Mechanical Properties and Structure of Porous Concrete

A test road with 40 n-mi porous concrete top layer on a 180 mm thick continuously reinforced concrete pavement has been constructed in May 1996 in Belgium following the wet-in-wet method. A preliminary test program was conducted at the Catholic University of Leuven to reveal the influence of different polymer dispersions on the mechanical properties and durability of porous concrete. Four types of polymer dispersions have been investigated. Furthermore the influence of the polymer-cement ratio on the mechanical properties of the porous concrete was studied. The results indicated that besides the large influence of the porosity, the properties of porous concrete mainly depend on the properties of the polymer-cement paste matrix and the bond between this matrix and the aggregates. This paper discusses the results obtained from the tests. It reveals the influence of the type of polymer and of the polymer-cement ratio on the properties of porous concrete. In addition the results of field tests are shortly discussed.