DATAsheet > FEB

2004

PERMEABLE Concrete Pavements

INTRODUCTION Permeable concrete pavements can be used in

The term ‘permeable (or pervious) concrete two stormwater management system types,
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pavement’ broadly covers pavements utilising open viz infiltration or retention/attenuation:

texture porous insitu concrete mixes, concrete block
pavers or flagstones and grassed infill systems that ■ Infiltration systems utilise base materials,
allow air and liquids to pass through. subgrade soils and the natural groundwater
This Data Sheet provides a brief description of system to filter, treat and discharge stormwater.
types of permeable concrete pavements and their Sub-grade soils of low infiltration rates
applications. More detail can be found in the state- (incorporating significant clay content) may
of-the-art report1. require modification in order to accommodate
design discharge capacities.
APPLICATIONS
Permeable pavements are typically adopted for ■ Retention/attenuation (or tanked) systems
their environmental, cost, and/or functional incorporate base and subbase storage in
advantages in relation to stormwater management. conjunction with standard drainage infrastructure
Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) has been to provide a delayed stormwater discharge.
adopted in several countries around the world in Retention systems can also enable reuse of
order to decrease stormwater flow rates and also stormwater for some domestic purposes such
the volume of catchment runoff. Permeable as irrigation.
pavements are considered a ‘source control’ option
in providing a means of collecting and treating
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stormwater, and thus minimising the extent and

cost of traditional stormwater infrastructure.

PERMEABLE pavements are typically

adopted for their environmental, cost,
and/or functional advantages in relation
to stormwater management.
 Parking lots, sporting facilities, and residential cement ratio of 4 to 4.5 results in compressive
streets can be constructed in permeable concrete strengths of 5–13 MPa and required design
insitu pavement as well as flagstones and pavers. thicknesses slightly greater than traditional concrete
Benefits of the various different types of permeable pavements. A small amount of sand (10–20% of
concrete pavements also include high slip/skid total aggregate) is seen to improve strength
resistance, noise attenuation, groundwater recharge characteristics. Strength increases with a rise in
and pollution/siltation control. Usage is restricted compaction energy and a decrease in aggregate-
by site/terrain flatness; typically, pavement and cement ratio. It is not practical to incorporate
subgrade slopes of 5% are the steepest at which they shrinkage reinforcement; however drying shrinkage
are effective. Performance of permeable pavement is approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of conventional concrete
systems is considered in terms of percolation rate, (in order of 200–300 microstrain).
the units of measurement commonly used are Specification Guidelines covering installation,
millimetres per hour (mm/hr) and litre/minute/m2. testing and acceptance criteria have been developed
Whole-of-life costs and benefits of incorporating by the Georgia Concrete and Products Association2.
permeable concrete pavement should be compared Design procedures developed in the USA3,4 can be
with traditional stormwater infrastructure. utilised for pavement thickness calculations. The
Active pollution mechanisms inherent with PCA procedure4 is noted to be more applicable for
these pavement types include absorption, straining, thin pavements of 125 mm or less.
and microbiological decomposition. Studies indicate Production and construction of permeable
permeable pavements are effective in the removal of concrete pavements require a high level of
sediments, total phosphorous, nitrogen, zinc, lead, supervision. Control of water content is critical for
and chemical oxygen demand. Filtration occurs due workability and strength. Initial set occurs around
to percolation through the base and subbase 1 hour (1.5 hours with retarders). Covering with
mediums while anaerobic microorganisms assist in plastic sheets is the recommended curing method.
breaking down hydrocarbon pollutants. A geotextile Most commonly, the quality of permeable
layer can further assist with pollution control. pavements is assessed by measuring the unit
weight of both plastic and cured concrete.
PERMEABLE INSITU CONCRETE During service, high-pressure machine washing
Permeable insitu concrete pavement solutions are and vacuuming of insitu pavements is recommended;
also known as percolating concrete, no-fines this form of maintenance restores 80–90% of
concrete, and porous paving. Projects incorporating pavement void capacity.
permeable insitu concrete pavement have mostly
been undertaken in Florida, USA, due to the highly
permeable nature of sub-grade materials, and also
in Japan, due to the combination of hydrological
conditions and terrain. Documented use includes
residential streets, parking areas and pedestrian
pavements, with some existing pavements being in
the order of 20 years old. Sporting-facility pavements
including tennis courts were constructed in New
Zealand in the 1970s.
Key characteristics of permeable insitu
pavements include a typical void ratio of 20–25%
providing high in-service percolation rates ranging
from 150–750 litres/minute/m2. Construction with Photo courtesy of Florida Concrete and Products Association
portland or blended cement, 10-mm aggregate, a
water/cement ratio of 0.3–0.4, and an aggregate to PERMEABLE PAVERS AND FLAGS
Concrete paver and flag systems have been accepted
internationally for use as a Best Management
Practice (BMP). Several significant projects have
been undertaken in Australia to date, including the
Homebush Olympic site, and residential streets in
Kiama and Manly, all in NSW. Major Australian
companies are marketing permeable block paver
solutions and can provide basic design assistance.
Tests undertaken abroad have also considered the
use of pavers in heavy-vehicle loading scenarios.
Pavement profiles typically consist of paver
units supported on bedding material, over a
geotextile membrane and open/gap-graded subbase.
Photo courtesy of Florida Concrete and Products Association Indicative in service percolation rates vary between

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FEB
2004

systems (2400–4500 mm/hr), and are noted as

being significantly different from initial/installation
rates due to clogging. The ‘service life’ of a
pavement system is highly dependent on clogging,
which can be correlated to the ratio of permeable to
impermeable catchment area. Research has shown
that adoption of a maintenance regime that includes
sweeping and/or vacuuming will keep the pavement
effective over its service life.

REFERENCES
1 Permeable Concrete Pavements – a-state-of-
the-art report, Cement & Concrete Association
of Australia, February 2004.
2 Recommended Specifications for Portland
Cement Pervious Pavement Georgia Concrete
and Products Association Inc., August 1997
3 Ghafoori, N Pavement Thickness Design for No
Fines Concrete Parking Lots Journal of
Transportation Engineering, November/
December 1995.
4 Packard, R G and Tayabji, S D New PCA
thickness procedure for concrete highway and
street pavements Proceedings Concrete
Pavement Design and Rehabilitation Conference,
West Lafayette, Ind., 1985, pp 225–236.

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