Development and Validation of a Mechanistic-Empirical Design Method for Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement

Fully permeable (or porous or pervious) pavements are pavements whose layers are all intended to be permeable. They are used to minimize the adverse effects of stormwater runoff generated from impervious surfaces. They may also be an effective solution for cool pavement strategies for improving outdoor thermal environments and mitigating heat island effects in hot climates. Most current applications of permeable pavements in North America are used for roads with a low traffic volume, basic access streets, parking lots, and recreation and landscaped areas, all of which carry light, slow-moving traffic. Structural design methods have been empirical in nature. Mechanistic empirical approaches for fully permeable pavement designs have not been developed, but when available, would probably speed up the implementation of fully permeable pavements and potentially extend their use to pavements with a higher volume of traffic where appropriate. This paper summarizes the development of a mechanistic empirical design method and design tool for permeable interlocking concrete pavements, which uses mechanistic analysis and partial validation with accelerated-pavement testing results. A new example design table, based on the number of days with standing water in the subbase (0, 10, 30, 50, 90, and 120), was developed with an Excel spreadsheet-based design tool. The format of the table is similar to that of the current guideline for permeable interlocking concrete pavements of the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute. Designs for a specific set of project circumstances can be developed with the same Excel spreadsheet-based design tool used to develop the tables along with the hydrological design procedures provided in the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute guide.