Investigating the mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of pervious concrete containing copper slag as coarse aggregate

[Display omitted] •Pervious concrete incorporating copper slag coarse aggregate was produced.•Copper slag aggregate incorporation in pervious concrete improved mechanical strength.•Copper slag caused to a greater porosity and permeability rate in pervious concrete.•Optimum performance was monitored at 60% replacement of copper slag. In this research, the mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of pervious concrete incorporating copper slag coarse aggregate were investigated. Generally, seven main mixes including 0%, 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100% replacement of dolomite aggregate with copper slag were considered in this study. The results of mechanical strength tests revealed that the highest increase in strength compared to the control mix was related to 60% replacement, in which compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength increased 31%, 19% and 18%, respectively. Also, the results of the Pull-off adhesion test showed that the bonding strengths of mixes incorporating 60% copper slag (median percentage) were similar to control mixes; while the bonding strength of mixes that incorporating 100% copper slag (high percentage) reduced dramatically. Moreover, the porosity and permeability of the pervious concrete were augmented with increase in the copper slag content.