Proceedings of the 2005 Mid-Continent Transportation Research Symposium, Ames, Iowa, August 2005. © 2005 by Iowa State
University. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the author(s), who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the
information presented herein.
Mix Design Development for Pervious Concrete in Cold Weather
Climates
John Kevern
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University
394 Town Engineering Building
Ames, IA 50011
kevernj@iastate.edu
Kejin Wang
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University
492 Town Engineering Building
Ames, IA 50011
kejinw@iastate.edu
Muhannad T. Suleiman
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University
405 Town Engineering Building
Ames, IA 50011
suleiman@iastate.edu
Vernon R. Schaefer
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University
482B Town Engineering Building
Ames, IA 50011
vern@iastate.edu
ABSTRACT
Portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC) is increasingly being used in the United States in sidewalks
and parking lots due to its benefits in reducing the amount of runoff water and improving water quality. In
the United States, PCPC typically has high porosity and low strength, which has resulted in limited use of
pervious concrete in hard wet freeze environments (i.e., the Midwest and Northeast). The purpose of this
research is to develop a PCPC mix that not only has sufficient porosity for stormwater infiltration, but
also desirable strength and freeze-thaw durability. In this research, concrete mixes were designed with
various sizes and types of aggregates, water-to-binder ratios, binder contents, and amounts of admixtures.
Porosity, permeability, strength, and freeze-thaw durability of these mixes were evaluated. Preliminary
research results indicated that the use of single-sized aggregate could provide concrete with high porosity
but not adequate strength. Above a certain level, increasing cement content resulted in a reduced concrete
porosity with insignificant influence on concrete strength. Using sand and latex significantly improved the
workability of PCPC and resulted in higher strength, appropriate permeability, and freeze-thaw resistance
at 180 cycles to date.
Key words: freeze-thaw—permeability—pervious concrete—strength