ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR

SEMINAR REPORT

submitted by

ALTHAF HUSSAIN

YCE17CE011

to
the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of B.Tech Degree
in Civil Engineering.

Department of Civil Engineering

Younus College of Engineering and Technology, Kollam

December 2020
 DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
Younus College of Engineering and Technology, Kollam

CERTIFICATE
Certified that this report entitled ‘Asphalt Solar Collector’ the seminar report presented
by ALTHAF HUSSAIN(YCE17CE011) during 2020 in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering
of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University.

Mrs. Sumi S
(Guide)
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Civil Engineering
YCET, Kollam.

Mrs. Aleena A. Lathif Mrs. Raji R

(Seminar Coordinator) (Head of the Department)
Assistant Professor Professor
Dept. of Civil Engineering Dept. of Civil Engineering
YCET, Kollam. YCET, Kollam
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my profound respect, admiration and gratitude to my guide

Mrs. Sumi S, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, for her systematic
guidance and dedicated cooperation for the successful completion of this seminar.

I express my sincere thanks to my seminar coordinator Mrs. Aleena A Lathif, Assistant

Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, for her valuable suggestions.

I whole heartedly thank Mrs. Raji R, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering for
her full cooperation and firm support.

I am thankful to Prof. Dr. P. Sreeraj, Principal, Younus College of Engineering and

Technology for providing us with all the facilities and cooperative atmosphere for the
completion of the seminar.

I express deep gratitude to the Almighty, for bestowing his blessings.

I take this opportunity to express thanks to my family and all others who have supported
me during the preparation of this seminar.

ALTHAF HUSSAIN

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 ABSTRACT

Asphalt pavements subject to solar radiation can reach high temperatures causing not only
environmental problems such as the heat island effect on cities but also structural damage
due to rutting or hardening as a result of thermal cycles. Asphalt solar collectors are
doubly effective active systems: as they solve the previously mentioned problems and,
moreover, they can harness energy to be used in different applications. The
implementation of asphalt solar collectors as a means of an energy source is being widely
studied in recent years. Asphalt pavements are exposed to daily solar radiation, and are
capable of reaching up to 70°C in temperature. The potential of harvesting energy from
solar pavements as an alternative energy source in replace of non-renewable energy
sources prone to depletion such as fuel is promising. Many working parameters, such as
pipe diameter, pipe spacing, pipe depth, pipe arrangement, and flow rate, influence the
performance of asphalt solar collector. Existing literature on thermal energy extraction
from asphalt pavements is based on the small scale laboratory samples and numerical
simulations. In order to design an efficient asphalt solar collector there should be a payoff
between the thermal and structural stability of the pavement, so that maximum heat can
be absorbed without structural damage due to external load condition. This paper presents
a combined thermal and structural analysis of asphalt solar collector.

Keywords : pavements, rankine cycle, asphalt solar collector

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 CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

CONTENTS iii

LIST OF FIGURES v

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR 1

3. PROPERTIES OF SOLAR RADIATION 2

3.1 RADIATION 2

3.2 CONVECTION 2

3.3 CONDUCTION 3

3.4 TYPES OF SOLAR COLLECTORS 3

3.4.1 Unglazed liquid flat-plate collector 4

3.4.2 Glazed liquid flat-plate collectors 4

3.5 COMPONENTS OF ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR 6

3.5.1 Subterranean copper pipes 6

3.5.2Circulating fluid 7

3.5.3 Solar pump 7

3.5.4 Insulated reservoirs 7

3.6 ARRANGEMENT OF PIPES 8

4. WORKING OF ASC 9

4.1 ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE 9

4.2 KALINA CYCLE 10

4.3 ENERGY BALANCE IN ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR 11

4.4 PROCESSES INVOLVED IN ASC 12

5. APPLICATIONS 13

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 5.1 PRIMARY APPLICATION- HAP 13

5.2 SECONDARY APPLICATIONS 14

6. CASE STUDY 14

6.1 ASC IN MALAYSIA 14

6.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM 15

7. FEASIBILITY IN INDIA 17

8. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 17

8.1. Advantages of ASC 17

8.2 Disadvantages of ASC 18

9. FUTURE PROSPECTUS 18

10. CONCLUSION 19

REFERENCES 20

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure. 3.1 System Schematic for Unglazed Flat Plate Collector 6

Figure. 3.2 System Schematic for Glazed Flat Plate Collector 6

Figure. 3.3 Evacuated Solar Tube Collector 7

Figure. 3.4 Subterranean Pipes 8

Figure. 3.5 Open Loop System 9

Figure. 3.6 Straight Pipe Alignment 10

Figure. 3.7 Serpentine Pipe Alignment 10

Figure. 4.1 Organic Rankine Cycle 11

Figure. 4.2 Energy Balance in ASC 13

Figure. 4.3 Working of ASC 14

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1. INTRODUCTION

All systems on earth including the living organisms, requires an optimum ambient
temperature for its better productivity, which the systems, nowadays faces a drop. In the
attempts of gaining such optimum temperature for creating productive workspaces, men
failed to remember about the possible effects of things that left over to environment.
Excessive use of air conditioners, coolers, refrigerators etc. weakened the ozone blankets
which indirectly raised the ambient atmosphere temperature. Asphalt Solar Collector is
an appropriate remedial measure to this relevant issue. Most countries rely on non-
renewable energy sources such as coal, nuclear fuels, oil & other natural gases. It takes
billions of years for its formation & recharge to a significant amount. Using of these
resources indiscriminately without thinking about the future is selfish. It becomes directly
harmful for the related workers and people too. The current rate of energy consumption
will lead to complete scarcity of major resources. The major source of renewable energy
is the solar radiation and its heat. Tapping this energy can deliver more green energy for
satisfying the needs of many and thereby helpful for the conservation of non-renewable
energy resources.

We have a very widespread area of road network belongs to various countries and
continents. It would be better to consume the available form of energy from these
pavements. The easiest form of energy that can be harvested from road surface is heat
energy. This kind of energy collection becomes beneficial in a couple of ways. Firstly, it
reduces the possible rise in temperature of surrounding air and secondly, more
significantly, it improves the life of the construction. The first reference to an asphalt
solar collector dates from 1979 and is a patent entitled “Paving and solar energy system
and method”. One of the pioneer applications of an asphalt solar collector as a snow-
melting system is the Swiss system SERSO. It consisted of pipes embedded in a bridge
deck.

2. ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR

Asphalt Solar Collector is a system that is designed for the purpose of harvesting solar
thermal energy collected by the asphalt pavement by circulating a fluid through it. Asphalt
solar collectors consist of pipes embedded in the pavement with a circulating fluid inside.
Solar radiation causes an increase in pavement temperature. Due to the temperature

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gradient between the fluid circulating through pipes and the pavement, a heat transfer
process occurs from pavement to fluid which leads to a drop in pavement temperature
and an increase in fluid temperature. This drop in asphalt temperature contributes to
mitigate the heat island effect(hot pavements aggravate urban heat islands by warming
the local air, and contribute to global warming by radiating heat into the atmosphere) and
reduce the risk of permanent deformations of the constructed roads.

3. PROPERTIES OF SOLAR RADIATION

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-
evolving technologies. The large magnitude of solar energy available makes it a highly
appealing source of electricity. The United Nations Development Programme in its 2000
World Energy Assessment found that the annual potential of solar energy was 1,575–
49,837 exajoules (EJ). This is several times larger than the total world energy
consumption. The Earth receives 98 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation
(insolation) at the lower atmosphere.Averaged over the entire planet, the amount of
sunlight arriving at the top of Earth's atmosphere is only one-fourth of the total solar
irradiance, or approximately 340 watts per square meter. Solar radiation reaches up to the
earth’s surface by three ways such as:

3.1 RADIATION
The heat released from the sun's chemical reactions does not stay near the sun, but rather
radiates away from it and into space. So much energy is released through the reactions
that some of it still can reach to the earth, even though the earth is millions of miles away
from the sun. The heat energy usually reaches earth in the form of light, and many of the
sun's rays are in the ultraviolet spectrum. The transfer of heat in this way is known as
thermal radiation. The thermal radiation is the type of electromagnetic radiation emitted
by bodies because their temperature is above absolute zero (-273 ºC). The emissivity is
the ratio between the radiation emitted by a body at a certain temperature and the radiation
emitted by a black body at the same temperature. The thermal radiation emitted by an
asphalt surface is calculated according to Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Apart from emitting
radiation, asphalt surfaces also absorb long wave radiation coming from the atmosphere.

3.2 CONVECTION

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Convection is a heat transfer process by which heat is transferred between a moving fluid
and a solid surface in contact with the fluid. Two different convection processes occur in
an asphalt solar collector, one between the asphalt surface and the air above it, and the
other between the circulating fluid and the pipe walls. The convection can be forced or
natural, depending on the causes that induce the fluid movement and the flow can be
laminar or turbulent depending on flow movement conditions. The Reynold’s number
necessary to start turbulent flow in a flat plate is Re =5 x 105. Turbulent flow starts at
Re=2300 for internal pipe flow, although a fully developed turbulent flow does not occur
till approximately Re=10000 [16]. Flow must be turbulent to achieve the maximum heat
transfer rate at pipes. The heat flow by convection is expressed as:

Qc =hAs (Ts – Tf)

Where h is the mean convection coefficient of the surface, As is the surface area (m2); Ts
is surface temperature (K) and Tf is fluid temperature (K). The mean convection
coefficient his obtained from the a dimensional Nusselt number.

3.3 CONDUCTION
Conduction is the process by which heat is exchanged from one point to another
throughout a body due to the temperature gradient between two points. In the asphalt solar
collector, heat transfer occurs from the pavement surface to the interior according to
Fourier´s Law. Conduction is the transfer of heat through a solid material, or from one
material to another where their surfaces are touching. Heat is conducted more easily
through a solid material than through layers of material, even when the layers are held
together tightly. This is important as the conduction of heat through building materials is
a major source of heat loss. Conduction happens mainly below the earth surface and inside
the fluids of the collector pipes.

3.4 TYPES OF SOLAR COLLECTORS

A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. Solar thermal collectors are
either non-concentrating or concentrating. In non-concentrating collectors, the aperture
area is roughly the same as the absorber area. There are many possible kinds of solar
collectors.

The most appropriate ones are:

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3.4.1 Unglazed liquid flat-plate collector
Unglazed liquid flat-plate collectors are usually made of a black polymer. They do not
normally have a selective coating and do not include a frame and insulation at the back;
they are usually simply laid on a roof or on a wooden support. These low-cost collectors
are good at capturing the energy from the sun, but thermal losses to the environment
increase rapidly with water temperature particularly in windy locations.

As a result, unglazed collectors are commonly used for applications requiring energy
delivery at low temperatures (pool heating, make-up water in fish farms, process heating
applications, etc.); in colder climates they are typically only operated in the summer
season due to the high thermal losses of the collector.

Figure 3.1 System Schematic for Unglazed Flat Plate Solar Collector

3.4.2 Glazed liquid flat-plate collectors

In glazed liquid flat-plate collectors, a flat-plate absorber (which often has a selective
coating) is fixed in a frame between a single or double layer of glass and an insulation
panel at the back. Much of the sunlight (solar energy) is prevented from escaping due to
the glazing (the “greenhouse effect”).These collectors are commonly used in moderate
temperature applications (e.g. domestic hot water, space heating, year-round indoor pools
and process heating applications).

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 Figure 3.2 System Schematic for Glazed Flat Plate Solar Collector

3.4.3 Evacuated tube solar collectors

Evacuated tube collectors are the most common solar thermal technology in China and in
the World. They make use of a glass tube to surround the absorber with high vacuum and
effectively resist atmospheric pressure. The vacuum that surrounds the absorber greatly
reduces convection and conduction heat loss, therefore achieving greater energy
conversion efficiency. The absorber can be either metallic as in the case of flat plate
collectors or being a second concentric glass tube ("Sydney Tube"). Heat transfer fluid
can flow in and out each tube or being in contact with a heat pipe reaching inside the tube.
For the latter, heat pipes transfer heat to the fluid in a heat exchanger called a "manifold"
placed transverse in respect to the tubes. They are good at capturing the energy from the
sun; their thermal losses to the environment are extremely low. Systems presently on the
market use a sealed heat-pipe on each tube to extract heat from the absorber (a liquid is
vaporised while in contact with the heated absorber, heat is recovered at the top of the
tube while the vapour condenses, and condensate returns by gravity to the absorber).

3.4.5 Subterranean pipes

These tubes run can simply run beneath the pavement surface as they are made from metal
of suitable strength. It can absorb heat from the surface easily. Also it will not get
damaged due to the loads of vehicles. A fluid circulates within this tube to collect and
transfer the heat energy to a particular storage system. Hence this subterranean pipe can
be used practically in ASC in a better way. Subterranean pipes are laid before the making

5
of the subsurface course of the pavement. Their spacing depends on the diameter of the
pipes as well as on width of the road.

Figure 3.4 Subterranean Pipes

3.5COMPONENTS OF ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR

3.5.1 Subterranean copper pipes
ASC consists of tubes or pipes embedded in the pavement through which a fluid, usually
water, with an anti-freezing agent is circulating. 20mm diameter pipes are used
commonly. These are placed at depth of 15 to 30 mm beneath the surface of the pavement
and their spacing was 200mm.

3.5.2Circulating fluid
The characteristics required for the circulating fluid are: high specific heat, stability in the
collector operating temperature range, compatibility with pipes, abundance and low cost.
Water is one of the best fluids for systems operating at low temperatures (range from 25
to 90 °C) such as asphalt solar collectors, but the solidification temperature must be less
than the minimum temperature expected at the collector. For this reason mixtures of water
and antifreeze are generally used. Glycols are the most commonly used antifreezes due
to their moderate cost, high specific heat, low viscosity and ease of corrosion control. Of
these ethylene glycol is mostly used.

3.5.3 Solar pump

Water pump with a rated capacity of 1000 kg/h was used. The main advantages of the DC
pump are its high efficiency and the fact that the pump can be directly wired to a PV panel
without the need of an additional DC/AC converter, as the ASC system is expected to

6
work in phase with sun radiation intensity, rendering the use of a backup battery
unnecessary. It is a 13W pump with 2m head.

3.5.4 Insulated reservoirs

The storage or thermal energy makes energy systems more effective by extracting and
storing heat when it is the most efficient and then re-use the heat by taking back the heat
from the storage device. In that way the use of renewable can be made in a more efficient
manner. It can be of two types; closed and open. Closed systems use the same fluid for
each cycle. The common system is called BTES (Borehole Thermal Energy Storage).
Open systems natural heat well and sink. ATES (Aquifer) and CTES (Cavern). Their
main advantage is a higher heat transfer capacity.

Figure 3.5 Open Loop and Closed Loop systems

3.6 ARRANGEMENT OF PIPES
Two types of pipe arrangements are possible: straight pipe and serpentine. Straight pipe
is commonly used due to its advantage in providing more uniform temperature at surface.
Serpentine arrangement can lead to non-uniform temperature in asphalt layers; this is
proven in our analysis. The blockage to pipe may lead to the overheating of surface in
case of serpentine arrangement, but in case of straight pipe arrangement blocking of a
single pipe will not affect the system.

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 Figure 3.6 Straight pipe alignment Figure 3.7 Serpentine pipe alignment

4. WORKING OF ASC

The basic principle of asphalt solar collector (ASC) is that the radiation from the sun and
the atmosphere is absorbed in the pavement through an increase in warmth which is
captured by water piping system and stored in the ground. This stored energy later utilized
for different purposes based on the requirements. The transfer of solar heat energy
happens through conduction and convection within the pavement surface and pipe
network respectively. The heat transfer convection cooling can be divided into four main
categories depending on the conditions under it happens, so it can be natural or forced,
and on the type of geometry, so it can be internal or external convection flow. In addition
to the above categories, the laminar or turbulent flow conditions can be taken into
consideration resulting in a total of eight convection types. The natural one, from the
forced convection differs in the fact that the later one a flow is being created by an external
force. In the natural convection, buoyancy forces created by temperature gradients and
the consequent thermal expansion of the fluid lead the flow’s movement. The heat transfer
coefficient is not constant and varies with the geometrical shape, the ambient temperature
and the wind conditions. The collected heat energy may be converted into electric form
with the help of some thermodynamic cycles such as Organic Rankine Cycle, Kalina
Cycle etc.

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 Figure 4.1 Organic Rankine Cycle

4.1 ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE

Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) transform low- and medium-temperature heat into
mechanical power and later into electric power. The working principle of the organic
Rankine cycle is the same as that of the Rankine cycle: the working fluid is pumped to a
boiler where it is evaporated, passed through an expansion device (turbine, screw, scroll,
or other expander), and then through a condenser heat exchanger where it is finally re-
condensed. In the ideal cycle described by the engine's theoretical model, the expansion
is isentropic and the evaporation and condensation processes are isobaric. In any real
cycle, the presence of irreversibilities lowers the cycle efficiency. Those irreversibilities
mainly occur:

 During the expansion: Only a part of the energy recoverable from the pressure
difference is transformed into useful work. The other part is converted into heat and
is lost. The efficiency of the expander is defined by comparison with an isentropic
expansion.
 In the heat exchangers: The working fluid takes a long and sinuous path which ensures
good heat exchange but causes pressure drops that lower the amount of power
recoverable from the cycle. Likewise, the temperature difference between the heat
source/sink and the working fluid generates energy destruction and reduces the cycle
performance.

4.2 KALINA CYCLE

The Kalina cycle, named after the Russian engineer Alexander Kalina, is a
thermodynamic cycle for converting thermal energy to mechanical power. The working
fluid in this cycle is a mixture of at least two different fluids (typically water and
ammonia). Ammonia has a lower boiling point compared with water. Hence, when the
temperature of the mixture increases, the ammonia will boil first. In contrast to this when

9
the mixture is cooled, water will condense first. When the mixture begins to boil at 550
kPa (state 3) the concentration of ammonia is 70% and water is 30%. As the boiling of
mixture continues, the temperature increases and at state 4 the concentration of the
remaining fluid and vapor formed are given by states 6 and 5, respectively. On further
boiling of the mixture, when it reaches state 7, the mixture is saturated vapor. The
concentration of vapor at this point is the same as the concentration of the liquid at the
beginning of the evaporation process. Unlike the Rankine cycle, where considerable heat
energy is lost in the isothermal vaporization of water to steam, the binary mixture in the
Kalina cycle vaporizes non-isothermally, resulting in better performance. By appropriate
choice of the ratio between the components of the solution, the boiling point of the
working solution can be adjusted to suit the heat input temperature. Water and ammonia
is the most widely used combination, but other combinations are feasible. Because of this
ability to take full advantage of the temperature difference between the particular heat-
source and sink available, it finds applications in reuse of solar energy.

4.3 ENERGY BALANCE IN ASPHALT SOLAR COLLECTOR

The heat energy transfer from the sun’s radiation to an asphalt pavement can be depicted
by the energy balance theory, where all the different parameters and mechanisms of heat
transfer take place and correlate to each other, as it can be seen in Figure 9.The
temperature distribution of an asphalt pavement is affected directly by the thermal
environment conditions to which it is exposed. The primary modes of heat transfer
include incident solar radiation, thermal and long wave radiation between the asphalt
pavement surface and the sky, convection due to heat transfer between the pavement
surface and the fluid (air or water) that is in contact with the surface, conduction inside
the pavement, and the radiation heat loss from surface.

The heat flux causes a temperature difference between the asphalt surface and a point
located in the pavement at a certain depth, leading to a conduction process from the
pavement surface to the interior.

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 Figure 4.2 Energy balance in ASC

4.4 PROCESSES INVOLVED IN ASC

Figure 4.3 Working of ASC

1. Solar pump pumps cold water with ethylene glycol through pipes in the asphalt
pavement.

11
2. The heat energy from heated pavement surface is collected by the fluid flowing within
the pipe.
3. Temperature of pavement drops and radiated heat is reduced; pavement life is
extended and energy consumptions of adjacent building are reduced and air quality is
improved.
4. Hot water coming out of the pipe into an insulated reservoir in the sub base area inside
the pavement.
5. The stored heat is either used to convert into electric form with the help of
thermodynamic processes such as Organic Rankine Cycle, Kalina cycle etc.
6. After being the heat energy is utilized, the fluid again circulates through the pipe
network.

Asphalt pavements absorb a large amount of heat and consequently experience an

increase in temperature under hot climatic conditions because of their low conductivity
(1.8kW/mK) and large heat capacity (1200J/kgK). . The thermal energy is then transferred
to the fluid through convection, increasing the temperature of the fluid and lowering the
temperature of the surrounding pavement. High diffusivity materials allow heat to
penetrate rapidly into the pavement that significantly increase the temperature at pipes
locations while those applied at lower layers “seal” the absorbed heat. Additionally, they
moderate the thermal stresses resulting in minimizing the likelihood of deformation
because of expansion and contraction.

5. APPLICATIONS

The real-world performance of ASCs has been demonstrated by systems installed in

different places around the world, working in different climatic conditions. In
Switzerland, the Solar Energy Recuperation from the Road Pavement (SERSO) system,
presented by Lund (2000), was successfully installed with the main purpose of melting
ice on roads. In the Netherlands, Road Energy Systems and TNO (Loomans et al., 2003),
has been commercialized in recent years, with the main advantages presented by the
company being a focus on increased road safety.

5.1 PRIMARY APPLICATION- HAP

A HAP consists of a system of connected pipes embedded within the asphalt pavement
which function to extract or reject heat from/into the pavement via a circulating fluid.
Three large-scale systems were designed and constructed in the field: a control section, a

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regular HAP section, and a section containing a HAP coupled to a horizontal ground heat
exchanger (GCHAP). The field data showed that neither the HAP section nor the GCHAP
section were able to substantially decrease the pavement surface temperature. However,
both GCHAP and HAP were able to decrease the asphalt temperature at a depth of 2.5 cm
below the surface by a magnitude of around 10°C. Another key finding of this study
shows that increasing the conductivity of a flexible pavement asphalt layer, rather than
increasing the conductivity of the embedded pipes, significantly enhances the
effectiveness of the HAP system. This system helps in the deicing of the pavements
during winter seasons.

Figure 5.1 HAP working

 In summer, cold water is pumped up from an underground storage tank/medium

and transported through pipes in the upper asphalt layer of the pavement. Because
of the sun, the water gets warm and the thermal energy via heat exchanger is
transported into another underground reservoir and held at this location until
required.
 In winter, the system reverses its operation. The stored previously heated water
flows from the hot storage reservoir to nearby facilities for heating purposes and
or utilized through the asphalt pavement for deicing purposes.

5.2 SECONDARY APPLICATIONS

Secondary applications of ASC is in:

• Powering up of street lights.

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• Adding illuminations to the sign boards advertisement boards

• Snow melting applications

• Electricity power plant uses

6. CASE STUDY

6.1 ASC IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia is one of the Asian countries with a warm, tropical climate. Its temperature
ranges from 21ºC to 35ºC. The annual average daily solar irradiations for Malaysia range
from 4.21 to 5.56kWh/m2. The highest solar radiation was estimated at 6.8kWh/m2 in
August and November while the lowest was 0.61kWh/m2 in December. Hence, the
potential of Malaysia to use solar as a renewable energy resource is high. As temperature
increases from 30ºC to 60ºC, the resilient modulus reduces from 5500MPa to 800MPa.
Thus, to study the in-situ characteristics of various pavement designs, it is imperative to
know the temperature distribution within the pavement cross-section. Thermal oxidation
rate doubles with each 10K increment in temperature. Moreover, pavements under such
high temperatures are prone to suffer from rutting. Therefore, immediate actions should
be taken as Malaysia is encountering a remarkable increase in energy demand and
economic growth. Renewable energy is one of the best solutions to supply energy since
it can be generated constantly and replenished naturally.

6.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

The model was fabricated from wood, and embedded with asphalt and stainless steel (see
Figure 1). Details of the model are as the following:

• 30×30×15cm wooden box was designed for the solar asphalt pavement model.

• Bituminous mixture consists of a well-graded mixture of coarse aggregates, fine

aggregates and mineral filler, bound together with petroleum bitumen using asphalt
cement.

• Standard steel pipe was placed in the middle layer of the box with the length of 35cm
and 2.2cm diameter. Six inlet and outlet valves sockets were added to the end of pipes in
order to insert and discharge the liquid easier.

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The model was then placed in a selected open space area, in this case, a parking lot,
chosen due to its optimal environmental condition for solar radiation. Two cases has been
specified:

Case 1 – Testing was conducted with the frequency of 3 times a day for 5 consecutive
days. The scheduled time for testing are:

• 9 am to 10 am in the morning.

• 1 pm to 2 pm in the afternoon.

• 5 pm to 6 pm in the evening.

Such times were chosen to know the actual temperature at the time of solar radiation
exposure itself. 2. Case 2 – Testing was conducted between 9 am to 3 pm, and 3 pm to 9
pm for 10 consecutive days. Temperature readings will be done after every 6 hours. This
is in order to determine the temperature for transient thermal conditions. Heat efficiency
of the model is based on the fluid and air temperatures, and was calculated.

Results:
Case 1

Results show that the percentage of heat efficiency is higher the afternoon than other
times. Due to the tropical weather conditions in Malaysia, constant air temperature has
been observed. Therefore, we could realize that the heat efficiency for these 5 days are
similar to each other.

• The lowest heat efficiency among these five days was on the second day and in morning
at 3.70% due to low and constant temperature condition, causing steady state condition
within the model.

• The highest heat efficiency was on the fifth day with 25.58%. In the afternoon, the sun
radiation was high enough to heat the pavement and steel, causing the heat to be captured
well.

Case 2

Results show that the percentage of heat efficiency in the first period of time which is
between 9 am to 3 pm is higher than 3 pm to 9 pm. This is mostly because of the air
temperature which was higher during this period.

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• The lowest heat efficiency was obtained on the third day with 12.12% during the 3 to 9
pm period.

• The highest heat efficiency among the 5 days was on the fourth day with 57.69% during
the 9 am to 3 pm time frame. The percentage of heat efficiency is really high and shows
that the system is really effective in terms of harvesting heat and energy. The temperature
that recorded is 33 ºC and the fluid temperature reached to 78ºC after six hours.

Based on the results obtained, the following conclusions can be made:

• Heat transfer efficiency was affected mostly by weather temperature and fluid
temperature.

• The maximum heat efficiency obtained for Case 1 was on the fifth day with 25.58%
efficiency in the afternoon, and for Case 2 on the fourth day between 9am to 3pm with
57.69% efficiency.

7.FEASIBILITY IN INDIA

While comparing the climatic, geographic and other criteria, this ASC can be installed in
various portions of Indian roads especially in Northern India and in the roads made in
highly elevated regions from sea level where fog and mist becomes barriers for clear
vision for the drivers. Major facts behind this approximations are:

 INDIA’s geographic similarity with MALAYSIA

 Ambient temperature is 20 – 31 degree C which may be available in most of the

time in a year in India

 India shares same tropical zone with Malaysia

 Wide network of Road has been constructed in India.

8. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

8.1. Advantages of ASC

 An efficient energy source with reasonable cost.

The marginal cost of adding solar collection to an asphalt road that is going to be made
anyway is less than £100 a square meter installed. The marginal cost of adding solar
collection to a flat roof that is going to be needed anyway is £140 a square meter installed.

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In a sense that this innovation could conserve the nature and its elements in an unpolluted
way, the profit is limitless for the future generation.

 De-icing of roads in winter.

 Cools the roads during summer season to reduce thermal stress which reduces
Rutting.

A rut is a depression or groove worn into a road or path by the travel of wheels or skis.
Ruts can be formed by wear, as from studded snow tires common in cold climate areas,
or they can form through the deformation of the asphalt concrete pavement or sub base
material due to wide variations in temperature. Rainwater trapped in ruts is a common
contributing factor to hydroplaning crashes.

 Improves air quality

 Extend pavement durability.

Since the rate of rutting, alligator cracking, swelling, shoving etc., are lesser, the life of
the pavement improves up to the design span. The temperature effects become severe
during summer seasons. ASC helps in reducing these adverse effects.

 Reduces Heat Island Effect

8.2 Disadvantages of ASC

 Asphalt solar collectors can only be employed when constructing new road or at
the time of large scale maintenance of the existing road.

 Variation of temperature distribution on the surface is not uniform.

9. FUTURE PROSPECTUS

A comparison of efficiency, initial investment, maintenance cost, operating cost and life
span of asphalt solar collectors versus conventional solar thermal collectors is considered
necessary in order to establish the advantages and disadvantages of asphalt solar
collectors. In these days, a flexible solar collector over the barriers that are used so often
on eastern U.S. highways. Solar panels used to be made of rigid materials or frames. The
technology has advanced to where now we have fabrics that are solar collectors. Cover
the barriers with them for a long stretch of highway and you can generate enough
electricity to power the highway lighting and signage. Another method is to replace the

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asphalt or concrete pavement with a multi-layered system consisting of an electronic layer
between base solar collectors and wearing courses. The wearing course would be
transparent, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the collecting layer. The electronic core
takes its power from the sun and can be used to flash messages to motorists, replacing
signs and markings. This is much farther in the future, with the feasibility far from being
demonstrated. Still, it’s good to be looking into multiple ways to use the roadway as a
source of energy. A part of the problem with using asphalt pavement to capture solar
energy is demonstrating to potential users that enough energy can be captured in various
climatic conditions. In the southern parts of the United States, this shouldn’t be a problem,
but in New England, solar energy as measured by “degree days” and as interrupted by
cloud cover and precipitation makes the feasibility of using asphalt pavement to capture
solar energy less certain. A National Science Foundation should grand to measure the
practicality of solar capture by asphalt pavement. Later on this technology need to be
introduced in the streets and roads of India too.

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10. CONCLUSION

Asphalt temperature is very sensitive to the variation of the absorptivity. The variation of
asphalt thermal conductivity affects the temperature with increasing depth, without
producing noticeable changes in surface temperature. The collector efficiency depends
strongly on flow rate. The optimized asphalt solar collector along with its necessary
supporting components is to be developed based on a sensitivity analysis and the
availability of commercial devices in order to facilitate the building of a real system based
on the given native construction specifications. The addition of a road-rated heat
insulation layer below the pipe-carrying asphalt layer has improved ASC performance.
In general, the heat components of the ASC (pipes and fluid) have a greater influence on
the performance of the ASC system than the asphalt properties do. The main ASC design
components that were found to impact the performance of the ASC, with respect to
achieving the highest temperature difference between the fluid inlet and outlet were the
fluid flow rate, the fluid heat capacity and the depth of the heat exchanger system. ASC
is a viable technology for arid, urban environments. The results of this study indicate a
need for further field tests in different weather conditions in order to accurately assess the
applicability of ASC systems to meet such demands. ASC systems can usefully convert
the solar thermal radiations into either useable form of heat energy or electric energy
through suitable means. It improves the life of pavements and thereby the maintenance
costs can be reduced. In fact this maintenance cost can be used for installing the ASC
system that works for over 12 years. This one helps in reducing the consumption of fossil
fuels indirectly which makes the environment more greener. Thus it become an asset for
the state and country because of its environment conservation characteristics as well as
forming a support for the economy.

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REFERENCES

[1] AndriopoulouSymeoni , A Review on energy harvesting from roads December 2017

[2] Vanesa Bobes-Jesus, Pablo Pascual-Muñoz, Daniel Castro-Fresno ⇑, Jorge
Rodriguez-Hernandez , Asphalt solar collectors: A literature review , October2012
[3] Francsisco Duarte, Adelino Ferreira Energy harvesting on road pavements: state of
art, September 2015
[4] Jhinshah Basheer Sheeba, Ajith Krishnan Rohini, Structural and Thermal Analysis of
Asphalt Solar Collector Using Finite Element Method August 2014
[5] P. Pascual-Muñoz, D. Castro-Fresno, P. Serrano-Bravo, A. Alonso-Este banes,
Thermal and hydraulic analysis of multi-layered asphalt pavements as active solar
collectors, June 2013
[6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191200637X

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