Flexural fatigue behaviour of pervious concrete: Lifetime evaluation and statistical model development

• A fatigue prediction model is proposed for pervious concrete under flexural load. • 56 specimens tested under cyclic bending. • Fatigue life follows a two-parameter Weibull distribution. • Experimental tests confirm significant flexural anisotropy in pervious concrete. • Results support pervious concrete pavement design by improving fatigue performance understanding. Pervious concrete (PC) is a porous material widely used in medium-traffic roads due to its ability to facilitate water drainage, reducing stormwater runoff and improving water quality. However, its high porosity and low cement content result in reduced strength, making fatigue performance a critical design consideration. Despite its importance, limited studies have focused on the flexural fatigue behaviour of PC under traffic loading. This study aims to develop a fatigue prediction model for PC. An extensive experimental campaign has been conducted, testing 56 prismatic specimens under three-point bending at four normalised stress levels. The results indicate that fatigue life follows a two-parameter Weibull distribution, which is used to establish a predictive fatigue model with a 50% survival probability. Additionally, a preliminary investigation of PC anisotropic behaviour is performed to support future numerical modelling. The findings provide essential insights for designing durable PC pavements subjected to vehicular loads.