Influence of Pore Structure Characteristics on the Mechanical and Durability Behavior of Pervious Concrete Material Based on Image Analysis

Pervious concrete has been widely used in parking lots and other lightweight streets. Performances of pervious concrete are strongly dependent on its pore structure characteristics. This paper investigates the relationship among porosity, permeability, compressive strength, durability and the pore structure characteristics of pervious concrete. The influences of basalt fiber and fine aggregate on the pervious concrete are also discussed. Pervious concrete specimens with different pore structures were prepared by combining basalt aggregate with size of 5–10 mm and 10–15 mm at different proportion. The pore structure characteristics such as area porosity, pore sizes, and pore distribution of pervious concrete were obtained and analyzed using image analysis method. Experimental results showed that the pore structure characteristics of pervious concrete have effects on its mechanical and durability behaviors. Homogeneous pore distribution and large distances between pores increase the compressive strength and improve freeze–thaw durability of pervious concrete. Due to the difference in the internal pore structure of pervious concretes, specimens with similar volumetric porosities had different permeability coefficients. A series of numerical models were regenerated through a MATLAB code using pore structural parameters derived from the image analysis method, then the numerical models were fed to ANSYS for meshing and further simulation. The comparison of the simulation and experimental results showed close accuracy, which verified the applied simulation analysis method based on image analysis technology.