Experimental investigation on the properties of pervious concrete over fiber-reinforced pervious concrete

Abstract

Pervious concrete is a special type of concrete which consists of only coarse aggregates, cement, water, and no fine aggregates. Due to the absence of fine aggregates, voids are created in the concrete which allows percolation of water through it. Pervious concrete can be used as a paving material on low loading intensity pavements; it enables runoff water to percolate at really high rates and hence recharging the groundwater table. The purpose of this project is to enhance the mechanical properties of pervious concrete by incorporating polypropylene fibers in the mix. Aggregates of 16 and 20 mm sizes were used to alter the strength and permeability of the concrete. Along with the basic tests, compression test, split tensile test, void ratio, and permeability tests were conducted for four different mixes of concrete, i.e., (i) 16 mm coarse aggregates, cement, and water; (ii) 20 mm coarse aggregates, cement, and water; (iii) 16 mm coarse aggregates, cement, water, and polypropylene fibers; and (iv) 20 mm coarse aggregates, cement, water, and polypropylene fibers. Each mix of concrete was tested for 7 and 28 days of curing. The obtained results were compared to distinguish the mechanical properties of the porous concrete for different mixes. The results showed that the fiber-reinforced pervious concrete exhibited high split tensile strength and compressive strength but reduced permeability and void content compared to the nominal pervious concrete.