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Experimental Study on the Relationship between Permeability and Strength of

Pervious Concrete

Article  in  Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering · November 2017

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002058

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 Experimental Study on the Relationship between
Permeability and Strength of Pervious Concrete
Xinzhuang Cui 1; Jiong Zhang 2; Dan Huang 3; Zequn Liu 4; Fei Hou 5;
Sheqiang Cui 6; Lei Zhang 7; and Zhongxiao Wang 8
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Abstract: Pervious concrete is widely used in various fields because of its high permeability. Strength and permeability are two important
design parameters for pervious concrete, but limited research has been conducted so far on their mutual relationship. A series of laboratory
tests are carried out to demonstrate the effects of water–cement ratio, aggregate–cement ratio, and porosity on the properties of pervious
concrete including strength and permeability in this study. In addition, a modified permeability testing method for pervious concrete is
developed, as the existing permeability testing devices for pervious concrete have not considered the specimen–container interface leakage
induced by the large number of open pores on the surface of specimen, thus affecting the testing precision of permeability. DOI: 10.1061/
(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002058. © 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Pervious concrete; Permeability; Strength-permeability curve; Permeability testing devices.

Introduction for its permeability characteristics in the 1970s (Mulligan 2005).

Portland cement pervious concrete, also referred to as porous
concrete, is a mixture of portland cement, uniform coarse aggregate
with either a small amount of or without fine aggregate, and water.
There are many through pores among the aggregate skeletons.
Generally, the porosity of pervious concrete is between 15 and 25%,
and the permeability is typically about 2–6 mm=s, up to 10 mm=s
(Montes et al. 2005; Tennis et al. 2004). The primary benefit offered
by pervious concretes is their ability to transport large volumes of
water through their structure, thus reducing or eliminating problems
associated with stormwater runoff. Other environmental benefits
of this material include the ability to reduce tire–pavement interaction
noise, limiting the amounts of pollutants entering the groundwater,
and reducing urban heat island effects (Neithalath 2004).
Pervious concrete was initially adopted because of its lower
cement content in comparison to conventional concrete in Europe
in the nineteenth century. The United States began to use pervious
concrete not as a cheaper substitute for conventional concrete but
1
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: cuixz@sdu.edu.cn
2
Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ.,
Jinan, Shandong 250061, China (corresponding author). E-mail:
jiongzhang@sdu.edu.cn
3
Graduate Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: huangdantf@163.com
4
Graduate Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: 294065398@qq.com
5
Graduate Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: 1376837041@qq.com
6
Graduate Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: 1914569734@qq.com
7
Graduate Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: 837827723@qq.com
8
Graduate Student, School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Univ., Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China. E-mail: 1392866188@qq.com
Note. This manuscript was submitted on September 14, 2016; approved
on April 28, 2017; published online on August 30, 2017. Discussion period
open until January 30, 2018; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561.
Due to its excellent permeability, pervious concrete has been used
in controlling stormwater runoff, restoring groundwater supplies,
and ground improvement (Kajio et al. 1998; Cui et al. 2012). Much
research about the permeability of pervious concrete has been con-
ducted. For example, the draining capability of pervious concrete
was studied by Montes and Haselbach (2006) and Luck et al.
(2006). Schluter and Jefferies (2002) studied the modeling of the
20-month-old porous pavement at the Royal Bank of Scotland
headquarters in Edinburgh, and their results showed that porous
pavement performed excellent outflow behavior. Since pervious
concrete has a much higher permeability [of the order of 10−3 to
10−4 m=s, as compared to 10−12 m=s of normal concrete (Neville
1996)] due to the presence of a large interconnected pore network,
the conventional methods that are used to evaluate the permeability
of normal concrete are not directly applicable. To estimate per-
meability, a computerized falling head permeameter system was
used by Montes and Haselbach (2006). The system registered the
change in mass of the head column and the total volume flowing
out of the system every second. Neithalath et al. (2006) developed a
falling head permeability cell to measure hydraulic conductivity. To
this end, they adopted a latex membrane to enclose the specimen,
with an outlet pipe positioned 10 mm above the top of the specimen
to make sure no unsaturated flow occurs during the test. Another
on-site permeability test was performed by Kayhanian et al. (2012)
using the falling head method by filling the cylinder with water and
measuring the time required for water to fall the desired depth
within permeameter tiers. It is worth observing that these methods
are still someway insufficient, as they affect the accuracy of the test,
and the sidewall leakage is the biggest problem (Yang 2008).
Pervious concretes have relatively lower compressive strengths
as compared to conventional concretes. This is mainly attributed to
the presence of macro-sized pores and large pore volumes and to
the absence or minimal quantity of fine aggregates (Cackler et al.
2006). The low strength of conventional pervious concrete not only
limits its application in heavy traffic highways but also influences
the stability and durability of the structures. Therefore, it is impor-
tant to investigate the main factors affecting the compressive
strength of pervious concrete and find ways to improve its appli-
cability. Laboratory tests on no-fines pervious concrete for paving

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Fig. 1. Seepage path sketches of three different devices
were conducted by Meininger (1988), and conclusions were drawn
regarding the percentage of air voids needed for adequate per-
meability, the optimum water–cement ratio range, and the amounts
of compaction and curing required. Japan Science and Technology
Corp (Zouaghi et al. 2000) investigated the effects of mix propor-
tions on some properties of a no-fines pervious concrete. Yang and
Jiang (2003) carried out laboratory tests on pervious concrete pave-
ment and found that using smaller aggregate, silica fume (SF), and
superplasticizer (SP) in pervious concrete could greatly enhance its
strength, abrasion resistance, and freezing and thawing. Jiang et al.
(2005) studied the effects of some factors such as grading and par-
ticle size of aggregate, mass ratio of aggregate to cement, mass ratio
of water to cement, admixtures, and mixing process on the proper-
ties of pervious concrete including porosity, permeability, and com-
pressive strength. It was found that the mixing process of cement
paste encapsulating aggregate method could improve the compres-
sive strength of pervious concrete and reduce its porosity while
keeping its permeation coefficient stable. A quantitative relation-
ship between porosity and hydraulic conductivity was established
by Montes and Haselbach (2006) based on the Carman-Kozeny
equation for the specimens tested. Kevern et al. (2006a, b) and
Kevern and Schaefer (2008) carried out a series of studies on the
proportion design, maintenance method, and quality control of
pervious concrete. He also studied the temperature response and
freeze–thaw durability of pervious concrete and found that the
use of sand and fibers provided beneficial effects on pervious
concrete properties, including increased strength, maintained per-
meability, and enhanced freeze–thaw resistance. Indoor tests con-
ducted by Wang and Liu (2009) showed that using polypropylene
fibers in pervious concrete could reduce the shrinkage and
enhance the strength without affecting its permeability.
Previous studies show that strength and permeability of pervious
concrete are two important design factors with contradictory effects
(Montes and Haselbach 2006; Huang et al. 2010; Sumanasooriya
and Neithalath 2011; Cui et al. 2016), while limited research is con-
ducted on the quantitative relations between permeability and
strength properties of pervious concrete, which can be used in mix
design and optimization. The present study is directed to address
the relationship between strength and permeability of pervious con-
crete, with reasonably fitted curves establishing the related perfor-
mances of the pore structure.
In addition, the existing permeability testing devices for per-
vious concrete do not consider the specimen-container interface
leakage induced by the large numbers of open pores on the surface
of the specimen. This seriously affects the permeability testing
© ASCE 04017217-2
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precision. In consideration of the shortcoming, a modified testing
method for permeability was developed, which can provide a more
accurate and reliable permeability coefficient of pervious concrete.
Development of a Modified Pervious Concrete
Permeability Test Device
Modified Permeability Test Device
Permeability measurements on concrete specimens have been de-
veloped mostly for conventional concrete with low permeability
(permeability coefficient less than 0.01 mm=s). Some existing per-
meability testing devices for pervious concrete with large porosity
and high permeability are someway insufficient: Sidewall leakage
is the biggest problem for these testing devices. This is because on
the sides of the specimens there are large numbers of open pores on
the surface of pervious concrete specimens; these open pores are
directly connected to the container sidewall. When water is injected
from the upside of the specimen, it tends to flow to the sidewall
down freely for the sidewall has much less resistance compared
with the core column of pervious concrete, as shown in Fig. 1(a).
The seepage path is changed, and the measured permeability co-
efficient increases significantly. Yang (2008) tried to seal up the
sidewall flow by blocking the specimen-sidewall contact lines
(O-ring) both at the upside and the downside to reduce the sidewall
flow to a certain extent, but the main channels to the sidewall on the
surface of the specimens still exist. As shown in Fig. 1(b), the water
still easily flows by way of sidewall down to the bottom, and the
measured permeability coefficient is still larger than the actual
value. Therefore, a modified permeability testing device for per-
vious concrete is developed. This device can prevent the sidewall
flow in the specimens completely, as shown in Fig. 1(c).
The main structure of the developed permeability testing device
(Fig. 2) includes: storage sleeve, rubber hose, water inlet, Plexiglass
sleeve, rubber cushion, water outlet, and beaker. The Plexiglass
sleeve is divided into three parts, connected with flange bolts. The
inlet and the outlet are set at the top and the bottom, respectively.
The design of the middle part is very important to prevent sidewall
flow, and it consists of two half sleeves on both sides so that the
concrete specimen can be put in and fully clamped. A composite
sidewall structure with waterproof daub, flexible rubber cushion,
and rigid sleeve sidewall is employed. Before the test, petroleum
jelly is used to daub the specimen side to seal the open pores on the
surface so that direct contact between water and sidewall is
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Fig. 2. Permeability test devices: (a) structure chart; (b) photo of test setup (image by Jiong Zhang)

avoided. Meanwhile, a flexible rubber cushion is placed between modified method with the whole sidewall of the specimen daubed
the sleeves to change the connection between specimen and sleeve with petroleum jelly, however, there are still leakages on the side-
from rigid to flexible. Thus, the water inside the specimen flows as wall. For example, for a porosity value of 25%, the permeability
expected [Fig. 1(c)]. from the test method with the petroleum jelly O-ring decreases by
In conventional permeability tests, the coefficient of permeabil- approximately 5%, while the result from the proposed test method
ity K is calculated using Darcy’s law as showed a decrease by 34%.
QL
K¼ ð1Þ
AΔh Strength and Permeability Tests
where Q = flow rate; A = cross section of the specimen; L = length
of the specimen; and Δh = head loss. Test Materials
However, since the petroleum jelly is used to daub the sample Coarse aggregates were composed of limestone rubbles with size
sidewall to seal the open pores on the surface for the modified de- between 4.75 and 9.5 mm. The aggregate grading curve is as shown
veloped device, the effective cross section is smaller than that of the
specimen. The effective area can be calculated as follows:
Vb
Aef ¼ A − ð2Þ
L
where Aef = effective area of the specimen, and V b = volume of
petroleum jelly used. Therefore, to get an accurate permeability, the
effective area Aef is used instead of A in Eq. (1).

Comparative Tests between Different Methods

To demonstrate the advantages of the modified permeability testing
device, comparative tests among three test methods are conducted.
Fig. 3 shows the variations of permeability with porosity for
different permeability test methods (water–cement ratio is 0.36 for
all the specimens). Fig. 3 illustrates the sidewall leakage effect.
The permeability measured by using a test setup with only a rubber
Fig. 3. Variations of permeability with porosity for different permeabil-
cushion is the largest. With petroleum jelly O-ring daubing at both
ity test methods
ends, the measured permeability decreases. Compared with the

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 where P = target porosity; V = void content; ρc and ρw = den-
sities of cement and water; and Rwc = initial water–cement ratio.
5. Make trial batches with calculated mix proportions, and adjust
the value of W/C to find the best mixing W/C. The best mixing
W/C is described as when a ball formed by a handful of pervious
concrete will not crumble or lose its void structure as the paste
flows into the spaces between the aggregates, which is 0.40 in
this study.
6. The final mix proportions are recalculated with the best mixing
W/C.
In addition, to consider the water absorption by the aggregate
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itself, additional water is added according to the difference between

the saturated and natural water absorption of the aggregate.

Determination of Water Reducer Dosage

To investigate the effects of different W/Cs on pervious cement
properties, five different W/Cs are considered, including the best
Fig. 4. Coarse aggregate grading curve
mixing W/C, which is 0.40 in this study. The sulphamate series
superplasticizer (SS) is used as water reducer to get different W/Cs,
and its dosages are determined as follows:
Table 1. Coarse Aggregate Physical Index 1. Prepare the cement mortar with the best mixing W/C to deter-
Parameter Value mine the standard fluidity by the cement jump table test.
Cement jump table is a kind of cement mortar fluidity tester.
Particle size (mm) 4.75–9.5 The cement mortar after stirred [Fig. 5(a)] is poured into the
Apparent density (kg=m3 ) 2,664.5
flow cone [Fig. 5(b)], and then the flow cone is vertically lifted
Stacking density (kg=m3 ) 1,655
Porosity (%) 37.89 upwards, and the jump table is started, beating for 15 times
Crushed value (%) 8.6 [Figs. 5(c and d)]. The diameters along two normal directions
of the cement mortar diffusion on the bottom surface are mea-
sured, and the average value is taken as the fluidity.
2. Prepare the cement mortar with different W/Cs, and add and
is Fig. 4, and the physical indexes are listed in Table 1. Ordinary adjust the water reducer dosages to reach the standard fluidity.
portland cement was used in all prepared mixes. The final water reducer dosages for different W/C are listed in
Table 2.
Mix Design of the Materials 3. Prepare the pervious concrete samples with the final mix pro-
portions and water reducer dosages for different W/C (listed in
Table 3).
Design of Pervious Concrete Mix Proportions
The pervious concrete mix proportion is designed by the follow-
ing steps: Samples Preparation
1. Select the target porosity (P) (10, 15, 20, and 25%) of the con-
crete, and prepare the coarse aggregates based on the grading Cement paste encapsulating aggregate method was used to mix the
curve as shown in Fig. 4. The mass of coarse aggregates per pervious concrete. Firstly, aggregates and 15% water were added
cubic meter of concrete is determined by the close packing den- into the mixer and stirred for 30 s. Secondly, the cement was added
sity, and the mass is multiplied by the reduction factor of 0.98 to form a cement paste shell wrapped around the aggregates.
considering the actual situation. Thirdly, the additive and the remaining water were evenly mixed,
2. Determine the void content (V) of coarse aggregate in the close- added into the mixer, and stirred for 120 s. Finally, all the materials
packed state. As the aggregate particles of pervious concrete are were put into the mold after uniformly mixed.
bonded together with paste uniformly coated in the case of Specimens were made in three kinds of sizes: 100 × 100 ×
close-packed state, they are formed into porous structure after 100 mm for the compressive strength test, 400 × 100 × 100 mm
solidification, and the remaining voids become the connecting for flexural strength tests, and ϕ100 × 100 mm for the permeability
pores inside the concrete. test. The vibration molding method was used, and the duration of
3. Select the initial water–cement ratio (W/C) for the concrete mix. vibration was 15 s. Specimens were demolded after 24 h and then
4. Calculate the quantities of cement (mc ) and water (mw ). were placed in a standard curing room.
Since the pervious concrete mixture is to be designed for a The test target porosity ratios were 10, 15, 20, and 25%, and
certain porosity, the quantities of cement (mc ) and water (mw ) water–cement ratios were 0.32, 0.34, 0.36, 0.38, and 0.4, respec-
can be calculated as follows (per cubic meter of pervious tively. In the tests, a total of 20 cases were studied, as listed in
concrete): Table 3.
mc mw
þ þP¼V ð3aÞ
ρc ρw Strength and Permeability Test Procedure
The strength test was conducted based on China Standard Mechani-
ρc ρw
mc ¼ ðV − PÞ ð3bÞ cal Test Methods of Plain Concrete (GB/T 50081-2002). Tests were
ρw þ ρc Rwc carried out with a hydraulic universal press; the loading speed was
0.5 MPa=s. The average strength value of three specimens in the
mw ¼ mc Rwc ð3cÞ test was taken as a test value.

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Fig. 5. Cement fluidity test (images by Jiong Zhang): (a) mix the cement mortar; (b) flow cone and jump table; (c) cement mortar before vibration;
(d) cement mortar after vibration

Table 2. Test Results of Fluidity Test

The permeability tests of pervious concrete were carried out
Materials Water reducer (SS) Fluidity with the modified device.
W/C (g) dosage [% (g)] (mm)
0.40 Cement: 500 0 256–257
Water: 200 Test Results and Analyses
0.38 Cement: 500 0.45 (2.25) 256–257
Water: 190 In the tests, all experimental results are the average value of three
0.36 Cement: 500 0.8 (4) 255–258 repeated test results. As shown in Fig. 6, the workability of the mix-
Water: 180 ture is proper, pervious concrete specimens are prepared stably, and
0.34 Cement: 500 0.95 (4.75) 255–257 void structures are evenly distributed. The relationship of the mea-
Water: 170 sured porosity and the target porosity is shown in Fig. 7. It con-
0.32 Cement: 500 1.1 (5.5) 256–256 firmed that the measured porosity was very close to the target,
Water: 160
and the test showed good accuracy.

Table 3. Mix Proportions of Per Cubic Meter of Pervious Concrete

Target porosity (%) W/C 0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.40
10 Cement (kg=m3 ) 434 421 409 397 386
Water (kg=m3 ) 139 143 147 151 154
Water reducer (%) 1.1 0.95 0.8 0.45 0
Aggregate (kg=m3 ) 1,622
15 Cement (kg=m3 ) 356 345 335 326 317
Water (kg=m3 ) 114 117 121 124 127
Water reducer (%) 1.1 0.95 0.8 0.45 0
Aggregate (kg=m3 ) 1,622
20 Cement (kg=m3 ) 278 270 262 255 248
Water (kg=m3 ) 89 92 94 97 99
Water reducer (%) 1.1 0.95 0.8 0.45 0
Aggregate (kg=m3 ) 1,622
25 Cement (kg=m3 ) 201 195 189 183 178
Water (kg=m3 ) 64 66 68 70 71
Water reducer (%) 1.1 0.95 0.8 0.45 0
Aggregate (kg=m3 ) 1,622

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Fig. 6. Relationship between target porosity and measured porosity
Fig. 7. Pervious concrete specimens (image by Jiong Zhang)
Effects of Water–Cement Ratio on Pervious Concrete
Strength
The variation of the pervious concrete strength with W/C is shown
in Fig. 8. The relationship between the strength and W/C of per-
vious concrete is different from that of conventional cement con-
crete. Decrease of the W/C does not induce a notable increase of
compressive strength. There is an optimum W/C value, and when
the W/C is about 0.36, both compressive strength and flexural
Fig. 8. Relationship between strength and water-cement ratio: (a) compressive strength; (b) flexural strength
© ASCE
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strength of pervious concrete reach the maximum, and the porosity
(P) shows little influence on the strength. When the W/C is too
small, the hydration colloid and crystal cannot be fully formed,
but when the W/C is too large, the liquidity of the paste goes
too high, and the excess paste flows into the spaces between the
aggregates, thereby reducing the strength of the upper part of
the specimen. This phenomenon has also been described by Sonebi
and Bassuoni (2013).
Effects of Porosity on Pervious Concrete Strength
Both the compressive strength and the flexural strength decrease as
the porosity increases, as shown in Fig. 9. This is because when
porosity increases, less bonding points and bonding area lead to
the reduction of the strength. Meanwhile, the interactions between
granules decrease. Consequently, the strength of pervious concrete
decreases when the porosity and the permeability increase. High
permeability is not the only target of pervious concrete design,
as strength should also be taken into consideration. For different
W/C, the curves of the compressive and flexural strengths versus
the measured porosity can be fitted using the Lorentzian function
with the goodness of fit being 0.946 and 0.835, respectively:
2,566.466 10.161
f c ¼ 10.156 þ ðR2 ¼ 0.946Þ
π 4ðP − 0.453Þ2 þ 103.246
ð4Þ
1,283.830 21.371
f f ¼ 1.979 þ ðR2 ¼ 0.835Þ
π 4ðP þ 4.904Þ2 þ 456.720
ð5Þ
where fc = compressive strength; and f f = flexural strength.
Relationship between Permeability and Porosity
Fig. 10 shows permeability as a function of porosity. It is clear to
see the porosity and permeability coefficient are positively corre-
lated: The permeability coefficient increases when the porosity
increases, and the rate increases. The W/C has little influence
on the permeability coefficient. The porosity increases when the
amount of cement paste reduces. Then, both the water channels
inside the concrete and the average volume of pores increase,
something that makes the permeability increase. The quantitative
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Fig. 9. Relationship between strength and porosity: (a) compressive strength; (b) flexural strength

Fig. 10. Relationship between permeability and porosity

Fig. 11. Relationship between permeability and aggregate–cement

ratio
relationship between measured porosity and permeability coeffi-
cient can be fitted using different kinds of functions. As shown in
Fig. 10, the permeability-porosity curve is obtained where K is co- compressive and the flexural strength decrease when the permeabil-
efficient of permeability (cm=s), and P is target porosity (%). It is ity increases, but the change rate decreases gradually. For different
found that the polynomial function is in better agreement with the W/C, the curves can be fitted using the Lorentzian function with the
results than the Carman-Kozeny function suggested by Montes and goodness of fit being 0.927 and 0.842:
Haselbach (2006).
740.26 1.673
fc ¼ 12.525 þ ðR2 ¼ 0.927Þ ð6Þ
π 4ðK þ 0.778Þ2 þ 2.799
Effects of Aggregate–Cement Ratio on Permeability
Fig. 11 shows the variation of permeability with aggregate–cement 425.875 4.939
ratio. Obviously, aggregate–cement ratio and permeability are pos- f f ¼ 3.032 þ ðR2 ¼ 0.842Þ
π 4ðK þ 3.429Þ2 þ 24.397
itively correlated. The permeability increases when the aggregate–
cement ratio increases. This is because as the aggregate–cement ð7Þ
ratio increases, the amount of cement paste reduces, leading to where K = coefficient of permeability.
the increase of pores between aggregates. Meanwhile, the viscous The strength–permeability curves [Figs. 12 (a and b)] of pervious
resistance of the flow reduces when average pore size increases. concrete show that the pervious concrete strength has a negative cor-
As a result, W/C does not induce a notable increase in permeability relation with its permeability, and the best combination and balance
of pervious concrete until the aggregate–cement ratio becomes of strength and permeability should be determined according to the
larger than 5.5. The curve family of permeability coefficient with characteristics and the requirements of the project.
aggregate–cement ratio is just like an inverted broom type, as
shown in Fig. 11.
Implementation of the Strength–Permeability
Strength–Permeability Curves Empirical Model in the Design of Pervious Concrete

The variation curves of compressive and flexural strength with per- The two important design parameters used for pervious concrete
meability coefficient are shown in Figs. 12(a and b). Both the program are permeability and compressive strength. Based on

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Fig. 12. Relationship between strength and permeability: (a) compressive strength; (b) flexural strength
the obtained empirical relationships between different parameters,
especially the strength–permeability empirical model, a more sim-
ple and precise design process is developed. The design process is
as follows:
1. Determine the target strength fc and permeability coefficient K
with the minimum standards specifying the level of quality con-
trol from the engineering requirements, for example, fc > A
and K > B.
2. Then an “effective interval” is obtained as shown in Fig. 13,
using the empirical relationship between compressive strength
f c and permeability coefficient K according to Fig. 12. The de-
sired range of compressive strength f c ∈ (A, C) and permeabil-
ity K ∈ (B, D) are obtained.
3. Obtain the porosity P from the desired mean permeability coef-
ficient K using the empirical relationship between permeability
coefficient K and porosity P according to Fig. 10.
4. Obtain the optimum water–cement ratio for the desired mean
compressive strength f c and the porosity P using the empirical
relationship between compressive strength and water cement
ratio according to Fig. 8.
5. With the known aggregate–cement ratio and the optimum
water–cement ratio determined by Step 4, obtain the permeabil-
ity coefficient K based on Fig. 11, and examine whether the per-
meability coefficient K is in the desired range.
Fig. 13. Implementation of the strength-permeability empirical model
in the design of pervious concrete
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J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2017, 29(11): 04017217
6. The mix design complying with the engineering requirements is
achieved by the previous steps.
Conclusions
A modified device for permeability testing was developed. In the
permeability test, petroleum jelly is used to daub the sample side to
seal the open pores on the surface so that the sidewall leakage prob-
lem was solved, which provides a more accurate and reliable
method of measuring the permeability of pervious concrete.
Based on a series of tests, it is found that for pervious concrete
there is an optimum W/C unlike the conventional concrete, and
in the test, when W/C equals 0.36, the pervious concrete is the
strongest. The strength-permeability empirical model of pervious
concrete was established. The strength of pervious concrete de-
creases when the permeability increases, but the rate of reduction
decreases gradually. Based on the strength-permeability empirical
model, the optimum mix proportion can be determined according to
the engineering requirements.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Science Fund for Distinguished
Young Scholars of Shandong Province (No. JQ201416), the
Natural Science Foundations of China (Nos. 51479105 and
51379115), and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents
in University of Ministry of Education of China (NCET-13-0340).
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