Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement

In Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement, you'll learn ...

• What is permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP)
• Applications for PICP
• Advantages and limitations of PICP
• PICP design and installation best practices

Overview

Credit: 2 PDH

Length: 23 pages

Urbanization is an increasingly pervasive land cover transformation that significantly alters the physical, chemical and biological environment within surface waters. Specifically, urbanization results in the prevalence of impervious surfaces including roads, parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks. Impervious surfaces associated with urbanization reduce infiltration and increase surface runoff, altering the pathways by which water (and any associated contaminants) reach urban streams. Such runoff can lead to changes in water/sediment quality, water temperature, hydrology, and physical habitat for flora & fauna.

Permeable interlocking concrete pavement, also referred to as PICP, offers an alternative to conventional impervious pavement. PCIP consists of solid concrete paving units with joints that create openings in the pavement surface when assembled into a pattern. Joints between pavers are filled with permeable aggregates that allow water to freely enter the surface. The paving units are placed on a bedding layer of permeable aggregates which rests over a base and subbase of open-graded aggregates. The concrete pavers, bedding and base layers are typically restrained by a concrete curb in vehicular applications. The base and subbase store water and allow it to infiltrate into the soil subgrade. Optional components, like underdrains and geosynthetic layers, are applied to the subgrade depending on structural and hydrologic design objectives.

PICP promotes water infiltration instead of runoff. Furthermore, its multiple layers of aggregate courses promote filtration of contaminants. This combined action of infiltration & filtration can reduce surface runoff volume and reduce contaminant levels, thereby improving compliance with state & local discharge permits.

This course is intended for civil engineers who manage pavement projects for parking lots and low-speed roads, especially in areas with high precipitation or poor drainage. The student should be familiar with basic soil properties such as gradation and classification.