Presented to: Pervious in Paradise - San Diego Presented by: Muhammad T. Suleiman, Assistant Professor Lehigh University

1. A New Look at Pervious Concrete
MUHANNAD T. SULEIMAN
Assistant Professor

2. Uses of Pervious concrete
All are surface
applications….
How about underground
applications?

3. Foundation Issues
Sandy Soil
Soft/Loose Soil
Bed Rock
Sandy Soil
Soft/Loose Soil
Bed Rock
Large
Settlement Non-uniform
Settlement
Sandy Soil
Soft/Loose Soil
Bed Rock
 Soil supporting foundations of structures or embankments need to satisfy
two conditions:
 Bearing capacity: can resist applied loads without failure
 Allowable settlement: does not experience excessive settlement

4. Foundation Issues
Sandy Soil
Soft/Loose Soil
Bed Rock
Sandy Soil
Soft/Loose Soil
Bed Rock
Large
Settlement Non-uniform
Settlement
Sandy Soil
Soft/Loose Soil
Bed Rock

5. 5
 When saturated soils are loaded, the water will be squeezed out
 This process is very very slow in fine (clay or silt) soils
 This process is called consolidation
 Engineers can make this process happen faster during construction, if
allowed by construction schedule
 If not, soil can be improved or deep foundations could be used
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Some Soil Mechanics

6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmVYbjiNWds
Settlement of Structures - Liquefaction
 Under earthquake loading, saturated sands can liquefy (form a quick sand)
 This mainly happened because water can not flow quickly out of the soil
(has no place to go)

7. Settlement of Structures - Liquefaction
But, how do we avoid these problems? --- ground improvement
methods that allow water to flow through

8. Ground Improvement
Vertical drains Granular piers
Bio-modification

9. Ground Improvement – Vertical Drains

10. Ground Improvement – Granular Piers

11. Ground Improvement – Granular Piers
 One major limitation is that their behavior depend on the confinement
provided by surrounding soil

12. Main Topics
 Pervious Concrete Piles
 Bio-Modification of Soil
 Energy Piles

13. Ground Improvement
 Granular Piers (stone column, sand compaction pile and
aggregate pier) are widely used to increase bearing capacity,
accelerate the consolidation, and reduce the settlement
 The capacity of granular columns, however, depends on the
confinement provided by surrounding soil, which limits their
use in very soft clays and silts, and organic and peat soils
 Pervious Concrete has higher stiffness and strength that are
independent of the surrounding soil confinment, and offer
permeability comparable to granular piers

14. Modulus
MPa (ksi)
Permeability
cm/sec (in./hour)
Granular
Piers
25 – 190
(3.6 – 27.6)
0.05 – 2.0
(71 – 2,835)
Pervious
Concrete
13,800 – 27,600
(2,000 – 4,000)
0.03 – 2.0
(43 – 2,835)
Pervious Concrete vs. Granular Piers

15. Pervious Concrete Piles
Porosity
0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20
28-daysCompressiveStrength(psi)
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Permeability(inch/hour)
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Compressive stength
Permeability
:Pile Mixing

16. Pervious Concrete Piles
Compressive
Strength
18.3 – 22.2 MPa
2650 – 3200 psi
Modulus
15.4 –16.2 GPa
2235 – 2350 ksi
Permeability
1.2 – 1.6 cm/sec
1700 – 2270 inch/hour

17. Testing Facility

18. Guiding
system
Pile
Driver
Guiding
system
Cone tip
Mandrel
Vibrator
Pervious Concrete Piles - Installation

19. Testing Program
Four vertical load tests and two lateral
load tests were performed
Two vertical load tests compared a
granular pier to a pervious concrete pile

20. Vertical Loading (lb)
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
VerticalDisplacement(in.)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Aggregate pier
Pervious concrete pile 2200 lb
500 lb
2.5 D
Maximum load, N
(lbs)
Granular pier 2,225
(500)
Pervious pile 9,786
(2,200)
Vertical Load Test Results
Capacity of pervious concrete piles is ~ 4.4
times the aggregate pier

21. Main Topics
 Ground Improvement
 Bio-Modification of Soil
 Energy Piles

22. Bio-modification of Soil
 Ground improvement methods such as compaction and grouting have been
used to improve soil properties
 However, these methods utilize significant mechanical energy and consume
large amounts of fossil fuel
 RECENTLY, a sustainable green method, which uses indigenous bacteria in
the soil to turn sand into sandstone, has been studies
 This process mimic a naturally occurring process over a long time

23. Bio-modification of Soil

24. Bio-modification of Soil
 So far, the applications of bio-modification have focused on small sand
samples with limited large-scale or field tests
 Large-scale or field tests encountered practical problems due to bio-plugging
 Bio-plugging limits the distribution of cementation around the injection point,
which limits the extent of soil improvement zone
 Therefore, stabilization large areas of soil using bio-modification remains
problematic
 Bio-modification could be used in combination with pervious concrete piles
where only a limited zone of improvement is needed to provide stronger
foundation system

25. Pervious Concrete Pile with Bio-
modification

26. Treatment and Vertical Load Tests
Four vertical load tests: Two
subjected to axial tension and two
subjected to axial compression
The two tests compared the
response of pervious concrete pile
with bio-modification to a pervious
concrete pile with no modification

27. Untreated Treated
Vertical Load Test Results

28. Vertical Load Test Results
Uplift load (N)
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500
Upliftdisplacement(mm)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Uplift load (lbs)
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Upliftdisplacement(inch)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Untreated
MICP-treated
205 lb
870 lb
Capacity of bio-
modified-pervious
concrete piles is ~ 4.25
times the pervious pile
with no bio-modification

29. Main Topics
 Ground Improvement
 Bio-Modification of Soil
 Energy Piles

30.  The majority of energy consumed worldwide is currently obtained from fossil
fuel sources (approximately 81%), which is related to global warming
through increased carbon dioxide (CO2).
 One of the major sources of CO2 emission is heating and cooling of
buildings.
 For example, heating and cooling of buildings is responsible for about 50%
of the carbon emission in the UK.
 One of the energy sources that could reduce CO2 emission resulting from
heating and cooling is shallow geothermal energy.
 Deep foundations used to support the structural loads of buildings can also
be used as heat exchangers with the surrounding soil (Energy Piles).
Energy Demand

31. Geothermal Energy

32. Energy Piles
Heat Pump
Soil
Air Conditioning (Heating and Cooling)
Energy Pile for Heating and
Cooling of Buildings
Energy Pile for Bridge Deicing
Energy Piles

33. Energy Piles

34. Pervious concrete energy pile
Heat exchanger
Ground water flow
Conventional concrete energy pile
Comparison of the Conventional and
Pervious Energy Piles
Thermal conduction only
in the concrete
Thermal conduction +
convection in the concrete

35. • Geotechnical Engineering Program of the CMMI Division at the
National Science Foundation (Grant No. 0927743) and (Grant No.
1233566)
• Ph.D. Graduate Students: Lusu Ni, Hai Lin (Thomas), and Suguang
Xiao (Sean); M.S. Student: Hanna Jabbour
• Undergraduate Students: Pierre Bick, Caleb Davis
• Several photos presented in this presentation were obtained from
several websites
Thanks!
Q&A