Temperature Behavior of Pervious Concrete Systems

To achieve the permitted stormwater effluent limits required by the Clean Water Act, many best management practices (BMPs) are being utilized to reduce the overall stormwater volume and provide initial pretreatment and pollutant removal. One such BMP is use of portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC), which allows stormwater to pass through the pavement into an aggregate base below to infiltrate. Until now, the temperature response of the entire system (concrete, aggregate base, and natural soil) was not known. Since PCPC is an infiltration-based BMP, once a frost line forms under the base the infiltrating capacity is reduced or eliminated. PCPC also is recommended for use in warmer climates as a cooler pavement alternative to conventional concrete or asphalt. To quantify the temperature behavior of a pervious concrete system, a fully monitored parking lot—composed of half traditional concrete and half PCPC—was constructed at Iowa State University as part of the Iowa Pervious Concrete Stormwater Project. Sensors were installed through the profile of both pavements and into the underlying soil. The results show that insulation from the aggregate base underneath the pervious concrete substantially delays the formation of a frost layer and permeability is restored when meltwater is present. It was also observed that in direct sunlight, the pervious pavement became hotter than traditional concrete, whereas the daily low temperature of the two was similar, indicating less heat storage capacity in the pervious concrete.