Assessing Efficiency Of PSCs For Mitigating UHI In Cool And Hot Climate Cases

Ghalandari, Taher; Nasir, Diana S.N.M.; Van den bergh, Wim; Vuye, Cedric

Abstract

In recent years, innovative approaches such as Pavement Solar Collector (PSC) systems have gained attention for their potential to harvest renewable energy, reduce asphalt profile temperatures, and mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect. The PSC systems extract thermal energy in roads, parking lots, and airports by circulating cold fluid through embedded pipes in the asphalt pavement in the summertime. Recent studies showed that PSC systems are able to significantly influence the surface temperature of asphalt pavement, where geometrical configurations, operational variables, and environmental conditions have major impacts on their performance. The present paper investigates the effectiveness of
PSCs in mitigating the UHI effect in cool and hot climate cases, Antwerp and Phoenix, respectively. The simulations used a validated FE model to determine the asphalt surface temperature reduction through a surface temperature reduction (STR) index. The results showed that although the maximum daily average temperature of asphalt surface in Antwerp was significantly lower than in Phoenix, the application of PSCs cooled down the surface temperature with an average of 4.8 °C in both cases. Moreover, the maximum and average STR values for Antwerp were 35% and 17.3%, compared to Phoenix, with 27.5% and 12.4% showing a better effectiveness of PSCs in cool climate conditions.

Citation

Ghalandari, T., Nasir, D. S., Van den bergh, W., & Vuye, C. (2024, April). Assessing Efficiency Of PSCs For Mitigating UHI In Cool And Hot Climate Cases. Paper presented at Transport Research Arena (TRA) Dublin 10th Conference, 15-18th April 2024, Dublin, Ireland

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Transport Research Arena (TRA) Dublin 10th Conference, 15-18th April 2024
• Start Date: Apr 15, 2024
• End Date: Apr 18, 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 15, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 8, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4548334
• Publisher URL: https://traconference.eu/