Experimental study and numerical simulation of concrete pavement electrical heating for snow melting

Construction and Building Materials, vol. 442, pp. 137611

Abstract

Road snow accumulation can lead to severe traffic delays, and commonly used deicing agents may pose potential environmental risks. Electrically heated concrete pavement systems utilizing heating pipe technology offer a safe and environmentally sustainable alternative. The snow-free ratio was frequently used as an evaluation index to evaluate the snow-melting performance in road infrastructure. However, the unique wavy temperature distribution during the snow-melting process of the heating system results in discontinuous melting, making the existing snow-free ratio inadequate for accurately assessing its performance and effectively guiding the operational strategy of the heating system. Therefore, this study analyzed the special temperature distribution and proposed a new calculation method for snow-free ratio based on the average temperature and the temperature non-uniformity coefficient of the pavement surface. First, the effects of factors such as heating pipe spacing, embedded depth, heating power, and wind velocity on average temperature and the temperature non-uniformity coefficient were analyzed using finite element simulation. Prediction models for average temperature and the temperature non-uniformity coefficient were then established and validated using the response surface method and experiments. Subsequently, using average temperature and the temperature non-uniformity coefficient as intermediate variables, a new functional relationship between the snow-free ratio and the four factors was established, allowing for satisfactory snow-melting performance to be achieved by adjusting the relevant factors of the heating system. The results show that the error rate between the proposed new calculation method and simulation results is only 4.44 %. Moreover, it was concluded that adjusting spacing and heating power is the most effective strategy for heating systems to achieve optimal snow-melting performance.

Authors 6

1. Fang Wang

   Anhui Jianzhu University

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Civil Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, China

2. Chaoliang Fu corresponding Aachen Institute of Highway Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Highway Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany

3. Kai Liu

   Hefei University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China

4. Silu Huang

   Nanjing Forestry University

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

5. Yangming Gao

   Liverpool John Moores University

   Affiliation as printed

   Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (BEST) Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom

6. Hongzhou Xie
   Affiliation as printed

   Chongqing Municipal Research Institute of Design, China