Englund, Ph.D.
According to a recent survey of DoD’s
primary installations and associated sites
worldwide, storm surge flooding has affected
assets on 225 sites as well as services within
the surrounding community “(e.g., utilities,
transportation, emergency response) [1].”
Additionally, 706 sites have been affected
by non-storm surge related flooding. For
example, West Point Military Reservation
has endured flooding multiple times, such as
that resulting from Superstorm Sandy [1].
As the Office of the Under Secretary of
Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and
Logistics noted in January 2018, “If extreme
weather makes our critical facilities unusable
or necessitate costly or manpower-intensive
work-arounds, that is an unacceptable impact
[1].” To that end, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and Naval Facilities Engineering
Command have recognized that permeable
pavements may reduce stormwater impact
on DoD infrastructure [2-4]. Permeable
pavement technology may also help DoD
mitigate environmental hazards resulting
from stormwater runoff from its facilities [5].
However, due to its highly voided structure,
compared to impermeable concrete, pervious
concrete has lower mechanical properties
(maximum of 2,500 psi compressive
strength compared to a minimum of 4,500
psi for traditional highway concrete) [6-
8]. Furthermore, aggregate dislodging,
raveling, clogging, and other wear and tear
(durability) issues were reported for pervious
concrete [9, 10]. Through a study funded
by Boeing, researchers from Washington
State University (WSU) sought to develop
a solution to these issues. The research
demonstrates that carbon fiber composite
“fiber-” like shapes of specific aspect ratio,
can enhance the strength and durability of
pervious concrete pavements (see Figure 1)
[11, 12].
Carbon fiber composites are lightweight yet
strong and durable composite materials that
are increasingly used to manufacture high-
performance products, which have many
applications in aerospace, automobile,
energy, defense, and many other industries.
Currently, an estimated 26,500 tons of
reutilizable carbon fiber composite material
is generated annually by these industries
and is forecast to rise to 35,300 tons by
2021 [13]. In addition to residual carbon
fiber composite material from manufacturing
lines, end-of-life planes and other products
could become a growing global issue in need
of a disposal or reutilization solution.
WSU research shows that the flexural
Figure 1: Pervious concrete slab reinforced
strength of baseline pervious concrete can with cured carbon fiber composite quickly
improve by up to 65 percent when 4 percent infiltrates stormwater (Source: Washington
State University by Darrell Kilgore)
volume fraction of the fiber-like carbon
fiber composite materials are added to the
mixture. The reinforced pervious concrete baseline samples completely shattered after
had an infiltration rate of more than 600 in/hr, only 350 cycles. The enhanced samples
which is more than enough to quickly drain also showed significantly better durability
stormwater runoff. Typical infiltration rates of when exposed to accelerated freeze-thaw
200-1,300 in/hr were reported for pervious cycling and deicer chemical application,
concrete with porosity ranging from 15 to 25 which are characteristics of durability that
percent [14, 15]. are especially sought after for use in cold
climate regions.
In a simulated durability test, plain and
carbon fiber composite-enhanced samples In spring 2018, WSU researchers began
were tested for mass loss after 500 cycles to field test the carbon fiber composite
of revolution in a closed steel drum. The enhanced permeable pavements. The
sample that contained 4 percent carbon goal of these tests is to ensure large-scale
fiber composites lost only 25 percent of its production and placement feasibility. The
original mass after 500 cycles, while the demonstration site is closed to traffic in
this stage of research to study the effect
of controlled traffic on the pavement and
to ensure the fiber orientation within the
pavement does not pose any unforeseen
issues for public use. Depending on the
results of this controlled field testing, the next
phase of testing is scheduled to begin in the
summer of 2018, when researchers will work
with local agencies to use the material for a
“real-world” paving project at which several
types of enhanced permeable pavement will
be placed and tested side-by-side through
exposure to regular, large, and small vehicle
traffic and ambient weather conditions.

REFERENCES
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