Comprehensive Laboratory Evaluation of Thermophysical Properties of Pavement Materials: Effects on Urban Heat Island
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 7
Abstract
In the context of urban heat islands (UHI), sustainable solutions are being devised to craft greener built environments such as cooler roofs and pavements mainly to counter a variation of thermal flux within the urban climates. Modification of the pavement thermal properties is a potential strategy to render pavements cooler with different cooling mechanisms. The thermal behavior of pavements is largely dependent on the different but interactive thermal properties of pavement materials such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, density, albedo, thermal emissivity, and not on one single property alone. The objective of this research study was to investigate the thermophysical properties of different pavement systems through the development of a comprehensive methodology that can quantify contribution of thermal properties on urban climates from laboratory-based measurements. Six different paving mixtures including conventional dense-graded, asphalt-rubber, and cement concrete mixes were prepared encompassing 96 sample data points for the experimental program. With an increase in specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and albedo, there was a decrease in the maximum pavement surface temperature of the various mixes. Although the investigation of thermal behavior of pavement materials is complex in nature, this laboratory study has attempted to investigate all major thermophysical properties of different pavement systems in a comprehensive manner. It is envisioned that this research study will help advance the state of the art and knowledge related to pavements’ selection and contribution to urban climates, and in recommending a suitable UHI mitigation strategy from the pavements’ perspective.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Government of India Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of Higher Education for their financial support vide Future of Cities research project grant number F.No.4-22/2014-TS.I, 23 January 2014.
References
ACI (American Concrete Institute). (2011). “Report on pervious concrete.”, Farmington Hills, MI.
ACPA (American Concrete Pavement Association). (2002). “Albedo: A measure of pavement surface reflectance.” Skokie, IL.
Akbari, H., Menon, S., and Rosenfeld, A. (2009). “Global cooling: Increasing world-wide urban Albedos to offset .” Clim. Change, 94(3–4), 275–286.
ASTM. (1999). “Standard test method for mean specific heat capacity of thermal insulation.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2006a). “Standard test method for measuring solar reflectance of horizontal and low-sloped surfaces in the field.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2006b). “Standard test method for steady-state heat flux measurements and thermal transmission properties by means of the guarded-hot-plate apparatus.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2009). “Standard viscosity-temperature chart for asphalts.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bureau of Indian Standards. (1963). “Specific gravity, density, voids, absorption and bulking.”, New Delhi, India.
Carlson, J. D., Bhardwaj, R., Phelan, P. E., Kaloush, K. E., and Golden, J. S. (2010). “Determining thermal conductivity of paving materials using cylindrical sample geometry.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 186–195.
Chiarelli, A., Dawson, A. R., and Garcia, A. (2015). “Parametric analysis of energy harvesting pavements operated by air convection.” Appl. Energy, 154, 951–958.
Gartland, L. (2008). Heat islands: Understanding and mitigating heat in urban areas, Routledge, London, 208.
Gui, J., Phelan, P. E., Kaloush, K. E., and Golden, J. S. (2007). “Impact of pavement thermophysical properties on surface temperatures.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 683–690.
Guntor, N. A. A., Din, M. F., Ponraj, M., and Iwao, K. (2014). “Thermal performance of developed coating material as cool pavement material for tropical regions.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 755–760.
Kaloush, K. E., Carlson, J. D., Golden, J. S., and Phelan, P. E. (2008). “The thermal and radiative characteristics of concrete pavements in mitigating urban heat island effects.”, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, IL.
Levinson, R., and Akbari, H. (2002). “Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of portland cement concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 32(11), 1679–1698.
Li, H., Harvey, J. T., and Kendall, A. (2013). “Field measurement of albedo for different land cover materials and effect on thermal performance.” Build. Environ., 59, 536–546.
Maria, V. D., Rahman, M., Collins, P., Dondi, G., and Sangiorgi, C. (2013). “Urban heat islands effect: Thermal properties from different types of exposed surfaces.” Int. J. Pavement Res. Technol., 6(4), 414–422.
MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways). (2001). “Highways, ministry of road transport and specifications for road and bridge works.” Indian Roads Congress, Government of India, New Delhi, India.
Oke, T. R. (1987). Boundary layer climates, 2nd Ed., Routledge, London, 464.
Pomerantz, M., Akbari, H., Chang, S., Levinson, R., and Pon, B. (2003). “Examples of cooler reflective streets for urban heat-island mitigation: Portland cement concrete and chip seals.”, Heat Island Group, Energy Analysis Dept. Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
Pomerantz, M., Akbari, H., Chen, A., Taha, H., and Rosenfeld, A. H. (1997). “Paving materials for heat island mitigation.”, Heat Island Group, Energy Analysis Dept. Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
Pomerantz, M., Akbari, H., and Harvey, J. T. (2000). “Cooler reflective pavements give benefits beyond energy savings: Durability and illumination.”, Heat Island Group, Energy Analysis Dept. Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
Rosenfeld, A. H., Akbari, H., Romm, J. J., and Pomerantz, M. (1998). “Cool communities: Strategies for heat island mitigation and smog reduction.” Energy Build., 28(1), 51–62.
Sailor, D. J. (2002). “Urban heat islands: Opportunities and challenges for mitigation and adaptation.” North American Urban Heat Island Summit, Clean Air Partnership, Toronto.
Sarat, A-A., and Eusuf, M. A. (2012). “An experimental study on observed heating characteristics of urban pavement.” J. Surv. Constr. Prop., 3(1), 1–12.
Shashwath, S. (2015). “Investigations of thermophysical properties of pavement systems: A comprehensive evaluation and predictive models development.” Master’s thesis, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, India.
U.S. EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). (2008). “Reducing urban heat islands: Compendium of strategies.” Chapter 5, Cool Pavements, Washington, DC, 40.
Way, G. B., Kaloush, K. E., and Biligiri, K. P. (2012). Asphalt-rubber standard practice guide, 2nd Ed., Rubber Pavements Association, Phoenix, AZ.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 27, 2015
Accepted: Nov 10, 2015
Published online: Jan 27, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 27, 2016
Published in print: Jul 1, 2016
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.