Selection of additives and fibers for improving the mechanical and safety properties of porous concrete pavements through multi-criteria decision-making analysis

Abstract

Despite the number of environmental advantages that porous concrete (PC) pavements can provide, they are mainly used in light-traffic roads, parking lots and sidewalks due to their low mechanical strength. This research focuses on the common additives employed in PC pavements, according to a literature review, with the aim of increasing their mechanical strength while maintaining an acceptable infiltration capacity. The results demonstrated that the combination of superplasticizers and air-entraining additives can provide indirect tensile strength values over 2.50 MPa, with an infiltration capacity over 0.40 cm/s. In addition, polypropylene fibers were seen to provide very good safety properties, preserving some structural integrity in the case of failure. All mixtures studied obtained outstanding skid resistance results under both dry and wet conditions.