Improved designed method of pervious concrete based on optimal volume ratio of paste to aggregate

An improved design method of pervious concrete was proposed to lower the deviation between the designed and actual porosity and maintain both mechanical property and permeability of pervious concrete. The improved design method is mainly based on the optimal volume ratio of paste to aggregate (VRPA), which was determined by testing the average thickness of cement paste coating aggregate. The performances of pervious concrete designed by the traditional method and the improved one were compared. The results show that with the increase of designed porosity, the reduction of compressive strength and flexural strength of pervious concrete designed by the improved method is significantly smaller than those designed by the traditional one. The maximum deviation between the designed and actual porosity of the pervious concrete by the improved method is only 1.54%, which is far less than 8.7% obtained by the traditional one. Micro-structural analysis shows that the porous distribution of pervious concrete designed by improved method exhibits better uniformity.