Numerical study of the effect of gradual clogging on the function of permeable concrete

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PHD Student, Engineering faculty, Shahid Bahonar university, Kerman, Iran

2 Researcher ,Civil engineering faculty, Emam Hossein university, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate professor, Civil engineering faculty, Emam Hossein university, Tehran, Iran

10.22065/jsce.2023.336182.2768

Abstract

Permeable concrete, which has recently been used as a new flooring in pavements, parking lots, roadways, and shoulders, has played an important role in surface runoff control, designed storage, avoiding surface pollution spread, and even noise pollution reduction. Researchers in this field have noted clogging of the pores of permeable concrete as one of the most significant challenges in the application of such pavements, significantly reducing their efficiency. Since there seems to be no numerical work studying the effect of gradual clogging of permeable concrete on the velocity field, tortuosity, or how pollutant is transported and dispersed, the effect of gradual clogging on these parameters is explored in this study. Two-dimensional geometry was created as a non-clogging permeable concrete that gradually got clogged as the geometry was changed in five levels. Simulations for the five mentioned models were carried out by discretizing the computational domain as well as the equations of momentum and mass transfer using the computational fluid dynamics method. The results show that as the level of clogging increases, the porosity of the permeable concrete decreases, and the velocity field distribution, tortuosity, and pollutant concentration distribution in the fluid flow change in such a way that low velocity areas are formed and increased. Tortuosity, as well as the entrapment and storage of pollutants within the concrete, expand. The findings also show that as clogging grows, permeable concrete becomes more susceptible to full blockage, as does the rate of clogging, and its performance declines dramatically.



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