Portland cement pervious

pavement construction
By Jack Paine

Unique mix design calls for special mixing and placing techniques

hen properly proportioned and
W placed, pervious concrete pave-
ments provide a smooth, durable riding
surface while retaining an open surface
texture that allows water to pass. But be-
cause of its unique characteristics, pervi-
ous concrete requires procedures for sub-
grade preparation, mixing, transporting,
and placing that are different from those
for conventional concrete.
Applications for
pervious pavements
Stormwater management is the most
common reason for using pervious pave-
ments (Ref. 1). Florida, for example, uses
pervious pavements because the state
government restricts the amount of rain-
water runoff that new building develop-
ments can add to drainage channels. By
allowing water penetration, pervious
pavements have less surface runoff. This
decreases peak water flow into storm
sewers and nearby streams and decreases
the area required for stormwater retention
ponds. Pervious pavements also allow op-
timum land use, reducing development
costs. Other applications for pervious
concrete include driveways, pool decks,
tennis courts, and patios.
within 1 hour from the time mix water
is introduced.
Pervious pavement can pass 3 to 5 gal-
lons of water per minute for each square
foot of surface area. Omitting most or all
the fine aggregate gives the pavement its
porosity. Typically, portland cement per-
vious pavements use a single-size graded
aggregate and have a void content rang-
ing from 15% to 25%. Because fine ag-
gregate is omitted, a maximum coarse ag-
gregate size of 38 inch is normally used to
provide a relatively smooth riding sur-
face. The smaller size coarse aggregate al-
so makes handling and placing easier.
Subgrade preparation
Pervious concrete pavements are
placed over a permeable subgrade or sub-
base compacted to 94%, 2%, of maxi-
mum density as determined by AASHTO
T-180. The subgrade or subbase must be
permeable so it can accommodate the wa-
ter that drains through the pervious pave-
ment. It may even be designed as a port-
land cement permeable base (see article
on page 660).
Sandy soil with good drainage re-
quires no special treatment. Impervious
subbases, such as clay, must have a per-
meable layer at least 4 to 6 inches thick
installed between it and the pavement.
Consult a geotechnical engineer for de-
sign and construction options when the
subgrade consists of clay or other im-
pervious soil layers.
The pervious pavement profile should
be relatively flat. If placed on a steep
grade, the stormwater flow within the
pavement washes away the subgrade ma-

What is pervious pavement?

Pervious concrete is a discontinuous
mixture of coarse aggregate, portland ce-
ment, and water. The cement content
ranges from 600 to 630 pounds per cubic
yard, coarse aggregate content from 2,000
to 2,500 pounds, and the water-cement ra-
tio from 0.34 to 0.40 (Ref. 2). Laboratory
and field tests show 600 pounds per cubic
yard to be the minimum cement factor.
Because it uses very little mix water, per- Figure 1. Workers use shovels and rakes to spread pervious concrete before
vious concrete has a short initial set time strikeoff by a mechanical screed.
terial. If grades with slopes greater than
1% are required, create impervious barri-
ers perpendicular to the direction of the
drainage. Using a soil filter fabric, for ex-
ample, will hold subgrade soils in place
and reduce soil migration.
Because pervious concrete contains lit-
tle mix water, the subgrade or subbase
must be moist before concrete placement.
A dry subbase or subgrade accelerates set
time, decreasing the contractors time for
placing, compacting, and jointing the
pavement. Also, rapid moisture loss
weakens the aggregate bonding strength
of the mortar paste.

Mixing and transporting

The unique properties of a pervious
concrete mix require special mixing and
handling techniques.
Batching. To produce a mix of proper
consistency, measure the aggregate mois-
ture content and adjust the mix water ac-
cordingly. The quantity of mix water
should produce a cement paste that dis-
plays a wet-metallic sheen. Too much wa-
ter will wash the paste from the aggregate
and too little will prevent the paste from
bonding to the aggregate particles.
To check consistency, squeeze a hand-
ful of the concrete into a ball, then release
it. If the consistency is right, the concrete
will not crumble or turn into a highly
plastic mass without air voids.
When loading materials into the truck,
choose a charging sequence that mini-
mizes undesirable balling. Visually in-
spect the batch to check for balling and
for the correct mix consistency.
Transportation. When transporting
concrete in the ready mix truck, the mixer
drum should rotate at the lowest agitating
speed. Use a water reducer that retards set
when anticipating long haul times. Be-
cause of its fast set time, the mix should
be discharged from the truck within 90
minutes after introducing the mix water
with a retarding admixture.
Discharging. Because pervious pave-
ment mixes exhibit a slump near zero,
discharging the concrete from the truck
can be difficult. For easier discharge, use
ready mix trucks with wide discharge
openings and elevate the front wheels of
rear-discharge trucks.
Cleanup. Pervious mixes exhibit a
strong bond causing rapid buildup on
Figure 2. A full-width roller compacts pervious concrete to the height of the
forms. Rolling should be completed within 20 minutes after strikeoff.
mixer blades. To provide uniform mixing,
closely inspect the blades and clean when
required. To minimize buildup, some pro-
ducers use a ready mix truck for only two
loads of pervious concrete, then use the
truck to haul other concrete types. Adding
coarse aggregate and a retarding admix-
ture in the wash water will help clean the
mixer drum if buildup occurs.
Placing methods
Many different methods have been
used successfully to place pervious con-
crete pavements, but those described here
are the most common. Placing methods
vary according to the size and configura-
tion of the project. Manual methods are
used for small commercial parking areas
and slipform pavers for larger areas.
Contractors with limited experience
placing pervious concrete pavements
should place a trial strip before attempting
to place large areas.
Placing sequence. Typically, contrac-
tors place alternate 10- to 15-foot-wide
strips of pervious concrete, then place
pervious concrete sections between the
strips. Contractors experienced in pervi-
ous concrete placement sometimes place
wider strips.
Forming. The side forms are the
same as conventional forms, except a 12-
inch wood strip is tacked on the top of
the forms. After workers place and
screed the concrete, they remove the
tack strip before full-width rolling of the
pavement for compaction. This 12-inch
increase in form height offsets the de-
crease in pavement thickness due to
compaction. The increase of the form
height is usually 12 inch, but can be as
much as 34 inch depending on the con-
sistency of the mix and the depth of the
pavement being placed.
Spreading. Use square-end shovels,
come-alongs, rakes, or asphalt lutes to
spread the pervious mixture before strike-
off (Figure 1). Segregation is not a prob-
lem with pervious concrete. Place and
distribute the concrete as evenly as possi-
ble, then begin the strikeoff operation.
Strikeoff. A vibrating mechanical
screed set at low vibration is the most
widely used strikeoff method. Some con-
tractors have devised a height-adjusting
device on the vibrating screed to allow for
the 12- to 34-inch additional thickness
needed for compaction. This eliminates
the need for the tack strip on the forms.
Dont use high-frequency vibrating
screeds. They can over-compact the con-
crete, reducing the void structure and wa-
ter permeability. Also, high-frequency vi-
brating screeds can drive the paste from
the coarse aggregate in the top of the
pavement so the paste fills the lower por-
tion of the pavement. This reduces per-
meability and creates a weak top surface.
Over-compaction, however, is rarely a
problem because most vibrating screeds
dont have the force necessary to ade-
quately compact the pervious mix.
Work fast. Many projects require a
30-minute material haul time, which
leaves the contractor only 30 minutes to
discharge, spread, strike off, compact, and
cure the pavement. To minimize prob-
lems related to the early set time, use re-
tarding admixtures and water reducing re-
tarders to extend the initial set time by 1
hour or more. The extended set time al-
lows the contractor to place and compact
the concrete properly.
Compaction
Immediately following vibrating
screed strikeoff, use a full width heavy-
steel pipe roller to compact the pervious
concrete mix to the height of the forms
(Figure 2). Depending on the consistency
of the mix and the ambient temperatures,
more than one pass of the steel roller may
be needed. A roller that applies 5 to 10 psi
is adequate. Clean and oil the roller before
use to prevent surface aggregate from ad-
hering to it.
Experience has shown that the longitu-
dinal construction joints of the fill-in
pavement strips are susceptible to joint
raveling. Additional compaction is need-
ed along this joint to prevent dislodging
of the surface aggregate.
Pavement rolling should be completed
within 20 minutes after strikeoff. Due to
the concretes open texture, moisture loss
is rapid and initial set is fast. Delayed
rolling can be detrimental to the pave-
ment surface. If the concrete has set, the
roller wont compact it to the desired
grade. Also, delayed rolling causes sur-
face fracturing of the coarse aggregate
from the mortar paste and increases the
potential for future raveling.
Finishing not required. Typically, no
finishing operations are required, either
before or after compaction. In fact, nor-
mal bull floating or troweling is not rec-
ommended because these operations may
seal off the pavement surface and de-
crease water penetration. Correct any sur-
face defects immediately by hand-tamp-
ing rather than by normal floating. A
rolling edger with a small radius effec-
tively reduces edge raveling.
Joints
Jointing requirements for pervious
concrete pavements are different from
requirements for normal concrete pave-
ments. Because pervious concrete has
less than one-third the shrinkage charac-
teristics of normal concrete, transverse
contraction joints are spaced 45 to 60
feet apart. The joint depth should be one-
fourth the pavement depth. Cut trans-
verse joints immediately following com-
paction using a rolling joint tool. Or
install the joint later using conventional
sawing methods.
Dont delay when sawcutting joints.
Because of the large area of exposed per-
vious pavement, the material loses water
faster than conventional concrete. Though
it shrinks less than conventional concrete,
it can shrink faster. About 50% to 80% of
the total drying shrinkage can occur with-
in 10 days after placement.
Performance of pervious concrete
pavements to date has shown no need to
use reinforcement or expansion joints.
Curing
Curing a pervious concrete pavement
requires more attention than curing nor-
mal concrete. Because the forms can be
removed earlier than in conventional con-
crete paving operations, pervious pave-
ment edges may lose more moisture. Re-
member, there are 20% voids in the
pavement, so air and water can move lat-
erally and vertically within the pavement
structure. Surface durability can be re-
duced by more than 60% if surfaces are
improperly protected during the initial
curing period of 5 to 7 days.
The most common method of curing a
pervious pavement is to cover the sur-
face and edges with a minimum 6-mil
polyethylene sheeting. Membrane-form-
ing curing compounds dont work well
because they dont cover exposed sur-
faces in the voids. Place the sheeting im-
mediately following compactive rolling.
Secure it in place with reinforcing bars
or lumber carefully laid on the pavement
surface. Avoid using dirt to hold down
the sheeting since it is difficult to remove
without contaminating the pervious
pavement.
Testing
Testing pervious concrete mixtures for
consistency and acceptance presents an-
other unique set of challenges. Standard
ASTM concrete sampling and testing
methods and acceptance criteria for
slump, cylinders, and beams arent suit-
able for pervious concrete pavement. The
ASTM test methods arent recommended
because of the consistency of the mix and
the rodding procedures required when
conducting the tests. Flexural and com-
pressive strength test results will vary
greatly depending on the degree of com-
paction of the sample.
Present acceptance criteria for pervi-
ous concrete mixes are based on the field
unit weight. The unit weight of cores tak-
en from the pavement and the delivered
plastic mixture should be within 5
pounds per cubic foot of the design unit
weight. A 0.25-cubic-foot sample of the
plastic pervious mix is recommended for
uniform results. Because pervious con-
crete is different in consistency and be-
havior from conventional concrete, new
or modified testing methods need to be
developed to accurately predict pavement
performance.
References
1. J. E. Paine, Stormwater Design
Guide Portland Cement Pervious
Pavement, Florida Concrete & Prod-
ucts Association, February 1990.
2. J. E. Paine, Pervious Pavement
Manual, Florida Concrete & Products
Association, 1988.
Acknowledgment
Segments of this article were con-
tributed by Richard O. Albright, a con-
sulting engineer based in Carmel, Ind.
Jack Paine is the engineering manager,
quality assurance & pavement design
construction, for Tarmac Florida Inc.,
Maitland, Fla.
PUBLICATION #C920655
Copyright 1992, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved