mineral / Cementitious / Cast Concrete
Permeable/Pervious Concrete (100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 200mm)
Open-graded concrete with 15-35% voids, pore sizes 2-8 mm, and compressive strength typically 2.8-28 MPa.
Atlas code
MIN-CEM-CC-014
At-a-glance signals
Open-graded concrete with 15-35% voids, pore sizes 2-8 mm, and compressive strength typically 2.8-28 MPa.
Overview
Executive summary
Pervious concrete is an open-graded, zero-slump concrete with interconnected pores that allow water to pass through, used for stormwater management pavements and drainage layers.
Best when…
- Excellent stormwater infiltration (2-6mm/s)
- Reduces urban runoff and flooding
- Groundwater recharge capability
- Sound absorption (NRC 0.3-0.5)
- Lower urban heat island effect
- Eliminates need for drainage infrastructure
- WSUD compliance tool
- Reduced surface water ponding
- Environmental sustainability benefits
- Potential LEED/Green Star points
Top advantages
- 01 Excellent stormwater infiltration (2-6mm/s)
- 02 Reduces urban runoff and flooding
- 03 Groundwater recharge capability
- 04 Sound absorption (NRC 0.3-0.5)
- 05 Lower urban heat island effect
Top limitations
- 01 Lower strength than conventional concrete
- 02 Clogging potential requires maintenance
- 03 Limited freeze-thaw resistance
- 04 Not suitable for heavy traffic
- 05 Higher initial cost than standard concrete
Technical
Physical ·9
- Density
- 1600-2100 kg/m³ kg/m³
- Specific gravity
- 1.6-2.1
- Porosity
- 15-35 % Void content range for pervious concrete.
- Water absorption
- 5-10% by mass %
- Hardness
- 3-4 Mohs
- UV resistance
- Good
- Chemical resistance
- Moderate
- pH tolerance
- 6.5-10
- Surface roughness
- 2-8mm µm
Mechanical ·7
- Tensile strength
- 1-3.5 MPa MPa
- Compressive strength
- 2.8-28 MPa ACI 522R typical compressive strength range.
- Flexural strength
- 1-6 MPa (typically 3-4.5 MPa) MPa
- Shear strength
- 1.5-3 MPa MPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.15-0.22
- Impact resistance
- Low-Moderate
- Creep resistance
- Moderate
Sustainability & Health
Embodied carbon & energy ·7
- Embodied carbon
- 0.15-0.25 tCO₂e/m³
- Carbon footprint
- 200-350 kg CO₂e/m³
- Embodied energy
- 1.5-2.5 GJ/m³ MJ/kg
- Water footprint
- 150-200 L/m³ L/kg
- Recycled content
- 0-30% (RCA potential) %
- Renewable content
- 0% %
- Circular score
- 6/10
Compliance & Fire
Fire performance ·6
- Combustibility class
- Non-combustible (NCC C2D10)
- Fire resistance level
- Up to 240 minutes (thickness dependent)
- Ignition temp
- Not applicable °C
- Flame spread index
- 0
- Smoke dev. index
- 0
- Heat release rate
- 0 MJ/m²
Cost & Lifecycle
Capex & lead time ·6
- Material cost (range)
- $240-340/m³
- Material cost (per unit)
- $140-240/m² installed (100mm)
- Lead time
- 3-7 days
- Lifecycle cost
- $300-450/m² (30 years)
- Annual maintenance
- $2-5/m²
- Market availability
- Specialty product - major cities
Service life & durability ·3
- Expected lifespan
- 20-30 years
- Maintenance interval
- Annual cleaning
- Warranty period
- 5-10 years
Layer D
Where it's used
WSUD-compliant pavements
Car parks and driveways
Pedestrian pathways
Tree surrounds and landscaping
Stormwater management systems
Noise-reducing road surfaces
Permeable hardstands
Emergency vehicle access routes
Recreational courts
Green infrastructure projects