Cool Cementitious Materials for a More Sustainable Urban Environment
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 2
Abstract
The temperature increase in cities called the “urban heat island” (UHI) depends on the local microclimate (e.g., solar irradiation, population, buildings density, industrial activities, traffic, emissions, heat sources) and results not only in increased electricity consumption for indoor cooling but also in decreased outdoor comfort, especially in summer periods or in warm climate zones. As the world’s urban population continues to grow, there is an urgency to make buildings more ecoefficient and reduce the impact of cities on climate change and global warming. In this framework, the use of cool concretes can mitigate the UHI and improve energy saving and outdoor comfort: cool concrete roofs and facade cement-based tiles can provide valid solutions to decrease the energy demand for air conditioning in building envelops; moreover, cool concrete paving blocks and pervious pavements can improve urban comfort for outdoor wellbeing. The present work shows the improved solar reflective performance of three cool cementitious solutions compared with traditional ones, with both white and colored surfaces, to fulfill both architectural demand and sustainability issues without any additional post-treatments or after placing steps, such as surface coating. Finally, the study is completed with the durability evaluation of the products’ solar reflective performance.
Practical Applications
Tackling urban and global warming is one of the most urgent actions to make cities safer and more sustainable as well as to improve citizens wellbeing. From an optical performance perspective, it has been proved that traditional concrete-based materials do play a significant role in contributing to the fight against urban heat island phenomena when functionalized with high-reflective cool materials. Indeed, the near-infrared (NIR)-reflective concrete-based materials, which are the subject of this paper, can participate in mitigating both outdoor pavements and building surfaces temperature, regardless of their color. Lighter or darker concrete surfaces can reflect the sunlight not only in the visible range of the solar spectrum, thanks to lighter nuances, but also in the NIR region, that is, the main area responsible for the surface heating. In addition, we have successfully tested this ability in severe accelerated ageing conditions. The durable—white and colored—concrete tiles here described for building envelopes as well as urban draining or self-locking concrete pavements widen the horizon for more and more sustainable opportunities as well as flexible solutions, matching both modern architecture’s technical and social requirements.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Measurements of solar reflectance (“Method a”), thermal emittance (“Method a”), solar reflective index (“Lab a”), and spectrophotometry have been performed at i.lab, Italcementi S.p.A – HEIDELBERGCement Group, Bergamo. Measurements of solar reflectance (“Method b”), thermal emittance (“Method b”), and solar reflectance index (“Lab b”) have been performed at EELab Laboratory, UNIMORE–Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia. Archiform s.r.l. is acknowledged for the production of cement-based tiles, and Senini for the production of paving blocks. Financial support for the present research has been provided by the “Fondi di Ricerca di Sistema Elettrico” within the funded project COOL IT “Riduzione dei consumi elettrici per la climatizzazione estiva di edifici mediante sviluppo di Cool Materials cementizi ad elevata riflettanza solare. (Bando di gara per progetti di ricerca di cui all’art. 10, comma 2, lettera b) del decreto 26 gennaio 2000, previsti dal Piano triennale 2012–2014 della ricerca di sistema elettrico nazionale e dal Piano operativo annuale 2013 (decreto del 30 giugno 2014)—CUP: G16G16000690003).” Nevertheless, the sponsor had no role (in the following activities: study design; collection, analysis and interpretation of data; writing the article) in the decision to submit the article for publication. The authors wish to thank Chiara Ferrari, Giulia Santunione, and Enrico Lo Iacono, of the UNIMORE Energy Efficiency Laboratory, for their support in the tests and in the development of the specific accelerated aging procedure.
References
Akbari, H. 1996. ASTM standards for measuring solar reflectance and thermal emittance of construction materials and comparing their steady-state surface temperatures. Rep. LBL-38676 Abs. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Akbari, H., B. Fishman, and G. Frohnsdorff. 1994. Proceedings of the workshop on cool building materials. Gaithersburg, MD: NIST.
Akbari, H., A. H. Rosenfeld, and H. Taha. 1995. “Cool construction materials offer energy savings and help reduce smog.” ASTM Stand. News 23: 32–37.
Alchapar, N. L., E. N. Correa, and M. A. Cantón. 2013. “Solar reflectance index of pedestrian pavements and their response to aging.” J. Clean Energy Technol. 1 (4): 281–285.
Alleman, J., and M. Heitzman. 2019. Quantifying pavement albedo. Final Rep. NCAT Rep. 19-09. Ames, IA: Iowa State Univ.
ASTM. 2015. Standard test method for determination of emittance of materials near room temperature using portable emissometers. ASTM C1371-15. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2016. Standard test method for determination of solar reflectance near ambient temperature using a portable solar re-flectometer. ASTM C1549-16. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2018. Standard practice for laboratory soiling and weathering of roofing materials to simulate effects of natural exposure on solar reflectance and thermal emittance. ASTM D7897-18. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2019. Standard practice for calculating solar reflectance index of horizontal and low-sloped opaque surfaces. ASTM E1980-11(Reapproved 2019). West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2020. Standard test method for solar absorptance, reflectance, and transmittance of materials using integrating spheres. ASTM E903-20. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Barreira, E., R. M. S. F. Almeida, and M. L. Simões. 1961. “Emissivity of building materials for infrared measurements.” Sensors 2021 (21): 1961. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21061961.
Berdahl, P., and S. Bretz. 1997. “Preliminary survey of the solar reflectance of cool roofing materials.” Energy Build. 25 (2): 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(96)01004-3.
Betts, A. K., and J. H. Ball. 1997. “Albedo over the boreal forest.” J. Geophys. Res. 102 (D24): 28901–28910. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD03876.
Boucher, O., G. Myhre, and A. Myhre. 2004. “Direct influence of irrigation on atmospheric water vapour and climate.” Clim. Dyn. 22: 597–603. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-004-0402-4.
Castellani, B., E. Morini, E. Anderini, M. Filipponi, and F. Rossi. 2017. “Development and characterization of retro-reflective colored tiles for advanced building skins.” Energy Build. 154: 513–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.08.078.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). 2011. Flexible sheets for waterproofing – Determination of emissivity. EN 15976:2011. Brussels, Belgium: CEN.
Cheela, V. R. S., M. John, W. Biswas, and P. Sarker. 2021. “Combating urban heat island effect—A review of reflective pavements and tree shading strategies.” Buildings 11: 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030093.
Ciments Calcia. Accessed July 1, 2021). https://www.ciments-calcia.fr/fr/innovation/innovation-ciments-calcia/produits/le-superbe-effix-crea.
Deilami, K., M. Kamruzzaman, and Y. Liu. 2018. “Urban heat island effect: A systematic review of spatio-temporal factors, data, methods, and mitigation measures.” Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf. 67: 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2017.12.009.
Di Giuseppe, A., M. Cardinali, B. Castellani, M. Filipponi, A. M. Gambelli, L. Postrioti, A. Nicolini, and F. Rossi. 2021. “The effect of the substrate on the optic performance of retro-reflective coatings: An in-lab investigation.” Energies 14: 2921. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14102921.
Haselbach, L., M. Boyer, J. Kevern, and V. Schaefer. 2011. “Cyclic heat island impacts on traditional versus pervious concrete pavement systems.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2240: 107–115. https://doi.org/10.3141/2240-14.
Hu, L., Y. Li, X. Zou, S. Du, Z. Liu, and H. Huang. 2017. “Temperature characteristics of porous Portland cement concrete during the hot summer session.” Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2017: 2058034.
Il Ministro dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Decreto 11 ottobre. 2017. Criteri ambientali minimi per l’affidamento di servizi di progettazione e lavori per la nuova costruzione, ristrutturazione e manutenzione di edifici pubblici.
ISO. 1999. Solar energy – Vocabulary. ISO 9488:1999. Geneva: ISO.
ISO. 2016. Reaction-to-fire tests — Heat release, smoke production and mass loss rate — Part 4: Measurement of low levels of heat release. ISO/TS 5660-4:2016. Geneva: ISO.
Italcementi S.p.A. 2019. Accessed July 1, 2021. https://www.italcementi.it/it/system/files_force/assets/document/31/2b/scheda_tecnica_-_i.idro_drain.pdf?download=1.
Levinson, R., and H. Akbari. 2001. Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of Portland cement concrete. Rep. LBNL-48334, Heat Island Group Environmental Energy Technologies Division. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Univ. of California.
Levinson, R., and H. Akbari. 2010. “Potential benefits of cool roofs on commercial buildings: Conserving energy, saving money, and reducing emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.” Energy Effic. 3: 53–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-008-9038-2.
Lu, G., W. She, X. Tong, W. Zuo, and Y. Zhang. 2021. “Radiative cooling potential of cementitious composites: Physical and chemical origins.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 119: 104004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2021.104004.
Manni, M., G. Lobaccaro, F. Goia, A. Nicolini, and F. Rossi. 2019. “Exploiting selective angular properties of retro-reflective coatings to mitigate solar irradiation within the urban canyon.” Sol. Energy 189: 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.07.045.
Marceau, M. L., and M. G. VanGeem. 2007. Solar reflectance of concretes for LEED sustainable sites credit: Heat island effect. PCA R&D Serial No. 2982. Skokie, IL: Portland Cement Association.
Markvart, T., and L. CastaŁżer. 2003. Practical handbook of photovoltaics: Fundamentals and applications. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Masson, V., A. Lemonsu, J. Hidalgo, and J. Voogt. 2020. “Urban climates and climate change.” Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 45 (1): 411–444. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-083623.
Mohajerani, A., J. Bakaric, and T. Jeffrey-Bailey. 2017. “The urban heat island effect, its causes, and mitigation, with reference to the thermal properties of asphalt concrete.” J. Environ. Manage. 197: 522–538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.095.
Muscio, A. 2018. “The solar reflectance index as a tool to forecast the heat released to the urban environment: Potentiality and assessment issues.” Climate 6: 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli6010012.
Precheza. 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.precheza.cz/getmedia/0a2e193b-5ea8-4836-8598-39b6e1fbaf43/TDS-PRETIOX-AV01SF.pdf.aspx?ext=.pdf.
Rubin, M., D. Arasteh, and J. Hartmann. 1987. “A correlation between normal and hemispherical emissivity of low-emissivity coatings on glass.” Int. Commun. Heat Mass Transfer 14 (5): 561–565. https://doi.org/10.1016/0735-1933(87)90020-0.
Shepherd. 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.shepherdcolor.com/products/technical-data/BK0010G996/; Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.shepherdcolor.com/products/technical-data/GR0010C650/; Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.shepherdcolor.com/products/technical-data/YL0010C112/.
SIOF. 2011. Accessed July 12, 2021. http://www.siof.it/; http://www.siof.it/scheda-prodotto.php?pid=42; Accessed July 12, 2021. http://www.siof.it/scheda-prodotto.php?pid=7; Accessed July 12, 2021. http://www.siof.it/scheda-prodotto.php?pid=34.
Synnefa, A., M. Santamouris, and I. Livada. 2006. “A study of the thermal performance of reflective coatings for the urban environment.” Sol. Energy 80: 968–981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2005.08.005. (reported in: Cheela, V. R. S., M. John, W. Biswas, P. Sarker. 2021. “Combating urban heat island effect—A review of reflective pavements and tree shading strategies.” Buildings 11: 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030093).
Taha, H., D. Sailor, and H. Akbari. 1992. High-albedo materials for reducing building cooling energy use. IBL-31721 IE93 001574. Berkeley, CA: Energy and Environment Division Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Univ. of California.
Team Nubiola. 2016. “Pitture e Vernici - European Coatings 6/2016.” Accessed February 12, 2021. http://www.pittureevernici.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Nubiola-6-16.pdf .
Trefil, J. S. 2003. The nature of science: An A-Z guide to the laws and principles governing our universe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
UN (United Nations). 2015. “Paris agreement.” Accessed May 14, 2021 https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf.
USEPA. 1992. Cooling our communities - A guidebook on tree planting and light-colored surfaces. Document No. 22P-2001. Washington DC: USEPA.
USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council). 2021. Accessed December 17, 2021. https://www.usgbc.org/credits/neighborhood-development-plan-neighborhood-development/v4-draft/gibc-9.
Zhang, R., G. Jiang, and J. Liang. 2015. “The albedo of pervious cement concrete linearly decreases with porosity.” Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2015: 746592.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 2 • June 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 17, 2021
Accepted: Oct 31, 2022
Published online: Jan 20, 2023
Published in print: Jun 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 20, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.