Thermal performance of buildings and pavements materials in semi-arid regions

In the last decades, rising air temperature has become a major problem for humanity as a result of urban expansion and increasing built-up density. This study aims to examine thermal performance of building and pavements materials used in the city of Baghdad, Iraq. Also, the goal of the study is to find the appropriate materials which may contribute in the reduction of interior and exterior thermal effects based on their solar reflectance. The most common buildings and pavements materials include white concrete paver tiles, black concrete paver tiles, grey concrete paver tiles, old asphalt, new asphalt, brick, roof concrete tiles, and concrete block were considered for this study. Two parameters include, solar reflectance and surface temperature were applied to examine the thermo-physical performance of these materials. Two instruments; thermal camera and pyranometer were used for this purpose. The results of the experiments indicate that the parameters of solar reflectance and surface temperature are primarily affected by the color and substance of buildings and pavements material’s surfaces. The findings showed that white concrete paver tiles and bricks had the highest solar reflectance with low surface temperature and are categorized as cold materials. While, black concrete paver tiles and new asphalt have the worst thermal behaviour. The outcomes concluded that buildings and pavements materials with a higher solar reflection tend to have greater thermal performance.