Reduction of Pavement High Temperature with the Use of Thermal Insulation Layer and High Reflectivity Surface

Abstract

This paper presents a study that was conducted to evaluate the concept of using an insulation layer along with a relatively high reflectivity surface for insulating pavements from extremes of temperature. Both finite element modeling (FEM) and experiments were carried out. FEM models were used to evaluate the effectiveness of higher reflectivity and lower conductivity on the temperature of the HMA pavement. Combinations of geosynthetic (as insulation) with and without chip seals (with partially exposed light colored aggregates as high reflectivity surface) were studied with experiments that were conducted with actual solar radiation. Temperature data were collected at the surface and at various depths. The temperature at different depths of the samples with the geosynthetic reinforced chip seal (GRCS) were found to be lower than that of the conventional hot mix asphalt (HMA) sample. The reduction in temperature is greater at higher solar radiations and warmer temperatures. It can be concluded that a GRCS can be used effectively to reduce the temperature of asphalt pavements and help in reducing their rutting potential.