Thermal performance of jointed plain concrete pavements in urban areas considering shade from buildings
摘要
Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements (JPCPs) are widely used in India’s highways and urban areas due to their durability and low maintenance requirements. However, their performance is significantly influenced by the development of non-linear temperature distributions caused by environmental conditions. These temperature distributions induce stresses that can lead to fatigue damage and cracking, ultimately reducing pavement service life. While the effects of factors like solar radiation and albedo on JPCP temperatures have been well studied, the role of urban shading, particularly from buildings, remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of urban shading on the thermal performance of JPCP. A two-part methodology was adopted: (i) a field study on a college campus in Gandhinagar, where pavement surface temperatures were measured across various shading conditions, and (ii) a numerical analysis incorporating prototypical urban geometries based on Local Climate Zones (LCZs), ray-tracing for modelling shadows, and thermal simulations with 30 years of historical weather data. The study was performed for two cities, Chandigarh and Chennai. Temperature distributions were analyzed to compute equivalent linear differences (