Urban Albedo Computation in High Latitude Locations: An Experimental Approach
Lead Research Organisation:
Loughborough University
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Balasubramaniam Vaidhyanathan (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Anshuman A
(2018)
Enhanced catalytic performance of reduced graphene oxide-TiO2 hybrids for efficient water treatment using microwave irradiation.
in RSC advances
Marialena Nikolopoulou
(2022)
Research Insight: Urban albedo: developing a canyon albedo calculator
Sumithra S
(2022)
Microwave assisted processing of X8R nanocrystalline BaTiO3 based ceramic capacitors and multilayer devices
in Open Ceramics
Wade-Zhu Y
(2021)
The ballistic impact performance of nanocrystalline zirconia-toughened alumina (nZTA) and alumina ceramics
in Journal of the European Ceramic Society
| Description | The University of Kent has developed a 1:10 scale physical model of a residential area in Islington, London, identified as representative of the urban settings of London, incorporating variations in block geometry, canyon geometry and surface materials. It was built at the University of Kent campus for logistical reasons. The model includes asphalt for the ground surface, and has been built with brick building blocks, as brick is the most commonly used material in London, and roof tiles for the pitched roofs. A bespoke monitoring plan was developed to capture detailed incoming solar irradiance and reflected radiation at different points within the experimental model, by means of back-to-back pyranometers, where the upward- and downward-looking pyranometers measured incident and reflected radiation respectively. The experimental phases of the physical model included application of different colours, as well as integration of building materials, such as glazing, cladding, and concrete paving to reflect gradual changes, aimed at evaluating the impact of materials and colour on canyon albedo alongside the canyon's reflective power in the infrared, and the impact of rain. The results highlighted that the addition of concrete paving at street level tarmac increased the street canyon albedo with a similar effect found from application of façade colour, while the substitution of tarmac with grass increased canyon albedo by 70%. Brickwork and aluminium cladding façades were seen to contribute to significantly higher canyon albedo than curtain wall across the measured solar irradiance spectrum. The results also revealed the highly dynamic nature of canyon albedo, which presented diurnal and seasonal variations, and a consistent rainfall-induced reduction of albedo in the range 22-36% throughout the experimental phases. The study also used radiation measurements from the physical model to calibrate the digital model and examine computationally some of the parameters affecting urban albedo by means of the highly-sophisticated lighting simulation tool, RADIANCE. The variations in canyon geometry (H/W ratio), building geometry and orientation was also investigated through different scenarios, at ground and roof levels. The effect of orientation was found to be significant for the canyon albedo but not for the urban albedo, for the typical H/W ratios studied. The results demonstrated that increasing the H/W ratio has the most significant impact on urban albedo. They highlighted the substantial impact of urban materials and their position on urban albedo and demonstrated the dominant effect of horizontal ground surfaces. The impact of vertical surfaces on the radiation exchange within the street canyon becomes more significant with increasing building height. Brunel has carried out a modelling study of urban albedo, with the model calibrated using field monitoring in the case-study urban area in Islington, London, and measurements from the 1:10 scale model built at Kent. It used ENVImet to carry out the simulations and evaluated the IVC algorithm for radiation transfer. The algorithm showed a good agreement with measurements for reflections computation within urban canyons. It also used EnergyPlus to evaluate the impact on indoor conditions. The simulation results showed that increasing the road reflectance has high absolute and relative impact on Urban Canyon Albedo (UCA) in wide canyons. In deeper canyons, the absolute impact of the road reflectance is reduced while the relative impact of the walls' reflectance is increased. also showed that increasing surface reflectance in urban canyons has a detrimental impact on outdoor thermal comfort, due to increased inter-reflections between surfaces leading to higher mean radiant temperatures. This can be avoided by using reflective materials only on the top half part of the canyon façades. Increasing the road reflectance also increases the incident diffuse radiation on adjacent buildings, producing a small increase in indoor operative temperatures. The findings can be used to formulate design strategies to improve the urban thermal environment by using reflective materials in urban canyons without compromising outdoor thermal comfort or indoor thermal environments. The most effective strategies to increase urban albedo are (a) Increasing the reflectivity of roads in low-rise urban canyons and (b) Increasing the reflectivity of the top half of the canyon's façades in high-rise urban canyons. Loughborough University has developed protocols for materials degradation testing using weathering chambers and test standardization along with characterisation. The three Universities collaborated in the development of a model for urban albedo computation. The urban albedo calculator, currently designed for latitude 51° N/S, enables the calculation of hourly or mean daily albedo of a 2D street canyon, at eaves level, any time of the year, under different sky conditions. Other user inputs include façade orientation, time of the day and month, sky conditions (sunny or cloudy) and materials. The calculator was designed with flexibility and extensibility in mind to allow future inputs and alterations. Outputs for building practitioners: • Series of design guidance on the influence of design decisions for materials and geometry their impact on urban albedo and implications for urban design and planning. • Artificial weathering and characterisation protocols for various materials commonly used in facades were developed as part of the work and the data could be used as inputs for the Albedo calculator. • An Urban Albedo calculator tool with simple inputs to predict changes in urban albedo in relation to changes in urban fabric and solar altitude. This is based on fundamental equations cross checked with the computational, field and experimental results. Possible economy and health impacts: - Economic aspects: reflective materials are a cost-effective solution as they are relatively low cost and easy to apply to surfaces - Health aspects: reflective materials can reduce overheating risk outside and reduce heat transfer to buildings thus reducing overheating inside. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes of this funding will be taken forward by disseminating findings to: • Materials manufacturers: through the European Cool Roofs Council (ECRC) - EUROPEAN COOL ROOFS COUNCIL (coolroofcouncil.eu) • Building Professionals: through CIBSE's Resilient Cities Group - CIBSE - Resilient Cities Group (https://www.cibse.org/resilientcities ) |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Environment |
| URL | https://research.kent.ac.uk/urbanalbedo/ |
| Description | The impact of this work is recorded against grant ref EP/P025145/1 |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Construction,Environment,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Rapid manufacture of solid-state battery structures by additive manufacturing and Flash sintering |
| Amount | £240,264 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10007480 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2021 |
| End | 07/2022 |
| Description | Ibstock bricks |
| Organisation | Ibstock Brick Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Performed artificial weathering on the partner's bricks for different times and conditions and compared the behaviour with naturally weathered materials |
| Collaborator Contribution | Supply of a selection of bricks |
| Impact | Characterisation data on the bricks related to artificial and natural weathering |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Materials Supply for the project |
| Organisation | Martezza |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Artificial weathering and characterisation of materials |
| Collaborator Contribution | Supply of tiles and bricks relevant to the project for simulated weathering |
| Impact | The future impact will be on the development of materials catalogue and their weathering behaviour. This will guide the builders and architects on using the right materials for Albedo considerations. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | BBC4 documentary on our nanostructured implants work |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Our research work on 3D printing of nanostructured ceramics for healthcare applications had featured in a hour long BBC 4 documentary titled "The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age." It explores the world of material science, uncovering the innovations in manufacturing that are set to change the world we live in. See: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/materials/news/2018/materials-at-loughborough-featured-in-bbc-4-documentary.html This was also reviewed as one of the best TV educational programmes by many newspapers of the country including Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/oct/31/secret-story-stuff-tv-review |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/materials/news/2018/materials-at-loughborough-featured-in-bbc-4-... |
| Description | International Keynote Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Invited Keynote Presentation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://magnusconferences.com/materials-science/speaker/bala-vaidhyanathan |
| Description | Invited Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | International Conference on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials + Exhibition 2023 (PMAI-PM 23). Delivered an Invited talk on "3D printing of Advanced Ceramics". 50 people attended the session, the talk well received with many students and researchers asking informed questions at the end. Could open up an international collaborative opportunity with the Collage of Engineering Pune (CEOP), India. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://pmai.in/PM-23/important-date.html |
| Description | Invited presentation in a prestigeous international congress |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave an invited presentation in the 7th International Congress on Ceramics held at Brazil (2018). This is a very important conference for the advanced ceramic materials practitioners and it was excellent to represent our pioneering work on 3D printing of ceramics and green processing. This has resulted in an invitation to write a book with one of the most famous book publishers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.icc7.com.br/ |
| Description | Invited talk in a National Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk on "Making Materials with Microwaves" at the Sustainable Functional Materials Conference SFM2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Keynote Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Keynote Presentation made at the 4th Edition of International Conference on Materials Science And Engineering - Materials 2023. More than 60 people attended and the talk was well received and good discussion ensued. Also involved in the scientific organising committee of this conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://magnusconferences.com/materials-science/program/scientific-program/2023/2d-3d-manufacture-of... |
| Description | Plenary Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Prestigious Plenary lecture presented at the International Conference on Biomaterials Innovation, India on December 2020 to wider audience with mix of research students, academic and industry people, healthcare professionals etc |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Plenary talk at 17th International AMPERE Conference, Spain |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A Plenary talk in 17th International Conference on Microwave and High Frequency Heating (APERE 17), at Valancia, Spain in September 2019. The talk was extremely well received and the PI received invites to present the findings in other conferences and new discussion on future collaboration ensued. One of the researcher attended has made a successful internship application to come and work in UK from Spain. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://ampere2019.com/plenary-keynotes-speakers/ |
| Description | Technical Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | During the visit to Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Prof. Bala Vaidhyanathan delivered a Technical Talk to the Staff and Students of IITM on "Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Ceramics" . It was very well received and excellent discussion and QA session followed suit. This was organised by Indian Institute of Metals Chennai Chapter & ASM International Chennai Chapter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Visit by the Consul General of India to the Advanced Ceramics and 3D Printing labs in the School of AACME |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Consul General of India Visited Loughborough University on 15th February 2022 to help forge research, teaching and enterprise links with India. He visited the School of AACME and our world leading research and innovation labs on Advanced Ceramics, 3D printing, Power Trains, EV/Unmanned Vehicles, LMCC, Caterpillar IRC etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.lboro.ac.uk/internal/news/2022/february/visit-by-consul-general-of-india/ |
| Description | Visit by the Indian Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council Member, Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar to Loughborough University and Advanced Ceramics Lab |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Professor Bala Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Advanced Materials & Processing at Loughborough University, showed Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar, a member of the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council of the Prime Minster of India (PM-STIAC), the work being done in the advanced ceramics research group as part of a visit to the campus undertaken to develop mutually beneficial opportunities between the UK and India. Dr Madhuri is the Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), a retired Lt. General of the Indian Army and Deputy Chief Defence Staff, as well as a Paediatric Medical Doctor and a great role model for women empowerment. As part of her visit to Loughborough University, Dr Madhuri saw the research being carried out on Advanced Ceramics, Additive Manufacturing, in areas including ceramic filters and ballistic armours. Professor Vaidhyanathan said: "Dr Madhuri interacted with Loughborough University's leadership team, staff and our students and shared her views and ideas of forging our partnerships with India and also gave a captivating talk on "What it takes to reach the top". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/prof-bala-vaidhyanathan-3966187_loughboroughuniversity-aacme-abce-act... |