The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation
Retro-reflectivity is a promising surface capability, which has attracted the interest of researchers for building applications in order to counteract Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. This work aims at studying the impact of the substrate material on the optic performance of retro-reflective (RR) co...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2921 |
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| author | Alessia Di Giuseppe Marta Cardinali Beatrice Castellani Mirko Filipponi Alberto Maria Gambelli Lucio Postrioti Andrea Nicolini Federico Rossi |
| author_facet | Alessia Di Giuseppe Marta Cardinali Beatrice Castellani Mirko Filipponi Alberto Maria Gambelli Lucio Postrioti Andrea Nicolini Federico Rossi |
| author_sort | Alessia Di Giuseppe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Retro-reflectivity is a promising surface capability, which has attracted the interest of researchers for building applications in order to counteract Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. This work aims at studying the impact of the substrate material on the optic performance of retro-reflective (RR) coatings. Three types of substrate materials were investigated: smooth pine wood panels, rough plywood panels, and smooth acetate sheets. The RR coating samples were made by firstly adding a high reflective white paint onto the substrate material and a homogeneous RR glass beads layer on the top. As a reference case, also diffusive samples, without RR beads, were developed. Samples have been tested through a spectrophotometric and an angular reflectivity analysis. Results show that, despite a lower global reflectance of the RR samples with respect to the diffusive ones, the glass beads coating provides a good retro-reflective capability to all the diffusive samples. Additionally, the roughest RR sample exhibited the highest RR capability of up to 16%, with respect to the other smoother samples. Future developments may involve the optimum design of RR coatings, in terms of their optic performance by varying the substrate materials and roughness, the glass beads density and dimension. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:17:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-012165be0b364f8e81ae29062403d7cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:17:41Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-012165be0b364f8e81ae29062403d7cd2023-11-21T20:16:00ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-05-011410292110.3390/en14102921The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab InvestigationAlessia Di Giuseppe0Marta Cardinali1Beatrice Castellani2Mirko Filipponi3Alberto Maria Gambelli4Lucio Postrioti5Andrea Nicolini6Federico Rossi7CIRIAF, Interuniversity Research Centre on Pollution and Environment “M. Felli”, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyCIRIAF, Interuniversity Research Centre on Pollution and Environment “M. Felli”, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyCIRIAF, Interuniversity Research Centre on Pollution and Environment “M. Felli”, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyCIRIAF, Interuniversity Research Centre on Pollution and Environment “M. Felli”, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia, ItalyCIRIAF, Interuniversity Research Centre on Pollution and Environment “M. Felli”, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyCIRIAF, Interuniversity Research Centre on Pollution and Environment “M. Felli”, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyRetro-reflectivity is a promising surface capability, which has attracted the interest of researchers for building applications in order to counteract Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. This work aims at studying the impact of the substrate material on the optic performance of retro-reflective (RR) coatings. Three types of substrate materials were investigated: smooth pine wood panels, rough plywood panels, and smooth acetate sheets. The RR coating samples were made by firstly adding a high reflective white paint onto the substrate material and a homogeneous RR glass beads layer on the top. As a reference case, also diffusive samples, without RR beads, were developed. Samples have been tested through a spectrophotometric and an angular reflectivity analysis. Results show that, despite a lower global reflectance of the RR samples with respect to the diffusive ones, the glass beads coating provides a good retro-reflective capability to all the diffusive samples. Additionally, the roughest RR sample exhibited the highest RR capability of up to 16%, with respect to the other smoother samples. Future developments may involve the optimum design of RR coatings, in terms of their optic performance by varying the substrate materials and roughness, the glass beads density and dimension.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2921Urban Heat Islandretro-reflective coatingsglass beadsoptic analysisangular reflectivity |
| spellingShingle | Alessia Di Giuseppe Marta Cardinali Beatrice Castellani Mirko Filipponi Alberto Maria Gambelli Lucio Postrioti Andrea Nicolini Federico Rossi The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation Energies Urban Heat Island retro-reflective coatings glass beads optic analysis angular reflectivity |
| title | The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation |
| title_full | The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation |
| title_short | The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation |
| title_sort | effect of the substrate on the optic performance of retro reflective coatings an in lab investigation |
| topic | Urban Heat Island retro-reflective coatings glass beads optic analysis angular reflectivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2921 |
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