Solar reflective coating for asphalt pavement

To construct highly cooling solar reflective coatings with excellent abrasive resistance, a crosslinkable absorbing heat waterborne polyurethane (WPU) was synthesised and used to prepare a solar reflective coating for asphalt pavement. The super-cooling effect of WPU based on solar reflective coating was evaluated by comparing to that of waterborne epoxy (WEP) and polyacrylate emulsion (WMMA).

Excellent anti-abrasive performance

Although the solar reflective coatings based on the three resins had similar total reflectance, according to temperature experiment, WPU reflective coating (WPURC) still had the best cooling performance and could reduce the inner temperature of asphalt concrete by 7–11 °C. Additionally, during abrasive test, WPURC not only had excellent anti-abrasive performance, but also effectively reduced threat of abrasion to cooling performance. As the researchers point out, the WPU constituted a major breakthrough for efficient cooling and functional durability of the reflective coating.

The study bas been publsihed in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 165, April 2022.