Numerical Assessment of Electric Roadway Deicing System Utilizing Emerging Carbon Nanofiber Paper

Abstract

Traditional deicing approaches such as salting pollute the environment and corrode reinforcing steel bars in concrete. Meanwhile, recently emerging carbon nanofiber material has improved electrical conductivity, a large heating capacity at low voltage, high strength, and, in particular, natural immunity to corrosion. This material offers an excellent alternative as the heating element in electrical resistive deicing systems. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of a deicing system that has embedded carbon nanofiber paper heating elements and to evaluate the effects of several key parameters on the performance of such a deicing system. A physics-based finite-element model was built, validated by test results, and used to assess the performance of such a deicing system when applied to roadway conditions. Factors considered include air temperature, wind speed, pavement and insulation layer thicknesses, and heating input. Results show that the proposed system can be very effective for roadway deicing. Future research is needed to validate its feasibility and effectiveness in a field experiment.