Mechanical, durability and solar reflectance properties of colored self‒compacting concrete

Urbanized areas are known to have significantly higher temperatures than rural areas. The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is caused by surfaces such as asphalt, buildings, and other heat-absorbing surfaces that store more heat than natural vegetation. Sunlight reflecting properties of building materials are improved with different applications. The present study investigates the mechanical, durability and solar reflectance properties of the colored self-compacting concrete. SCCs containing yellow, green, and black pigments were produced and evaluated. The fresh properties were determined with the slump, L-Box and V-funnel tests. Furthermore, compressive strength, solar reflectance and magnesium sulfate resistance tests were conducted. Yellow pigment added SCC showed a great potential (with the albedo of 0.42) in terms of solar reflectance and decreasing the contribution to the urban heat island effect