Purpose – Porous concrete is a mixture of open-graded coarse aggregate, water and cement. It is also occasionally referred to as no-fines concrete or pervious concrete. Due to its high infiltration capacity, it is viewed as an environmentally sustainable paving material for use in urban drainage systems since it can lead to reduced flooding and to the possibilities of stormwater harvesting and reuse. However, the high porosity is due in the main part to the lack of fine aggregate particles used in the manufacture of porous concrete. The purpose of this paper is to present a numerical method to understand more fully the structural properties of porous concrete. This method will provide a useful tool for engineers to design with confidence higher strength porous concrete systems. Design/methodology/approach – In the method, porous concrete is modelled using a discrete element method (DEM). The mechanical behaviour of a porous concrete sample subjected to compressive and tensile forces is estimated using two-dimensional Particle Flow Code (PFC2D). Findings – Three numerical examples are given to verify the model. A comprehensive set of micro-parameters particularly suitable for porous concrete is proposed. The accuracy and effectiveness of simulation are confirmed by comparison with experimental results and empirical equations. Originality/value – The experimental investigations for porous concrete described in this paper have been designed and conducted by the authors. In addition, the type of two dimensional PFC analysis presented has rarely been used to model porous concrete strength characteristics and from the results presented in this paper, this analysis technique has good potential for predicting its mechanical properties.