Experimental investigation on freeze–thaw durability of Portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC)

• The deterioration characteristics of PCPC under freeze–thaw attacks are explored.
• Quantitative methods are proposed to characterize the freeze–thaw durability of PCPC.
• Laboratory molded PCPC exhibit superior mechanical performances than field paved PCPC.
• The relationship between field and laboratory produced PCPC is presented.

Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of Portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC) with a particular focus on freeze–thaw durability. The admixtures and modifiers such as air-entraining agent (AEA), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) latex, and polypropylene (PP) fibers were considered in various mixtures to explore their influences on the performances of PCPC. In order to address the different behaviors of PCPC produced in field and laboratory, field specimens cored from experimental pavement sections were compared to the specimens molded in the laboratory, and appropriate quantification indicators were proposed in the study for the comparison. The test results showed that even with high porosities, a proper content of AEA added in the PCPC mixture could still improve its strength and increase its freeze–thaw durability to some extent. The mixture with latex modified could achieve much higher strength and better freeze–thaw durability due to the enhancement of interfacial bonding on the cementitious matrix. Apparent improvements on tensile strength and freeze–thaw durability were also observed for the mixture reinforced by PP fibers with various nominal lengths. In addition, the analysis of the relationship between field and laboratory produced PCPC showed that the pervious pavement paved in the actual field usually presented inferior overall mechanical performances than the PCPC produced in the laboratory, especially on the freeze–thaw durability. Therefore, a reduction coefficient should be considered when design a PCPC pavement and predict its performance with the standard laboratory methods that commonly used for ordinary concrete.