Assessing the Benefits of Early and Repeated Maintenance with Regenerative Air Street Sweepers on Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavements

Abstract

Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement is a type of permeable pavement system that allows surface water to infiltrate through the paver joints into aggregate storage layers below. As they age, sediment and debris accumulate on the surface and within the joints. This accumulation leads to decreased surface infiltration rates, which can ultimately lead to surface ponding. All permeable pavements require maintenance before surface clogging becomes severe. However, researchers still disagree as to the type and frequency of maintenance applied that best enhances the long-term efficiency of the system. This study aims to analyze differences in early and repeated maintenance and restorative maintenance using a regenerative air street sweeper on two identical cells manually clogged with street sweeping material. This study shows that early and repeated maintenance can extend the functional life of permeable pavement as infiltration measurements were similar to the restorative cell even after being clogged with 25% more street sweepings.