Urban Heat Islands
Morrison Hug
Currently, I have created a representation of how permeable concrete absorbs heat instead of letting it sit on top of buildings and cities, causing the urban heat island effect.
Permeable concrete was used for the first box: where a permeable concrete road was created on top of a non-permeable concrete with soil aggregate on either side of the road, with a building being used as a model for heat produced by the road.
Impermeable concrete was used for the second box: where the impermeable concrete base was used along with a sample building to measure the heat it produces.
A lamp is used to create heat that either is reflected by the concrete, or absorbed, depending on the type of concrete used. The lamp has a voltage of 40 watts and produces 204.72 BTUs of heat.
Furthermore, I am aiming to research data on how concrete can be used to absorb heat, and how the environment affects concrete whether it is impermeable or permeable. Also, I am researching the heat conductivity of permeable concrete and whether it disperses heat throughout it or is unable to equally absorb it.
This data will be collected through measuring the temperature throughout different parts of a building that was placed on top of the concrete by use of a temperature sensor provided by my club, with this sensor proving that the temperature is more dispersed throughout the permeable concrete.
Data Collected From Lightbulb and Concrete Experiment (May 14)
Pre-data Analysis:
The cardboard box might be a limitation in the experiment because it will cause the concrete to have a very shallow height, causing the heat to be dispersed at the surface and the concrete to become very hot, which still is not what the experiment aims for
The building placed on top of the permeable concrete may cause the heat to sustain itself on the building instead of the grass-seed aggregate, as none of the heat in the area will be absorbed by the grass aggregate
The building likely has a certain amount, likely high amount, of heat conductivity due to its metal and aluminum composition, potentially causing the building to remain heated even when permeable concrete is near
The permeable concrete, when saturated, will disintegrate and fall in the cracks of the solid permeable concrete below it, causing heat to not be able to penetrate through the permeable concrete and the surface of the solid to be heated
In order to cause some of the concrete to evaporate under the heat, it would need to be saturated with water and also need to be exposed to the light for a long period of time
Analysis:
Temperature of building in box with additional layer of permeable concrete: 82.8 degrees F
Temperature of building in box with one layer of permeable concrete:
81.0 degrees F
Temperature of concrete layers themselves in the two-layer box: 78.9 degrees F
Temperature of concrete layers themselves in the one-layer box: 79.5 degrees F
This goes to show that the permeable concrete with more layers will cause the concrete pores to overlap, and the concrete to not as efficiently absorb heat. Rather, it will cool itself and the building will gain most of the heat. This is why only one permeable concrete layer is needed to reduce the temperature of not only slightly above the surface, but in the air as well.
