PERVIOUS
CONCRETE FOR
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
P
ervious concrete was first used in the 1800s in Europe
as pavement surfacing and load bearing walls and then
it became increasingly viable in Europe after the Second
World War due to the scarcity of cement. But it did not
become as popular in the US until the 1970s. Pervious concrete is
a Special type of concrete with a high porosity which can be used
for concrete flat work applications. It allows water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly and reduce the runoff. The
void content in a pervious concrete can be in range of 18 to 35%.
The infiltration rate of pervious concrete will fall into the range of
80 to 720 liters per minute per square meter. They are traditionally
used in areas with light traffic, parking areas and pedestrian walkways. When comparing with traditional concrete, pervious concrete
has more voids because it doesn’t contain or present in very small
amount of fine aggregates. Also, pervious concrete cannot achive
greater strenghts and stiffer than traditional concrete. But when
traditional concrete is compared to pervious concrete across criteria
of cost and future outcomes such as durability and maintenance,
pervious concrete is somewhat equal to traditional concrete.
Under the aspect of sustainable development, pervious concrete can
be evaluated according to the factors such as Economical factors,
Environmental factors & social factors. Economic factors are Overall
cost of producing the mixture is slightly low since it contain low
amount of cement, reduction of costs for installing curbs, gutters,
underground piping, storm drain inlets and storm drains, reduction in
grading requirement for the pavement and it increases land utilization. When considering environmental feasibility it can be used as a
proper storm water management system. It also reduces the surface
runoff which prevents the flooding and increases the groundwater
“main advantage of
pervious concrete is
that it reduces the
gener