Influence of stratigraphy and slope on the drainage capacity of permeable pavements: laboratory results

Abstract

A small size laboratory test-bed has been realized at the University of Genoa in order to evaluate the drainage capacity of permeable pavements by monitoring inflow, runoff and subsurface outflow. The laboratory test programme has been designed in order to investigate the influence of the rainfall intensity and pavement slope on the hydrologic response of permeable pavements. Four permeable pavement systems realized combining two paver typologies (concrete cell and pervious brick) with two filter layers made of recycled glass aggregate and a mix of gravel and coarse sand are tested. The hydrologic response of permeable pavements is analysed by using a dimensionless volume index (discharge coefficient) and a timing index. Laboratory results reveal that the hydrologic performance is fairly consistent for all the investigated permeable pavements. The recycled glass aggregate turns out to be a valid solution. No surface runoff occurs even at 98 mm/h rainfall intensity

Hydrologic modeling of Low Impact Development systems at the urban catchment scale

“…The tests were performed in a small size laboratory test-bed realized at the University of Genoa to investigate the hydrologic response of an infiltration system per unit surface area under varying slope and rainfall conditions. The test-bed is composed of a plot (1 Â 2.5 m), a rainfall simulator system, three cylindrical reservoirs and an automated monitoring system for measuring inflow and outflow; the detailed description of the laboratory device is provided elsewhere (Palla et al, 2015). The tested green roof solutions can be classified as extensive green roofs (Berretta et al, 2014); in detail the stratigraphy is primarily comprised of a growing medium (total depth of 12 cm) and a loose-laid synthetic specialized layer (drainage and filter layers for a total depth of 2.5 cm).…”

Rainfall Runoff Mitigation by Retrofitted Permeable Pavement in an Urban Area

“…Results showed that there was no runoff observed from both permeable pavements in the first 15 min of constant rainfall intensity. In addition, the study indicated that the higher slope and bigger aggregate size enhanced the drainage [17]. Similarly, Drake [18] investigated permeable pavement performance and showed it can reduce runoff volumes by up to 43% in urban areas.…”

“…Researchers have indicated that rainfall runoff from permeable pavement is notably less as compared to traditional pavement (asphalt pavement) [13,16,17]. Collins et al [16] investigated the hydrological performance of four different permeable pavements.…”

“…Results indicated that the all four permeable pavements reduce runoff volume by 36-67% and peak flow by 60-70% as compared to the asphalt pavements. Palla et al [17] studied the hydrological properties of permeable pavements in a laboratory. This study utilized two types of permeable pavements: concrete cell (CC) and deep pervious brick (PB).…”

Experimental Infiltration Tests on Existing Permeable Pavement Surfaces

“…Research studies have shown that permeable pavements have many potential benefits such as the reduction of runoff volumes [4][5][6][7][8], limitation of peak flows [2,9,10], recharge of groundwater [7,11], and prevention of water pollution [6,12,13], because the infiltration of water through the pavement layers traps pollutants [10,14]. In addition, many permeable pavements have a high albedo (light reflectivity) [15], reduced runoff temperature [16], and improved aesthetics.…”