Cyclic Heat Island Impacts on Traditional versus Pervious Concrete Pavement Systems
- 1 January 2011
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
- Vol. 2240 (1), 107-115
- https://doi.org/10.3141/2240-14
Abstract
As the world becomes more urbanized, concerns over the urban heat island (UHI) are more pronounced. Increased urban temperatures have a negative affect on the natural and human environment by producing increased energy usage and smog formation. Pervious concrete pavement is one technology that may help mitigate increased urban temperatures. Temperature data from an instrumented site in Iowa and heat storage phenomena for various weather patterns are presented. The site contains both pervious concrete pavement with a solar reflectance index (SRI) of 14 and traditional concrete pavement with an SRI of 37. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accepted a high SRI (>29) as one method to characterize a cool surface. Heat capacities of both systems were studied along with a sensitivity analysis of the inputs. The research supports the conclusion that even though pervious concrete may have a much lower SRI than traditional concrete made with similar materials, it can be considered a cool pavement option. In addition, daytime rainfalls combined with the internal high surface area result in significantly more removal of stored heat from the system, with a more rapid mitigation of UHI impacts and reduction in the potential for thermal shock from impervious surface runoff.This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Temperature Behavior of Pervious Concrete SystemsTransportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2009
- Effectively Estimating In situ Porosity of Pervious Concrete from CoresJournal of ASTM International, 2007
- A New Test Method for Porosity Measurements of Portland Cement Pervious ConcreteJournal of ASTM International, 2005
- Cool surfaces and shade trees to reduce energy use and improve air quality in urban areasSolar Energy, 2001
- Urban nocturnal temperatures, street geometry and land useAtmospheric Environment, 1996
- Heat storage of pavement and its effect on the lower atmosphereAtmospheric Environment, 1996