A case study on diurnal and seasonal variation in pavement temperature

An empirical numerical model was established for analysing the temperature variation of pavements in Xi'an area of China. This model can consider the influence of solar radiation, atmospheric temperature and humidity. It was verified by comparing the calculated and measured temperature of the natural ground surface. The effect of seasonal variations of temperature on asphalt and concrete pavement surfaces were then calculated. The temperature distribution of both asphalt and concrete pavements in January and July was investigated using the model. For each type of pavement, four groups of different pavement materials were considered to investigate the influence of thermal parameters for pavement materials on the temperature distribution. Furthermore, the diurnal variation of pavement temperature was analysed and discussed based on the normal climate characteristics in Xi'an. The results of the analysis showed that the diurnal variation of pavement temperature is very significant and must be considered in the design of a pavement.