Harvesting Energy from Asphalt Pavement And Reducing the Heat Island Effect

This white paper presents the concept of using a piping network below the surface of asphalt pavements to flow an appropriate fluid, to reduce the temperature of the asphalt pavement, reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect, and use the heated fluid for different end applications such as heating, power generation or refrigeration. The reduced temperature will extend the life of the pavement, while the reduced temperature of the near-surface air will lead to savings in energy consumption of adjacent buildings and improvement in air quality (such as by reducing ozone concentration). The objective of this paper is to present the facts and figures on the concept of using fluid in pipes to harvest energy from asphalt pavements and reduce the temperature of the pavement, to reduce the amount of heat that is radiated back from the pavement surface to the atmosphere (urban heat island effect), and reduce the high temperature related permanent deformation potential of the pavement. The content of this paper is based on research that has been conducted so far by the authors of this paper at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).