Work

Reflective–evaporative semi-flexible pavements for urban thermal regulation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Urban pavements influence heat exchange between transport infrastructure and the surrounding atmosphere, yet how surface evolution alters their cooling performance remains unclear. This study investigates the reflective–evaporative cooling of water-retentive semi-flexible pavements with progressively exposed aggregates. Controlled polishing, optical–thermal characterization, outdoor monitoring, mechanical evaluation, and ENVI-met simulation were integrated to link surface evolution with pavement and street-canyon thermal response. Aggregate exposure increased albedo to 57.8% for limestone and 47.4% for granite, whereas diabase and basalt remained optically constrained. Relative to SMA, the proposed pavements reduced peak surface temperature by up to 11.01 °C; each 10 percentage-point albedo gain corresponded to a 0.67 °C reduction. Street-canyon simulation predicted a near-ground air temperature decrease of up to 1.07 °C. Granite provided a favorable thermal–mechanical balance, suggesting aggregate selection as a practical pathway for heat-mitigating urban pavement design.

Source: Transportation Research Part D Transport and Environment

DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2026.105690