Abstract
An urban microclimate model is used to design a smart wetting protocol for multilayer street pavements in order to maximize the evaporative cooling effect as a mitigation measure for thermal discomfort during heat waves. The microclimate model is built upon a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for solving the turbulent air, heat and moisture flow in the air domain of a street canyon. The CFD model is coupled to a model for heat and moisture transport in porous urban materials and to a radiative exchange model, determining the net solar and thermal radiation on each urban surface. A two-layer pavement system, previously optimized for maximal evaporative cooling applying the principles of capillary pumping and capillary break, is considered to design a smart wetting protocol answering the questions “when,” “how much,” and “how long” a pavement should be artificially wetted. It was found for the current optimized pavement solutions that a daily amount of 6 mm wetting over 10 min in the morning, preferentially between 8:00 and 10:00, guarantees a maximal evaporative cooling for 24 h during a heat wave.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
