engleski

Pavement surfaces in urban areas

Areas that were once permeable and moist become impermeable and dry because of development of urban areas, and constant construction of city roads and other urban infrastructure. This considerably reduces evaporation, which helps in reducing the air temperature. Complex urban geometry prevents the natural flow of the winds, while the urban canyons absorb solar energy reflected and absorbed by the walls of buildings, which further increases the average temperature of urbanized areas in relation to temperature of surrounding rural areas. Research shows that the use of appropriate materials for traffic surfaces and those on the roofs of buildings can reduce the effect of increased warming so-called heat island effect in the center. Dark materials (e.g. asphalt) is often used in construction and rehabilitation of traffic surfaces without taking into account that it absorbs more energy than lighter materials (e.g. concrete). All the above directly affects the formation of urban heat islands. This phenomenon is thoroughly investigated through the studies in the U.S., Australia and partly in Europe and is recognized as a significant environmental problem of today's cities. During summer 2011. temperature tests were made on different types of pavement surfacing on pedestrian and other roads in the center of the city of Rijeka. The paper will present the results concerning the temperature of different types of road surface that are commonly found in city centers, such as asphalt, stone, concrete surfaces and land surfaces. Tests were conducted during the summer months when the temperature of road surface is reaching its peak. The behavior of these surfaces considering the sunlight during the day, considering the color and the traffic load, will be analyzed and a comparison with air temperature will be shown. Analysis of the results will be used to define the possible measures to reduce heat island effect.

pavement surfaces; urban areas; temperature; asphalt; concrete

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