No Fines concrete Specifications

No Fines concrete is a specially designed concrete with a specified void content that
allows large volumes of water to quickly fill the voids between the aggregate
particles. It is formed by eliminating the fine material from the regular concrete mix.
Single-sized coarse aggregates are surrounded and held together by a thin layer of
cement paste, which gives strength of concrete.

No Fines concrete has large uniformly distributed interconnected voids (up to 30%)
between the aggregate particles. This structure makes it ideal as a free-draining
medium. It is available in two aggregate sizes – 19mm and 10mm. No Fines
(pervious) concrete is made from carefully controlled amounts of water and
cementacious materials used to create a paste that forms a thick coating around
aggregate particles. Unlike conventional concrete, the mixture contains little or no
sand, creating a substantial void content – between 15% to 30%.

Using sufficient paste to coat and bind the aggregate particles together creates a
system of highly permeable, interconnected voids, which drain quickly. Both the low
mortar content and the high porosity reduce strength compared to conventional
concrete, but sufficient strength is readily achieved for many applications.

No Fines concrete allows large volumes of water to pass through each square meter
of the material. By allowing rainwater to seep into the ground, pervious concrete can
be instrumental in recharging groundwater and reducing storm water runoff. This
capability can reduce the need for retention ponds, swales, and other storm water
management devices. Pervious pavement integrates hardscape surfaces with storm
water management.

Typical features:

 Ease of placement from a concrete truck

 No compaction required
 Hardens to maintain the form it is placed in
 Consistent quality of the finished product
 Is environmentally friendly

Benefits:

 Cost benefit – No Fines is delivered from the back of a concrete truck.

 Lower cost due to lower cement content. It is easy to screed and hardens to
the shape in which it is poured.
 No compaction is required.
  The resulting concrete has an open texture that provides a free-draining
concrete.
 Enables more efficient use of residential land.
 Local bodies require a maximum impermeable area.
 Lower density.
 Relatively low-drying shrinkage.
 Better insulating characteristics than regular concrete due to the presence of
large voids.
 We can modify the strengths, aggregate size, shape and void contents to suit
many applications, filtration and sedimentation requirements.

Suitability:

 Fill behind retaining walls to dissipate water pressure

 Drainage layers in reservoirs Site concrete to provide a dry working base
 Foot traffic areas
 Beneath pavements to channel water away
 In situations where water run-off is undesirable
 For landscaping

Typical strength

 Typical strengths are in the range 5 to 13 MPa. (Mega-Pascal’s).

Shrinkage rate

 Much lower than conventional concrete, e.g. in the range 0.0002 – 0.0003
micro strain.

Permeability

 High. Water and air flow easily through it, but no quantitative data is
available. Blocking of the pores is more likely to occur the smaller the
aggregate size.

Aggregate size

 10mm to 20mm are the most common.

Applications

 Used as drainage behind walls, paving, tennis courts, drainage layer leveling
courses.
Advantages

 Lower cost due to lower cement content, lower thermal conductivity, no

segregation and, better insulating characteristics than conventional concrete
because of the presence of large voids.