The fundamental material characteristic that makes pervious concrete a sustainable material is its open pore structure. Characterization of the pore structure thus becomes important in the evaluation and prediction of pervious concrete performance. This article provides details on methods for characterizing pore structure features such as porosity, pore size, and pore connectivity and how to use these features to predict the performance of pervious concrete.

With the increased use of performance-based specifications, it’s important to have acceptance tests that correlate with performance criteria. Many state departments of transportation have developed high-performance concrete mixtures to produce bridge decks with a low permeability to chloride ions. In many instances, though, prescriptive compressive strength, air content, and slump tests are used for acceptance testing. Based on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s field data, the authors’ experience is that the rapid chloride permeability test (AASHTO T277 or ASTM C1202-07) is a good indicator of chloride permeability with reproducible results. By using the RCP test for mixture design and quality acceptance, it would provide concrete with the properties that are required in service.