Compressive response of pervious concretes proportioned for desired porosities

An understanding of the mechanical response of pervious concretes as a function of material design and pore structure parameters is essential for effective utilization of this material. A methodology to proportion pervious concrete mixtures of desired porosity using high or low cement paste contents is provided in this paper along with the compressive response of these mixtures. The compressive stress–strain relationships demonstrate: (i) a consistent trend of decreasing peak stresses and strains at peak stress with increasing porosity, (ii) a reduction in strains at peak stresses with reducing paste contents, and (iii) a rapid drop in the post-peak response with reducing porosity. The compressive energy absorbed by the pervious concrete specimens is found to scale linearly with compressive strength and can be related to the porosity and critical pore sizes in the material.

► Porosity-based mixture design methodology for pervious concretes.
► Compressive stress-strain response of high- and low-paste content pervious concrete mixtures.
► Analysis of the dependence of compressive strength on porosity and paste volume fraction.
► Compressive energy absorption of pervious concretes and the influence of porosity and critical pore size on energy absorption.