In co-operation with industrial partners, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed ‘permeable pavements’ to reduce problems caused by storm and run-off water in urban areas, well suited to ‘low traffic areas’, such as car parks, pavements, courtyards, fields, and squares.
The first Finnish pilots will take place in Espoo, Helsinki, Vantaa, and Oulu, this spring.
The recently completed, two year-long CLASS (CLimate Adaptive SurfaceS) project saw developed permeable pavement solutions ‘for Nordic conditions’ with ‘a materially different approach to traditional pavement layers and structures’. Suitable materials include pervious concrete, porous asphalt, and concrete and natural stone block paver systems, where the material used in the joints or openings allows high water infiltration.
The ‘permeable pavement’ comprises a surfacing layer and sub-surfacing materials with high porosity that can retain water. Other materials, products, and structures – such as drainage and water collection systems, geotextiles, and geomembranes – can also be incorporated.
The team focused on material performance in the sub-arctic climate, where infrastructures are subject to freezing and thawing ground frost, and deicing salt and sanding.
