Date of Award:

8-2024

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Andrew Sorensen

Committee

Andrew Sorensen

Committee

Srishti Banerji

Committee

Austin Ball

Abstract

Impervious concrete is constructed for most new infrastructure such as housing developments, commercial projects, and industrial facilities, which prevents stormwater runoff from infiltrating into groundwater storage. Pervious concrete is a sustainable, economical, and safe alternative to collect runoff and prevent the issues resulting from increased land development.

Although pervious concrete has the benefit of a large porous structure for water infiltration, this high porosity leads to issues with debris, sand, and other materials clogging the porous areas. Pervious concrete also has the challenge of non-standardized material preparation techniques, testing, and construction practices. As such, more research is needed to improve the strength, durability, and long-term maintenance of the concrete before pervious concrete can be used in wider applications.

This thesis seeks to utilize advanced concrete mix designs and innovative maintenance strategies to improve the long-term maintenance and durability of pervious concrete structures. To address the first objective of this thesis, two pervious concrete mix designs are developed using normal cement as a control mix and a rapid-set cement mix as an advanced alternative construction material. The viability of the rapid-set cement mix is analyzed by implementing compressive strength and freeze-thaw durability tests for both mix designs.

The second objective of the thesis is to determine the most effective maintenance method to remove debris and maintain the porous structure of three pervious concrete systems. The maintenance methods used in this thesis compare an innovative upward flush system with vacuuming method to the typical pressure washing and vacuuming method.

The results of the compressive strength and freeze-thaw durability testing show that using rapid-set cement as an advanced construction material would be a suitable replacement in pervious concrete pavements. The maintenance method testing results demonstrate the effectiveness of the innovative upward flush system as being the most efficient at removing sand from the pervious concrete model.

With the conclusions from this study, further research can be carried out to find other innovative, eco-friendly, and cost-effective ways to implement and improve pervious concrete developments.

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