Thorpe, D and Zhuge, Y (2010) Advantages and disadvantages in using permeable concrete pavement as a pavement construction material. In: Egbu, C (ed.) Proceedings of 26th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2010, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
The management of environmental sustainability is of increasing importance to the construction industry and its management. One of the issues with respect to sustainability is the impact of urbanization, which results in the conversion of pervious spaces to areas of impervious (paved) surfaces, leading to a range of related problems. A solution is to use permeable concrete pavements, which can be an effective means of addressing a number of environmental issues and supporting sustainable development. Permeable pavements can facilitate biodegradation of oils from cars and trucks, help rainwater infiltrate into soil, decrease urban heating, replenish groundwater, allow tree roots to breathe, and reduce flash flooding. However, the long term behaviour of permeable pavement is still not well understood. Permeable concrete is a special structural concrete with the fine particles removed. This creates 15 to 20% voids. Thus, permeable concrete obtains more voids in the structure leading to higher water infiltration and air exchange rates compared with conventional concrete. However, a current constraint to the development of permeable pavements is their perceived lack of structural strength. This is caused mainly by the need for greater porosity for treatment purposes. This paper demonstrates that this material is not only an important contributor to sustainable practice, but that also it can, with proper mix design and targeted use of admixtures, achieve reasonable strength for use as a pavement construction material.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | asset management; civil engineering; material management; risk; sustainability |
| Index terms: | environmental sustainability, mix design, permeable pavement, biodegradation, construction industry, rainwater, admixture, flooding, sustainable development, asset management, pavement construction, groundwater, sustainable practice, urbanization, conversion, environmental issue, infiltration |
| Subjects: | urban planning, environmental science, environmental issues, materials science, asset management, sustainable practices, environmental engineering, environmental hazards, industry analysis, manufacturing engineering, concrete and cementitious materials, infrastructure engineering, health safety and environment, water management |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Governance, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Construction Materials, Business Strategy, Health and Safety |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here