U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of Portland cement concrete
Abstract
Increasing the solar reflectance (albedo) of a paved surface keeps it cooler in the sun, reducing convection of heat from pavement to air and thereby decreasing the ambient air temperature. Simulations of the influence of pavement albedo on air temperature in Los Angeles predict that increasing the albedo of 1,250 km2 of pavement by 0.25 would save cooling energy worth $15M yr-1, and reduce smog-related medical and lost-work expenses by $76M yr-1. Most sidewalks and a small fraction of roads and parking areas are paved with portland cement concrete, which can be made quite reflective through suitable choice of cement and aggregate. Variations with composition and environmental exposure of the albedos of portland cement concrete pavements were investigated through laboratory fabrication and exposure of 32 mixes of concrete. Twenty-four mixes yielded substandard, ''rough'' concretes due to high, unmet aggregate water demand. The albedos of the remaining eight ''smooth'' concrete mixes ranged from 0.41 to 0.77 (mean 0.59). Simulated weathering, soiling, and abrasion each reduced average concrete albedo (mean decreases 0.06, 0.05, and 0.19, respectively), though some samples became slightly more reflective through weathering or soiling. Simulated rain (wetting) strongly depressed the albedos of concretes (mean decrease 0.23) until their surfacesmore »
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs; Environmental Protection Agency (US)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 820773
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-48334
R&D Project: 43BP01; TRN: US200405%%187
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- Resource Type:
- Technical Report
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 21 Dec 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; CEMENTS; CONCRETES; CONVECTION; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE; FABRICATION; HEAT EXCHANGERS; HYDRATION; PAVEMENTS; PORTLAND CEMENT; RAIN; SAND; SUN; WATER REQUIREMENTS; WEATHERING; SOLAR REFLECTANCE ALBEDO PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT WEATHERING ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT CONDENSATION SOILING ABRASION WETTING CEMENT AGGREGATE
Citation Formats
Levinson, Ronnen, and Akbari, Hashem. Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of Portland cement concrete. United States: N. p., 2001.
Web. doi:10.2172/820773.
Levinson, Ronnen, & Akbari, Hashem. Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of Portland cement concrete. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/820773
Levinson, Ronnen, and Akbari, Hashem. 2001.
"Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of Portland cement concrete". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/820773. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/820773.
@article{osti_820773,
title = {Effects of composition and exposure on the solar reflectance of Portland cement concrete},
author = {Levinson, Ronnen and Akbari, Hashem},
abstractNote = {Increasing the solar reflectance (albedo) of a paved surface keeps it cooler in the sun, reducing convection of heat from pavement to air and thereby decreasing the ambient air temperature. Simulations of the influence of pavement albedo on air temperature in Los Angeles predict that increasing the albedo of 1,250 km2 of pavement by 0.25 would save cooling energy worth $15M yr-1, and reduce smog-related medical and lost-work expenses by $76M yr-1. Most sidewalks and a small fraction of roads and parking areas are paved with portland cement concrete, which can be made quite reflective through suitable choice of cement and aggregate. Variations with composition and environmental exposure of the albedos of portland cement concrete pavements were investigated through laboratory fabrication and exposure of 32 mixes of concrete. Twenty-four mixes yielded substandard, ''rough'' concretes due to high, unmet aggregate water demand. The albedos of the remaining eight ''smooth'' concrete mixes ranged from 0.41 to 0.77 (mean 0.59). Simulated weathering, soiling, and abrasion each reduced average concrete albedo (mean decreases 0.06, 0.05, and 0.19, respectively), though some samples became slightly more reflective through weathering or soiling. Simulated rain (wetting) strongly depressed the albedos of concretes (mean decrease 0.23) until their surfaces were dried. Concrete albedo grew as the cement hydration reaction progressed (mean increase 0.08), but stabilized within six weeks of casting. White-cement concretes were on average significantly more reflective than gray-cement concretes. The albedo of the most-reflective white-cement concrete was 0.18 to 0.39 higher than that of the most-reflective gray-cement concrete, depending on state of exposure. Concrete albedo generally correlated with cement albedo and sand albedo, and, after abrasion, with rock albedo. Cement albedo had a disproportionately strong influence on the reflectance of concrete. Efflorescence and surface carbonation whitened some gray-cement mixes.},
doi = {10.2172/820773},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/820773},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Dec 21 00:00:00 EST 2001},
month = {Fri Dec 21 00:00:00 EST 2001}
}