Pervious Concrete Pavement Performance in the Canadian Freeze-Thaw Climate

Pervious concrete pavement is a sustainable paving material that allows moisture to drain from the surface and naturally infiltrate into the subgrade. Pervious concrete pavement has been used consistently, with success, throughout the southern United States where freeze-thaw cycles are not common. Use of this valuable paving material in freeze-thaw climates such as Canada has been minimal to date. The Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, industry members and the Cement Association of Canada have partnered to carry out an extensive project to understand the potential use and performance of pervious concrete pavement in freeze-thaw climates, specifically Canada. Five field sites are included in the project and are located across Canada. The field sites are exposed to natural climatic changes and loading conditions. The field sites are evaluated regularly for permeability and surface distress development which allows for changes to be closely monitored. Field sites are also instrumented with moisture and strain gauges that provide data related to the behaviour of pervious concrete pavement during freeze-thaw cycles and precipitation events. The field sites have generally shown good performance, maintaining adequate permeability rates for over two years. The performance of the field sites and finding to date are presented in this paper.