Parametric Analysis of the Drainage Performance of Porous Asphalt Pavement Based on a 3D FEM Method

Abstract

Porous asphalt pavement can reduce noise and improve road safety and driving comfort on rainy days. The seepage model derived from the one-way gradient flow theory cannot truly reflect the seepage process of rainwater inside the drainage layer. In this study, the drainage performance of porous asphalt pavement with different designs was evaluated using a three-dimensional seepage finite element method (FEM), and the drainage capacity of porous asphalt pavement was calculated using short-term rainfall intensity. The results indicated that the drainage capacity of porous asphalt pavement can be effectively improved by increasing cross slopes, the surface course layer thickness, and the permeability coefficient of porous asphalt mixture. Moreover, the pavement width had a significant impact on the drainage performance of porous asphalt pavement.