Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Impact of aggregate type and size and mineral admixtures on the

properties of pervious concrete: An experimental investigation
Jinlin Huang a, Zhibin Luo b,⇑, Muhammad Basit Ehsan Khan b
a
School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agriculture University, Guangzhou 510642, China
b
School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia

h i g h l i g h t s

 56 groups of pervious concrete samples are studied.

 Explore the influences of aggregate types and size and mineral admixtures on pervious concrete.
 Identify an optimum water-cement ratio and porosity for pervious concrete with higher permeability.
 Identify an optimum replacement level of silica fume and fly ash for pervious concrete with higher permeability.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Balancing the permeability with the compressive strength of pervious concrete is essential to satisfy the
Received 6 April 2020 requirements for pavement concrete. The aggregate type and size and mineral admixtures are important
Received in revised form 17 August 2020 factors influencing the permeability and the compressive strength of pervious concrete. 56 groups of per-
Accepted 28 August 2020
vious concrete samples with different aggregate types and sizes and mineral admixtures were prepared.
Test results show that higher compressive strength and permeability are obtained in pervious concrete
with dolerite aggregate compared to pervious concrete with granite aggregate. The optimum porosity
Keywords:
and w/c for pervious concrete with both dolerite and granite are 18% and 0.25, respectively, in the studied
Pervious concrete
Compressive strength
ranges. For granite aggregate, the permeability decreases as the particle size increases in the case of single
Constant head permeability test size and the lowest permeability is observed for the combined gradation of granite aggregate. The com-
Silica fume pressive strength of pervious concrete increases with the increase of replacement level of silica fume
Fly ash while it decreases with the increase of replacement level of fly ash. The maximum permeability for single
Dolerite aggregate used of silica fume and fly ash is found at the replacement level of 6% and 10%, respectively. The maxi-
Granite aggregate mum permeability for the combined used of silica fume and fly ash was observed in the case of 0% fly ash
and 6% silica fume.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction rainwater management, its application is limited because of its

low strength [4].
Pervious concrete is a material which facilitates protecting Recently, there has been considerable interest in investigating
environment by recharging ground water table and reducing storm the aggregate type and size, w/c, porosity, and supplementary
water runoff [1]. Pervious concrete is being used widely across the cementitious materials to improve mechanical properties and
world in road paving, sidewalk and pathways owing to its high per- durability of pervious concrete. These aggregates include dolerite,
meability, and good thermal properties. However, in order to granite, limestone, quartzite, river gravel, sand, and steel slag.
achieve high porosity and connected void, pervious concrete con- The rough texture and high crushing strength of the dolerite make
tains little or no fine aggregate [2], resulting in significant reduc- it the most common aggregate [5]. These physical properties of
tion of strength and durability [3] Therefore, despite the ability fresh dolerite meet many engineering requirement. Nevertheless,
of pervious concrete to offer better environmental protection and the mineralogical compositions of dolerite could be problematic
due to the instability of weathered dolerite [6]. Researches on
the influences of aggregate size on compressive strength and per-
⇑ Corresponding author. meability of permeable concrete have been carried out in recent
E-mail address: zhibin.luo@sydney.edu.au (Z. Luo).
years. Generally, pervious concrete applied single size aggregates

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120759
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759

to constitute its skeleton [7]. The pores characteristics and cemen- aggregate size on the mechanical properties of pervious concrete.
titious paste thickness were influenced significantly by the aggre- This study was also intended to determine the optimal mineral
gate size [8]. Moreover, the pores characteristics and admixtures including silica fume and fly ash and their proportion.
cementitious paste thickness have an impact on the compressive Referencing to the ‘‘Technical specification for pervious cement
strength and permeability of pervious concrete [9]. Liu studied concrete pavement of China” DB11T 775–2010[18] and CJJ/T135-
the influence of porosity and aggregate size on hydraulic and 2009[19], this study aims at developing pervious concrete with
mechanical properties by laboratory tests, suggesting that the compressive strength above 30 MPa and permeability above
aggregate size is the main factor of the porosity distribution [10]. 1.0 mm/s by comparing different mix designs and their mix pro-
In terms of the compressive strength, there is an optimum aggre- portion for pervious concrete.
gate size for pervious concrete with different binder materials.
For example, the aggregate size of 9.5 mm was the optimum for 2. Experimental programs
ordinary Portland cement pervious concrete while the aggregate
size of 10 mm was the optimum for fly ash-lime-gypsum binder The performance of pervious concrete with various mix propor-
pervious concrete [11]. However, It was found that connected tions is examined with an emphasis on compressive strength and
porosity and compressive strength were affected more by the permeability. Different mix proportions of pervious concrete were
aggregate types than the size [9,12]. Meanwhile, there is an opti- used and tested for compressive strength and permeability to opti-
mum w/c for the pervious concrete with a given size of aggregate mize the mix design meeting the requirements of DB11T775-2010
in terms of the compressive strength. The surface of aggregates and CJJ/T135-2009.
could not be completely coated when the mix is very dry due to Experimental program was divided in two parts. Part 1 involves
low w/c or the cement paste is not enough due to high w/c. More- determining the impact of aggregate type, size, and porosity on the
over, the permeability increases in the case of dry mix due to high performance of pervious concrete and evaluating the optimum mix
porosity while the permeability decreases in the case of high w/c design. Part 2 involves studying the impact of silica fume and fly
ratio because the paste draws down and fills the pores [13,14]. ash on the performance of optimum mix design selected from
The porosity plays an important role in the functional and struc- part 1.
tural performance of pervious concrete [15]. The compressive
strength is inversely related to the porosity for pervious concrete 2.1. Material properties
while the permeability increases with increasing porosity [3]. Sup-
plementary cementitious materials such as silica fume and fly ash For the first stage of experiments, the pervious concrete mix-
are used as partial replacement for ordinary Portland cement. Tests tures were prepared using Ordinary Portland Cement, superplasti-
results have indicated that the impact of these supplementary cizer and coarse aggregate. Polycarboxylate Superplasticizer was
cementitious materials on the compressive strength and perme- used as water reducing admixture. Two different kind of aggre-
ability of pervious concrete is not similar to those observed in con- gates were used in this research including granite and dolerite.
ventional concrete [2]. Generally, the increase of silica fume For granite as a coarse aggregate, two sizes of 5–10 mm and 10–
replacement decreases the permeability of concrete and improves 15 mm were used. While for dolerite, the aggregate size of 5–
the strength of concrete. This is due to pore size refinement and 10 mm was used. Properties of aggregates are presented in Table 1.
matrix densification, reduction in content of Ca(OH)2 and cement For the second stage mineral admixtures including silica fume and
paste-aggregate interfacial refinement [16]. Fly ash is used to fly ash were used. Properties of silica fume and fly ash used in this
improve the strength and durability of concrete. The porosity and research are provided in Table 2 and Table 3 respectively.
permeability coefficient decreased slightly with the addition of
fly ash. A layer of binding material was produced to attach to the 2.2. Mixture proportion
surface of aggregate due to reaction between the acidic SiO2 in
the fly ash and the alkaline component in the cement. Hence, the In order to determine the impact of aggregate, type and size,
internal pore structure of the concrete changed, which affects the and porosity on the performance of pervious concrete, two cate-
strength, the effective porosity and permeability coefficient [17]. gories of pervious concrete were made with different composition.
However, limited research has been carried out to determine Category 1 used granite as the coarse aggregate while category 2
the effect of mineral admixtures and granite aggregate on both involved using dolerite aggregate. The detail mix design for this
strength and permeability, satisfying the technical specification stage of experiments is presented in Table 4 and Table 5. Pervious
for pervious cement concrete pavement. There is a need to under- concrete mixtures G1, G2, and G3 were prepared from granite
stand the permeability of pervious concretes proportioned for aggregate and D1 was prepared from dolerite aggregate. Two dif-
desired levels of w/c, porosity and supplementary cementitious ferent aggregate sizes were used in the pervious concrete samples.
materials so that designers can balance the permeability with the The aggregate size of G1 and D1 is 5–10 mm and that of G3 is 10–
compressive strength. 15 mm. The aggregate size of G2 is 50% of 5–10 mm and 50% of 10–
The objective of this study is to improve mechanical properties 15 mm. Three different w/c ratio and four different design porosi-
of pervious concrete to meet the required standards for pavement. ties were used in the pervious concrete samples.
This was completed through using optimum water-cement ratio Upon optimizing the mix proportion from the previous stage,
and porosity. The study also planned to evaluate the influence of the impact of material additives was studied by replacing cement
dolerite aggregate and granite aggregate as well as the granite with silica fume at the replacement level of 3%, 6% and 9%, and

Table 1
Physical properties of coarse aggregate.

Aggregate type Aggregate Size Apparent density (kg/m3) Bulk density (kg/m3) Crushing value (%) Elongated particle content (%) Porosity of aggregate (%)
Granite 5–10 mm 2600 1504 8.3 9.4 42.12
Granite 50% 5–10 mm 2600 1512 7.6 8.4 41.82
50% 10–15 mm
Granite 10–15 mm 2600 1501 6.4 5.5 42.26
Dolerite 5–10 mm 2900 1750 1.0 2.1 39.66
 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759 3

Table 2
Main technical indexes of silica fume.

Mean diameter (mm) Specific surface area (m2 kg 1

) Mass fraction /%
SiO2 Fe2O3 CaO
0.1 18,500 94 0.59 1.5

Table 3
Main technical indexes of fly ash.

Mean diameter (mm) Mass fraction (%) 7d activity indices (%) 28d activity indices (%)
SiO2 Al2O3
6 50 20 >80 >110

Table 4
Mix proportions, category 1 specimen using granite as the coarse aggregate.

Specimen Size(mm) Aggregate quantity Water-binder Target Cement quantity Water quantity Water reducer
designation (kg
m 3) ratio porosity (kg
m 3) (kg
m 3) (kg
m 3)
G1 5–10 1474 0.20 12% 782 156 0.782
15% 707 141 0.707
18% 632 126 0.632
21% 557 111 0.557
0.25 12% 751 188 0.751
15% 679 170 0.679
18% 607 152 0.607
21% 535 134 0.535
0.30 12% 722 217 0.722
15% 653 196 0.653
18% 583 175 0.583
21% 514 154 0.514
G2 50%5–10,50% 1482 0.20 12% 775 155 0.775
10–15 15% 700 140 0.700
18% 625 125 0.625
21% 550 110 0.550
0.25 12% 744 186 0.744
15% 672 168 0.672
18% 600 150 0.600
21% 528 132 0.528
0.30 12% 715 215 0.715
15% 646 194 0.646
18% 577 173 0.577
21% 507 152 0.507
G3 10–15 1471 0.20 12% 785 157 0.785
15% 710 142 0.710
18% 635 127 0.635
21% 560 112 0.560
0.25 12% 754 188 0.754
15% 682 170 0.682
18% 610 152 0.610
21% 538 134 0.538
0.30 12% 725 217 0.725
15% 656 197 0.656
18% 586 176 0.586
21% 517 155 0.517

fly ash at the replacement level of 10%, 15% and 20%. Moreover, the compressive strength were loaded at rate of 0.5 to 0.8 MPa/s
combined effect of silica fume at the replacement level of 3% and according to GB/T 50081–2019. Constant head permeability tests
6% and fly ash at the replacement level of 10% and 15% was also were performed vertically to determine the hydraulic conductivity
studied. of pervious concrete in the vertical dimension. Three specimens
were prepared to determine the individual mechanical properties
2.3. Specimen and test methods by average values.

The mix proportion of pervious concrete was designed to meet 3. Results and discussion
the requirements of CJJ/T135-2009. Volumetric method was per-
formed to mix materials. The specimen is pressed subjected to a 3.1. Compressive strength and permeability of normal pervious
pressure of 1.5 MPa[20]. After 24 h, specimen is demoulded and concrete
placed in curing tank for 28 days at room conditions. Both the com-
pressive strength and permeability of pervious concrete specimens Table 6 displays the compressive strength and permeability of
was determined according to DB11T 775–2010 and CJJ/T135-2009. pervious concrete with granite and dolerite aggregates to evaluate
For every measurement, 3 specimens were tested. Specimens for the influence of different aggregate, type and gradation, water-
4 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759

Table 5
Mix proportions, category 2 specimen using dolerite as the coarse aggregate.

Specimen Size Aggregate quantity Water-binder Target Cement quantity Water quantity Water reducer
designation (mm) (kg
m 3) ratio porosity (kg
m 3) (kg
m 3) (kg
m 3)
D1 5–10 1715 0.20 12% 710 156 0.71
15% 636 140 0.64
18% 562 124 0.56
21% 489 107 0.49
0.25 12% 693 173 0.69
15% 621 155 0.62
18% 549 137 0.55
21% 477 119 0.48
0.30 12% 682 184 0.68
15% 611 165 0.61
18% 540 146 0.54
21% 469 127 0.47

Table 6
Compressive strength and permeability of pervious concrete.

Aggregate gradation W/Cn Compressive strength (MPa) Permeability (mm/s)

0.20 0.25 0.30 0.20 0.25 0.30
G1 12% 17.2 53.4 48.3 1.38 0.30 0.17
15% 13.0 32.6 35.9 1.48 0.55 0.40
18% 9.9 30.3* 28.5 1.73 1.25* 0.63
21% 7.6 22.3 23.8 1.95 2.29 1.45
G2 12% 13.9 56.9 47.3 0.65 0.28 0.24
15% 25.8 38.5 37.8 1.27 0.44 0.45
18% 10.4 32.5* 34.9* 1.68 1.05* 1.09*
21% 13.9 23.6 26.6 2.87 2.37 2.29
G3 12% 9.6 53.6 44.6 0.63 0.28 0.12
15% 17.8 35.0 32.6 1.21 0.45 0.40
18% 14.7 31.5* 29.2 2.98 1.09* 0.79
21% 9.6 23.6 21.4 4.50 2.13 0.94
D1 12% 23.5 53.7 49.9 1.42 0.42 0.19
15% 21.2 37.8* 36.3 1.63 1.05* 0.82
18% 27.1 32.8* 30.9* 2.77 1.73* 1.02*
21% 11.8 25.6 24.6 2.23 3.44 2.21

cement ratio, and porosity. The compressive strength and perme- Results show that both porosity and water-cement ratio are
ability of specimens is tested after a standard curing condition of necessary in controlling pervious concrete compressive strength
28 days. and permeability. The pervious concrete compressive strength
As seen in the table, increase of porosity results in the decrease decreases as water-cement ratio is below the optimum level. w/c
of compressive strength and the increase of permeability. This is ratio lower than the optimum value leads to inadequate water
similar to those observed in normal pervious concrete [3,15].With availability for complete hydration of the binder [21] and results
porosity of 12%, the compressive strengths of pervious concrete in loss of compressive strength. Thus, the compressive strength
using aggregate gradation of G1, G2, G3, and D1 with w/c ratio of decreases because coarse aggregates were not coated by cement
0.25 and 0.30 are higher than 30 MPa, which meets our strength paste evenly. Moreover, when water-cement ratio higher than
requirements. However, the permeability of these specimens can- the optimum value, not only reduces the strength but permeability
not meet the requirement of roads design. With porosity of 21%, of pervious concrete as well because the high water-cement ratio
the permeability of pervious concrete with w/c ratio 0.20, 0.25, makes the cement paste more flowable [22], resulting in down-
and 0.30 reaches the demand of roads design, but the compressive ward flow of cement paste. As shown in Fig. 1, the pervious con-
strength drops under the requirements of roads design. Table 6 crete permeability decreases significantly due to pore plugging at
highlights the numbers meeting the requirement of compressive the bottom of specimen. Furthermore, the optimum conditions
strength and permeability enforced by DB11T775-2010 and CJJ/ are same irrespective of type and gradation of aggregate, despite
T135-2009 with asterisk. With porosity of 18%, the w/c ratio for the fact that aggregate gradation and type provide different results.
the pervious concrete using aggregate gradation of G1 and G3 For granite, with the optimum condition of w/c of 0.25 and
meeting the requirement of compressive strength and permeabil- porosity of 18%, aggregate gradation shows impact on compressive
ity is 0.25 while the w/c ratio for those using aggregate gradation strength and permeability of pervious concrete. Comparing the
of G2 and D1 are 0.25 and 0.3. Therefore, in order to for pervious permeability of G1 and G3 for porosity of 18% and w/c of 0.25 leads
concrete to meet the strength requirement and have the maximum to conclusion that increasing the particle size reduces the perme-
permeability, the recommended water-cement ratio and porosity ability. However, pervious concrete with combined gradation of
are 0.25 and 18%, respectively, for all aggregate gradations. aggregate(G2) shows lowest permeability as compared to both
For pervious concrete, optimum condition can be defined as the G1 and G3. This is because the smaller particles fill the voids
one which results in maximum permeability while meeting the between the larger particles. As a result, contacts between particles
requirement for compressive strength as mentioned in increase, and effective porosity decreases [23]. D1 shows maxi-
DB11T775-2010 and CJJ/T135-2009. mum permeability of 1.73 while meeting strength requirements.
 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759 5

(a)
35

30

Compressive strength (MPa)

25

20

15
G1
D1
10

5
0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.28 0.3 0.32
W/C
(b)
3

Fig. 1. Specimens with different w/c ratio: (a)w/c = 0.25; and (b)w/c = 0.27. G1
2.4
Permeability (mm/s) D1
Table 6 shows the compressive strength and permeability of
1.8
pervious concrete with different coarse aggregate types. With the
same design parameters, pervious concrete with dolerite as coarse
aggregate has a higher compressive strength and permeability than
1.2
with granite. The compressive strength and permeability of pervi-
ous concrete with granite and dolerite for porosity of 18% are dis-
played in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2a, the pervious concrete
0.6
specimen, both G1 and D1, compressive strength increases and
then decreases as the water-cement ratio increased. Fig. 2b shows
that the pervious concrete permeability, both G1 and D1, decreases 0
as water-cement ratio increased. 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.28 0.3 0.32
With a w/c ratio of 0.25 and porosity of 18%, pervious concrete W/C
with either dolerite or granite produces acceptable compressive
strength and permeability conforming to earlier mentioned code. Fig. 2. Properties of pervious concrete with granite and dolerite for porosity of 18%:
However, dolerite shows more strength and permeability within (a) compressive strength; and (b) permeability.

these conditions. Compared to G1, 8.3% increase in compressive

strength and 38.4% increase in permeability was observed in D1.
Fig. 3 shows the effect of silica fume addition on pervious con-
The main reason is the different shape of the particles. dolerite par-
crete compressive strength and permeability. The proportion of sil-
ticles are mainly round and spherical while granite particles are
ica fume admixture proportion are 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9% and the
flaky, elongated and needle shaped. As shown in Table 3, the bulk
water-cement ratio are 0.22, 0.25, and 0.27. It can be seen that,
density of dolerite is higher than that of granite by 16.4%, and the
with an increase in silica fume content, there is an increase in
crushing value of dolerite is lower than that of granite. The higher
the compressive strength. This is consistent with previous
strength of aggregate results in a higher strength of concrete [24].
researches[16]. The compressive strength of the pervious concrete
Moreover, flaky and elongated particles have lager specific surface
with water-cement ratio of 0.22, increases from 29.5 MPa for con-
area causing higher demand of cement paste which decreases the
trol specimen (i.e. 0% SF replacement level) to 38.6 MPa for 9% sil-
strength of the pervious concretes [25].
ica fume replacement level. Whereas pervious concrete with
water-cement ratio of 0.25 and 0.27 exhibits an increase in
3.2. Effect of mineral admixtures on compressive strength and strength from 32.8 MPa for control specimen to 43.5 MPa for 9%
permeability silica fume replacement level and 31.9 MPa for control specimen
to 52.4 MPa for 9% silica fume replacement level, respectively.
According to the tests results above, water-cement ratio of 0.25, However, different trends are seen from Fig. 3b for the permeabil-
porosity of 18%, and dolerite aggregates with 5–10 mm size are ity. For water-cement ratio of 0.22 and 0.25, permeability increases
selected to investigate the effect of minerals admixture on com- and then decreases as the silica fume content increases. However,
pressive strength and permeability of pervious concrete. for water-cement ratio of 0.27, permeability decreases consistently
from 1.25 mm/s to 0.60 mm/s as the silica fume content increases
from 0% to 9%. The reason of increasing compressive strength by
3.2.1. Effect of silica fume on properties of pervious concrete
mixing with silica fume is the pozzolanic nature of silica fume.
Addition of mineral admixtures result in different value of opti-
The pozzolanic reaction of the silica fume produces additional C-
mum w/c because of their small particle size [26]. Therefore, two
S-H gel, improving the compressive strength [27]. However, the
more w/c ratio were studied as well.
6 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759

(a) 18%, with the dolerite coarse aggregate size of 5 to 10 mm were

used. It is observed that the compressive strength of pervious con-
crete with 10% fly ash didn’t appear wide difference from normal
55 pervious concrete. However, with 15% and 20% fly ash, the com-
W/C=0.22 pressive strength of pervious concrete decreases by 11% and 18%,
Compressive strength (MPa)

W/C=0.25 respectively. Different trend is seen from Fig. 4 for the permeability
W/C=0.27 of pervious concrete. The permeability increases and then
decreases as the fly ash content increases. The peak value of per-
45
meability is shown with 10% fly ash, which increases by 48% com-
pared to normal pervious concrete. Based on test results, the
optimum fly ash content is 10%.
Calcium hydroxide, the product of cement hydration, and fly
35 ash takes part in the secondary hydration reaction. C-S-H paste is
produced by the secondary hydration reaction between amor-
phous silicon of fly ash and calcium hydroxide [30]. These C-S-H
gel increased the capillary porosity of cement paste [31] blended
with low volume fly ash. Consequently, admixture of low volume
25 fly ash improved permeability of pervious concrete [32]. However,
0% 3% 6% 9% as fly ash content increases, a large amount of C-S-H are produced,
Silica fume which reduces the large capillary pores sizes and thus decreases
(b) the permeability [33].
Further, the pervious concrete compressive strength decreased
as the content of fly ash increased. The main reason is that the
5 increase in surface area due to smaller particle size of fly ash
W/C=0.22 [34] results in less water available for hydration [35].
W/C=0.25
4
W/C=0.27
Permeability (mm/s)

3 (a)
35
2
30
Compressive strength (MPa)

1
25

0
0% 3% 6% 9% 20
Silica fume
Fig. 3. Properties of previous concrete with silica fume: (a) compressive strength;
15
and (b) permeability.

10
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
impact of silica fume of low replacement level from 0% to 6% on the
Fly ash
permeability of concrete is different from previous researches[16].
(b)
The permeability is found to decrease as the silica fume replace-
ment level increase. This is attributed to the considerable pore
3.0
refinement i.e. transformation of bigger pores into smaller one
[28]. The reason of increasing permeability by mixing with small
amount of silica fume in this study may be the crack development
Permeability (mm/s)

due to autogenous shrinkage in concrete [29]. Further microscopic

study is needed to investigate the reason of increasing permeabil- 2.5
ity with small amount of silica fume.
As shown in Fig. 3, the pervious concrete with 6% silica fume
shows 208% higher permeability and 16% lower compressive
strength than the pervious concrete with 9% silica fume, with w/ 2.0
c ratio of 0.25. Based on the tests results, water-cement ratio of
0.25, porosity of 18%, and silica fume admixture content of 6%
are optimum to the requirement of pervious concrete pavements
with single gradation of dolerite coarse aggregate.
1.5
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
3.2.2. Effect of fly ash on properties of pervious concrete
Fly ash
Fig. 4 shows the compressive strength and permeability of per-
vious concrete with fly ash. 10%, 15% and 20% of cement was Fig. 4. Properties of previous concrete with fly ash: (a) compressive strength; and
replaced by fly ash. The water-binder ratio of 0.25, porosity of (b) permeability.
 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759 7

3.3. Combined effect of silica fume and fly ash on properties of pervious 4. Conclusion
concrete
This study investigated the influence of aggregate type and gra-
Fig. 5 shows the compressive strength and permeability of pervi- dation, w/c ratio, porosity, and mineral admixtures on the com-
ous concrete with silica fume and fly ash in combination. The water- pressive strength and permeability of pervious concrete. The
binder ratio of 0.25, porosity of 18%, with the dolerite coarse aggre- following conclusions can be made.
gate size of 5 to 10 mm were used. For the different fly ash content,
the compressive strength increased as silica fume content increased. (1) Higher compressive strength and permeability are obtained
Different trends are seen from Fig. 5b for the permeability. The in pervious concrete with dolerite aggregate compared to
permeability increased as silica fume content increased from 0% to pervious concrete with granite aggregate. The influence of
6% without fly ash. However, the maximum value of permeability porosity on compressive strength and permeability show a
is shown at combination of 15% fly ash with 3% silica fume and 0% similar trend to previous studies in introduction, which
silica fume with 10% fly ash. In addition, for 3% silica fume, compres- increase of porosity results in the decrease of compressive
sive strength decreased with increase in fly ash while for 6% silica strength and the increase of permeability. The optimum
fume, compressive strength increased with increase in fly ash. porosity balancing the permeability with the compressive
Only the replacement level with 15% fly ash and 0% silica fume strength of pervious concrete to satisfy the requirements
is unable to satisfy the compressive strength requirement of for pavement concrete is 18%. The optimum w/c for the per-
30 MPa. The highest compressive strength is 43.4 MPa with silica vious concrete with dolerite and granite aggregate is 0.25. In
fume content of 6% and fly ash content of 15% while the highest the case of single size of granite aggregate, the permeability
permeability is 3.02 mm/s with silica fume content of 6% and fly decreases as the particle size increases. The lowest perme-
ash content of 0%. Based on the test results, the optimum mix ability is observed for the combined gradation of granite
design is at 0% fly ash and 6% silica fume while achieving maxi- aggregate. While meeting the strength requirement of
mum permeability and meeting the strength requirement. 30 MPa, maximum permeability was observed for dolerite
aggregates of 5–10 mm size at w/c of 0.25 and porosity of
18%.
(a) (2) Upon addition of silica fume, similar trend as previous
researches in literature review was observed that the pres-
45 ence of silica fume improves the compressive strength.
However, as the replacement level of silica fume increases,
0% Fly ash
the permeability increases and then decreases. In addition,
Compressive strength (MPa)

10% Fly ash optimum strength and permeability were observed for addi-
15% Fly ash tion of 6%.
(3) The compressive strength of pervious concrete decreases as
the fly ash content increases. Moreover, different trend is
35
seen for the permeability of pervious concrete. The perme-
ability increases and then decreases as the fly ash content
increases and the maximum permeability was observed at
fly ash content of 10%. C-S-H paste which produced by the
secondary hydration reaction between amorphous silicon
of fly ash and calcium hydroxide reduces the large capillary
25 pores sizes and thus decreases the permeability.
0% 3% 6% (4) The combined use of silica fume and fly ash shows that a
Silica fume consistent increase in strength is observed in all cases. How-
ever, maximum permeability was still observed in the case
(b) of 0% fly ash and 6% silica fume, making it an optimum
design for pervious concrete. According to the results of
the single use of silica fume and fly ash, the combined use
3.5 of silica fume and fly ash with appropriate proportion is
0% Fly ash
expected to improve both permeability and compressive
10% Fly ash strength compared to pervious concrete without mineral
15% Fly ash admixtures. Therefore, further research should be conducted
Permeability (mm/s)

to the micromechanisms of the combined use of silica fume

and fly ash on the properties of pervious concrete.
2.5 Pervious concrete satisfied requirements for pavement concrete
for 28-day strength according to CJJ/T135-2009. It can be used as
urban pathways pavement concrete, parking lot pavement con-
crete, and low traffic volume pavement concrete in China.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

1.5
0% 3% 6% Jinlin Huang: Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acqui-
sition, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing - original
Silica fume
draft. Zhibin Luo: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Supervision,
Fig. 5. Properties of previous concrete with combined replacement with silica fume Writing - review & editing. Muhammad Basit Ehsan Khan: Formal
and fly ash: (a) compressive strength; and (b) permeability. analysis, Writing - review & editing.
8 J. Huang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120759

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