Thermally Strain Resilient Concrete for Surface Transportation Infrastructure

Concrete pavements routinely exhibit large thermal gradients during solar exposure, leading to premature distress and cracking due to thermal expansion. This project aims to develop a new class of thermally strain-resilient cementitious and concrete-based materials designed to transfer heat from the high-temperature surface to lower-temperature subsurface layers (thermal effusivity) while minimizing solar heat absorption. The objective is to include thermal vascular networks into light-colored supplementary cementitious material (SCM)-cementitious matrices generating preferential thermal pathways that promote uniform heat distribution throughout the concrete volume. This technological advancement is expected to yield concrete pavements with to 2x higher thermal effusivity while maintaining high solar reflectivity, keeping surface temperatures near or below ambient air levels under extreme temperature conditions.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $70,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348339

• Sponsor Organizations:

  University of Texas at Arlington

  Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308
• Managing Organizations:

  University of Texas at Arlington

  Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Texas at Arlington

  Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308
• Principal Investigators:

  Danoglidis, Panagiotis

• Start Date: 20250901
• Expected Completion Date: 20270531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete; Concrete pavements; Heat transfer; Reflectivity; Solar radiation; Temperature gradients
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01999121
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Durable and Resilient Transportation Infrastructure
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348339
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 13 2026 3:32PM