Porous concrete with optimum fine aggregate and fibre for improved strength

Pervious concrete pavements are the need of the day to avoid urban flooding and to facilitate ground water recharge. However, the strength of pervious or porous concrete is considerably less compared to conventional concrete. In this experimental investigation, an effort is made to improve the strength of pervious concrete by adopting fibres and a small amount of fine aggregate. A porous concrete with cement to aggregate ratio of 1:5 and a water-powder ratio of 0.4 is adopted. 30% of the cement is replaced by cementitious material ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) for better strength and workability. Recron fibres at a dosage of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% by weight of cement were included to improve the impact strength. Since concrete pavements are subjected to impact loads, the impact strength was also calculated by "Drop ball method" in addition to compressive strength. The effect of fine aggregate and recron fibres on workability, porosity, compressive and impact strength was studied. The investigations have shown that 20% inclusion of fine aggregate and 1.5% recron fibres by weight of cement give better strength with an acceptable range of porosity.