Life-cycle assessment and multi-criteria performance evaluation of pervious concrete pavement with fly ash

Abstract Pervious concrete pavement has great potential in reducing surface water runoff and improving water quality. This study aims to conduct life cycle assessment (LCA) and multi-criteria assessment of pervious concrete pavement with the use of fly ash. The research significance lies in the integration of hydraulic and structure designs for developing functional unit of pervious concrete pavement and combining environmental impacts with engineering and economic indicators. A full LCA of pervious concrete pavement system was conducted including the stages of material, construction, transportation, use, maintenance, and end-of-life stage. The impact assessment included global warming potential, energy consumption, and eutrophication potential due to runoff purification. The pervious concrete pavement structures were designed based on mechanical properties of mixtures, hydrological requirement of reservoir layer, and subgrade soil type to meet equivalent performance on parking lot and highway shoulder. Multi-criteria analysis of pervious concrete mixes and pavement systems were presented based on the normalization of environmental impacts, engineering performances, and economic costs. The LCA results showed that the environmental impacts of pervious pavement system were mainly generated from material stage in terms of 81% to 92% GHG emissions and 70% to 83% energy consumption. The performance rankings of pervious concrete mixes were different from those of pervious pavement structures. The pervious concrete pavement with fly ash can cause greater or less environmental impact, depending on mechanic properties of pervious concrete and the required surface layer thickness to achieve equivalent structural performance.