Hydraulic characterization of the layers of a permeable pavement

Abstract

Infiltration systems such as permeable pavements (PPs) are alternatives that allow a reduction of the volume of the generated runoff hydrographs, and the pollutant load. Besides that, they promote groundwater recharge. An experimental site was installed in the city of Recife to study the PP technique using hollow blocks for damping flooding. The aim of this paper is to present the hydrodynamic characterization and analyse the infiltration of the coating and sub-grade layer in a PP through the Beerkan methodology. This characterization allows the simulation of the PP hydraulic behavior when applied to a surface runoff flow. Thus, it was concluded that the coating layer had an infiltration capability higher than the subgrade. The methodology leaded to an isolated understanding of each component properties and a joint understanding of the device hydraulic operation.