Laboratory and theoretical evaluation of clogging behaviour of porous friction course mixes

The clogging of porous friction courses (PFCs) plays a major role in their resulting performance. Clogging occurs due to deposition of external and internal materials, leading to the loss of permeability and drainage characteristics of PFCs. In this study, investigations were conducted to determine the effect of clogging and de-clogging on the permeability of PFC mixes. Tests were conducted to study the effect of three different clogging materials on PFC mixes prepared using four different aggregate gradations. Permeability tests were conducted using the falling-head concept on cylindrical PFC specimens. The influence of the particle size ratios and the effective air voids on the permeability of fresh, clogged and de-clogged PFC specimens was analysed. Experimental results on the permeability observed were compared with those predicted using theoretical models. Although, the theoretical models tend to overestimate the permeability values, statistical analyses indicate good correlations with the observed results.