ISSN: 1945-7553
CODEN: JTEVAB
Published Online: 1 August 2012
Page Count: 6

Effectiveness of Solar Heat Reflective Coatings in Reducing Asphalt Concrete Temperature

Chen, Zheng
School of Material Science & Engineering, Xi’an Univ. of Architecture & Technology, Xi’an,

Ma, Dengcheng
Key Laboratory for Highway Construction Technology and Equipment of Ministry of Education, Chang’an Univ., Xi’an,

(Received 16 March 2012; accepted 15 May 2012)

Abstract

In order to reduce asphalt pavements temperature and mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect, a solar heat reflective coating (HRC) was introduced and applied to the surface of asphalt pavement. Main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the temperature reduction and UHI effect of HRC on asphalt pavement. On the basis of the principles of heat reflection, the HRC was synthesized. The antiskid performance and water permeability of the concretes covered with and without HRC were monitored and compared. Meanwhile, an accelerated loading test with loaded vehicles was performed for these two asphalt concretes. The influence of the reduction in the surface temperature on the air temperature was simulated. The research results indicate that the HRC features a good waterproof ability, as well as it can obviously reduce the surface temperature of asphalt concrete for its high light-reflection rate. Furthermore, the accelerated loading test also suggests that the HRC improves the rutting resistance of the asphalt concrete when exposed to the same irradiation strength. Friction coefficient had slightly reduction, and hence the skid-resistant granular should be recommended to added in asphalt pavement. Therefore, this HRC on asphalt pavement could be adopted as a countermeasure against the UHI effect.

Keywords:
asphalt concrete, heat reflective coating, reduce temperature, pavement performance

Paper ID: JTE20120069
DOI: 10.1520/JTE20120069
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