Permeable pavements and its contribution to cooling effect of surrounding temperature

Nurul Rezuana Buyung, and Abdul Naser Abdul Ghani

Citation: AIP Conference Proceedings 1892, 170003 (2017); doi: 10.1063/1.5005783

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 Permeable Pavements and Its Contribution to Cooling Effect
of Surrounding Temperature
Nurul Rezuana Buyung1, a) and Abdul Naser Abdul Ghani2, b)
1,2
Building Technology Department, School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800
Penang, Malaysia
a)
Corresponding author: [email protected]
b)
[email protected]

Abstract. Generally, the pavement surface temperature usually is higher compared to air temperature. It is caused by the
absorption of solar energy onto the surface. The pavements temperature strongly influences the urban climate as an
urbanization result. The increase of heat in the urban area are partly contributed by the pavement. Permeable pavement
can be seen as a way of reducing the temperature of the pavement. This study reviews the existing technology and
mechanism of permeable pavements cooling properties. There are various factors that could affect the pavement’s
temperature such as the solar reflectance, thermal properties, permeability, evaporation and others. However, previous
researchers have found out that, permeable pavement tends to be hotter than conventional pavement during dry seasons.
It was found that the presence of water could reduce the temperature of the pavement. Future studies can be conducted
towards finding ways to maintain the wet condition within the pavement.

INTRODUCTION
Average global temperatures have increased over the past century and are expected to increase for the next
hundred years. Slight changes in the average temperature of the earth can cause large changes in climate and
possibly dangerous weather [1]. Changes made by humans in the usage and land cover have changed the earth
reflectivity. Activities such as deforestation, afforestation and urbanization plays a part in climate change in the area
where it occurred. It gives average effects globally but vital effects to a region [2].
The pavements strongly influence the urban climate. The climatology effects caused by large cities needs to be
considered when dealing with the road and pavement climatology [3]. The development of increased heat in the
urban area is also contributed by the pavements [4-5]. The phenomenon known as urban heat island (UHI) is created
by the urban effect on temperatures. It has been identified in surface, subsurface and air temperatures [6]. Urban heat
island describes the surrounding temperatures in the compact areas of a city compared to its surrounding or rural
areas [7].

FIGURE 1. Impervious surfaces and reduced evapotranspiration [8]

Proceedings of the International Conference of Global Network for Innovative Technology and AWAM International Conference in Civil Engineering (IGNITE-AICCE’17)
AIP Conf. Proc. 1892, 170003-1–170003-7; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5005783
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1574-4/$30.00

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 Figure 1(1) shows highly developed urban areas, where 75% to 100% are impervious surfaces and fewer surface
moisture available for evapotranspiration compared to natural land cover in Fig. 1(2), which has less than 10%
impervious cover. This characteristic contributes to higher surface and air temperatures in urban areas.

PERMEABLE PAVEMENT
Permeable pavement is an alternative to the conventional impermeable pavement which allows stormwater to
stream into it and into stone reservoirs where the stormwater infiltrated into the underlying natural soil or
temporarily detained [9]. Permeable pavement usually has rough surface paving systems that reduce stormwater
runoff flows and also improve the quality of the stormwater [10]
During rainfall season, the water infiltrate into the subsurface through interconnected void spaces in the
permeable pavement. The water then infiltrates into the subsoil in areas where it is covered by highly permeable
soils. However in areas with low permeability soil, the water will leave the pavement through an underdrain system.
The infiltrated water that leaves the pavement is defined as exfiltrate. Almost all types of permeable pavements has
the same general structure as in FIGURE 2. Permeable material and fill are considered as the surface layer or cover
[11].

FIGURE 2. Cross section of a typical block paver permeable pavement installation without underdrains [11]

Types of Permeable Pavements

There are few types of permeable pavements that are described below: -

Permeable Asphalt

Permeable asphalt is similar to conventional asphalt. But, it is made from single-size aggregate to create void
space and bounded by bituminous asphalt binder [12-13]. Permeable asphalt is a subtle variation of conventional
asphalt and requires a special specification in construction [12]. Permeable asphalt or macadam pavement
appearances almost the same to traditional asphalt, but relatively porous. It’s made up by open-graded asphalt and
concrete above an open-graded aggregate base placed above well-draining soil [14]. Higher-grade binders and
additives are commonly used in order to provide better durability and to prevent the asphalt binder to drain down
[13].

Permeable Concrete

Permeable concrete is a combination of Portland cement, gravel or coarse aggregate and water. Void content of
permeable pavement is about 15 to 35 percent or in an average of 20 percent and this is achieved by removing the
finer particles such as fine aggregate from the concrete mixture. These void spaces allow water to infiltrate the
underlying soil and the water to either discharge as runoff or pooling on the surface [15].

Porous Aggregate

Aggregate is a most common material in the construction of pavement base course. Aggregate is any mass
particular materials such as crushed stone, crushed recycle brick, gravel or decomposed granite. Aggregate mass

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containing 30 to 40 percent void space is created by single-size particles. An “open-graded” substance can be
extremely permeable to water and air. Single-size aggregate is also the main element of permeable concrete and
permeable asphalt. It is also used as a porous media to fill in the open cell and joints of grid pavers, blocks and
geocell [12].

Permeable Pavers

Permeable paver components such as gravel, concrete or another hard-wearing material were fixed within and
above a base stone. Water infiltrates to the sub-soils through voids provided by gaps between pavers [16].

Reinforced Turf/Gravel

Reinforced turf or gravel is made from plastic or other solid materials with prefabricated grids and finished either
with clean sand, turf or gravel. The grids give a stable surface and at the same time providing space for porous
media to fill in and look like an original turf [16].

Design of Permeable Pavements

Consideration should be given to both structural and hydraulic components in designing the permeable
pavement.

Structure Design of Permeable Pavement

The flexible pavement concept can be applied on the permeable asphalt and block pavers. While the concept of
rigid pavement could be applied to the permeable concrete. The structural design of permeable pavement involves
the consideration of four main elements: -
1. Traffic load
2. Soil properties
3. Environmental factors
4. Surface, bedding, strength of reservoir layer and the thickness of the pavement
The surface thickness of permeable pavement is calculated using relative estimate of traffic load and frequency [17].
In order to have a suitable pavement section for the surface and gravel courses thickness based on geotextile
recommendations, it is necessary to refer to a geotechnical engineer for soil with condition uncompacted and wet
[16].

Hydraulic Design of Permeable Pavement

Hydraulic characteristic and processes that may occur in a permeable pavement have been summarized in Fig. 3.
The hydrology starts at the pavement surface with the presence of rainfall which some infiltrates the pavement’s
surface. The excessive water from the pavement surface will infiltrate to the subsoil and the remainder outflows are
discharged through the discharge pipe. Storage in the pavement’s reservoir takes up temporary differences between
rates of inflow and outflow. Evaporation pulls water back into the atmosphere at each stage [12].

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 FIGURE 3. Hydrologic characteristics and processes that could occur in a porous pavement [12]

MITIGATING HEAT IN URBAN AND URBANIZING AREAS WITH COOL

PAVEMENTS

Conventional impermeable pavements have dark surface and huge thermal inertia. Throughout midday, this
pavement tends to absorb and store solar radiation but deny the evaporative cooling. This could contribute to the
growth of urban heat [18]. Typically about 30 to 40 percent of urban surface areas are covered by dark impervious
pavements [19].
Implementation of cool pavement technology was seen as one solution to reduce the urban heat islands [18-19].
At this moment, there are no standards and an official definition of cool pavements. The term “cool pavements”
currently refers to paving materials that reflect more solar energy and/or increase the evaporation of water or
modified pavement that remain cooler compared to conventional impermeable pavements [18].
Cool pavement might be applied in pavement areas such as parking areas and low volume traffic loads where
less stringent structural requirement is needed [19]. Both reflective and permeable pavements are referred as cool
pavements [20]. The two main principles of cool pavements are increased reflectivity and increased convection as
they decrease heat being released later in day and at night [19]. The additional criteria of pervious concrete
pavement such as their porosity make it viable for use as cool pavement because it can be seen as another
technology that could help to lessen the increases of temperatures in urban areas [21].
Permeable pavements or known as water-retentive pavements are considered as cool pavements because of the
evaporation of water retained at the pavement layers. Water-holding agents can be added in the pavements to
enhance the water retention. The availability of water gives huge effects to the thermal performance of the water-
retentive pavements. Depletion of water in the pavement will make the surface of the permeable pavement hotter
compared to conventional pavement due to low thermal inertia of permeable pavement. This makes the absorbed
heat cumulates close to the surface area. It is also due to the lower reflectivity of permeable pavements compared to
dense materials [8]. Evaporation from beneath the permeable pavement can give a cooler surface [15] and the
surface temperature of pavement can be significantly cooler with the presence of water [22].
Increase the water storage capability of pavements means making them porous. Water then could filter through
the rigid top layer and is stored in the soil and supporting layers below. Porous pavements allow water to drain
through during rainstorm and evaporate during hot, sunny weather. Evaporation keeps the pavement cooler because
heat is pulled out from the pavement during hot weather [23]. Evaporative pavements uses the evaporation of water
to carry heat away from the pavement. These consists a range of technologies, such as porous materials or channels
for surface water [18].

PERMEABLE PAVEMENT AND SURROUNDING TEMPERATURE REDUCTION

To construct the cool pavement of permeable pavements, several characteristics should be considered in order to
achieve the cooling affect.

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 Albedo of Permeable Pavement

Solar reflectivity or albedo shows an important part in the thermal behavior of pavements and other land covers
[24]. The albedo of permeable pavement must be understood in order to understand if pervious pavements stay
cooler than conventional pavements. The result from the different porosity of permeable pavements showed that the
increase of porosity of concrete is parallel to the decreases of the albedo [25]. While it is found that the value of
albedo was higher in the early morning and lower in the later afternoon. The albedo measurement should be taken in
the midday of a clear day in order to get a constant and conservative value and cloud cover will give negative effect
on the value of albedo measured [26].
The albedo influences the high surface temperature in the day and no major influence on low temperatures
during nighttime [24]. Due to lower albedo, the development of permeable pavement should be cautious when
encountering urban heat unless the evaporation of permeable pavements is promoted to balance the additional solar
absorption caused by the low albedo [25]. In addition, permeable pavements with higher albedo seems to have
potential to help in reducing the near-surface heat, enhance the quality of air and improve human thermal comfort.
Permeable pavement has low thermal effect such as the exchange of heat on near-surface air compared to
impermeable pavement. The daytime high surface temperature is reduced by the increases in albedo. In wet
conditions, the permeable pavement could give lower surface temperature compare to impermeable pavements. The
availability of moisture near the surface pavement and the evaporation rate give a cooling effect on the pavements
[24].

Thermal Properties of Permeable Pavement

Thermal conductivity is the capability of material to transfer heat. It determines how fast and easily heat will be
transferred from a high temperature object to parts with lower temperatures. Low thermal conductivity pavement
could warm the surface but will not transfer heat throughout pavement as fast as pavement layer with higher
conductivity [8].
It is found that surface temperature is affected by the sizes of aggregates where smaller sizes of aggregates have
a lower temperature reading compare to larger sizes of aggregates. As the size of aggregate becomes larger, the void
structure also becomes higher which contributes to the higher thermal performance. This shows that pavements with
higher void and temperature is suitable to be used to enhance the thermal performance of the pavement [27].
It has been verified that thermal behavior observation on permeable pavement could reduce the temperature in
the hottest season and slow down the freezing of snow during coldest season. Numerous factor affects thermal
conductivity of a given materials [28]. The type of mixture, aggregate, percentage of each component in the mixture
and the compaction level could affect the thermal conductivity of the pavements [29].

Cooling Through Evaporation

The important factor which could influence the evaporative cooling effect is the rate of evaporation. High
availability of water or moisture exposure to the atmosphere is important for the evaporation rate. Increasing the
permeability and air void is one way to enhance the exposure of moisture to the atmosphere and the evaporation.
Another way to improve the evaporative cooling effect is to maintain the wet condition by enhancing capillary effect
with finer gradation or sprinkling water directly to the surface [30].
Other studies found that during dry conditions air voids would affect the specific heat capacity and thermal
conductivity of asphalt mixture, while under wet conditions the energy used by water for evaporation reduces the
temperature of asphalt mixture drastically. Permeable pavement can be seen to be more convenient for warm and
humid climates where rainwater is usually used to cool the pavement surface. The usage of wastewater may also
acceptable as evaporative source to cooling the surface of the pavement. However, permeable pavements seems to
be not suitable for dry climates due to the problem of the availability of water [31].
When the temperature of material increases, the water evaporates and this will contribute to lower the
temperature of pavement surface. The evaporation rate shows the moisture content in the atmosphere and also the
materials. It is also rely very much on the temperature of the materials. The pavement surface keeps cooler with the
higher moisture content and increased on watering [31]. Sprinkling the water on the pavement surface also could
keep the surface pavement remain cool [32]. The availability of moisture near the surface pavement and the rate of
evaporation give the cooling effect on the pavements and were used under different climate conditions [19&33].

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Permeable pavement allows infiltration and pavement surface temperature could be reduced through evaporation [7,
20].

CONCLUSIONS
Currently, there are many studies which have been carried out on permeable pavement in order to help in
temperature mitigation and to fight urban heat. There are a few elements that could help in temperature mitigation
such as albedo, evaporation of water and thermal properties of the permeable pavement. Higher albedo potentially
helps to reduce the near-surface heat. During daytime, high surface temperature was reduced by the increases in
albedo of the pavement. However, low albedo of pavement should be cautions when encountering urban heat unless
the additional solar absorption is balanced with the evaporation of water in permeable pavement. Lower thermal
conductivity of pavement could warm the pavement but not transfer heat throughout pavement as fast as pavement
with higher conductivity. Enhancing evaporation could lessen the temperature of permeable pavement. Evaporation
occurs in the presence of water. Water will evaporate when there is an increase in temperature of the material and
this could help to mitigate the surface temperature of permeable pavement. However, a dry season is seen as a
critical condition for permeable pavement. It is because without the presence of water, the temperature of permeable
pavement may tend to be higher compared to conventional pavement. In the presence of water, it seems that the
temperature of permeable pavement can be reduced due to evaporation. Future studies can be conducted towards
finding ways to maintain the wet conditions within the pavement.

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