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Construction and configuration of convection-powered asphalt solar collectors for the reduction of urban temperatures

Chiarelli, Andrea; Al-Mohammedawi, A.; Dawson, Andrew; Garcia, Alvaro

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Authors

Andrea Chiarelli

A. Al-Mohammedawi

Andrew Dawson

Alvaro Garcia



Abstract

In this paper, an analysis of a convection-powered asphalt solar collector prototype is approached by the means of experimental trials and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in order to evaluate how to optimise its design for the reduction of high urban pavement temperatures. Since the energy harvesting setup consists of a series of pipes buried in the pavement, their arrangement is here studied and experimentally compared to a possible construction technique consisting of concrete corrugations that aim at replacing the pipes. CFD simulations are employed to optimise the air collection chamber which is placed immediately before the heated air leaves the asphalt solar collector prototype. The data gathered is analysed in terms of energy harvested and exergy.

The results obtained show that for an overall optimal performance, pipes should be installed in a single row under the pavement wearing course. This allowed a surface temperature reduction of up to 5.5 °C in the pavement prototype studied and the highest absorbed energy and exergy measured. In addition, the CFD simulations showed that care has to be put in finding the optimal shape and size for the air collection chamber, as they significantly influence the behaviour of the system.

Citation

Chiarelli, A., Al-Mohammedawi, A., Dawson, A., & Garcia, A. (2017). Construction and configuration of convection-powered asphalt solar collectors for the reduction of urban temperatures. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 112, 242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2016.10.012

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 21, 2016
Online Publication Date Oct 26, 2016
Publication Date 2017
Deposit Date Aug 1, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal International Journal of Thermal Sciences
Print ISSN 1290-0729
Electronic ISSN 1290-0729
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 112
Pages 242
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2016.10.012
Keywords Asphalt solar collector, Air convection, Energy harvesting, Asphalt pavement, CFD
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/843459
Publisher URL https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84992672489&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijthermalsci.2016.10.012&partnerID=40&md5=7736ebd15c1105a7f63285dd74b32be5

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