Sustainability assessment and physical characterization of pervious concrete pavement made with GGBS

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, P.O. Box 15551
² Department of Civil Engineering, American University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, P.O. Box 28282

^* Corresponding author: helhassan@uaeu.ac.ae

Abstract

The increasing use of pervious concrete as sustainable and environment-friendly paving materials is primarily owed to its ability to reduce pavement runoff. The mechanical and transport properties of pervious concrete with 50% ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) replacement are examined in this paper. Open-graded 10 mm and 20 mm aggregates were used to attain porosity of 10%, 15%, and 20%. Polypropylene short cut fibers were added to the mix. The clogging potential of pervious concrete exposed to dust was also investigated. The results indicated that increasing the porosity led to a decrease in compressive and tensile strength. Similar findings were reported when smaller aggregates were used. The fiber addition was only effective in low-porosity concrete. Permeability, characterized by its coefficient k, was proportional to porosity and inversely proportional to aggregate size. After 40-year simulated dust exposure, the concrete permeability could be restored with water flushing maintenance process. In comparison to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete, pervious concrete incorporating GGBS is a more sustainable paving solution, offering a reduction in heat island effect and electricity consumption while also alleviating carbon emissions.