An Experimental and Engineering Application of an Active Snow-Melting System for Highways Based on Heat-Pipe Technology

Abstract

Major traffic accidents caused by snow cover and ice on pavements are responsible for large numbers of casualties and extensive property losses each year around the globe. A full-scale heat-pipe-based active snow-melting test system for outdoor asphalt roads was constructed to study and analyze its working performance on in-service asphalt highways. Based on long-term monitoring data, the active snow-melting system was analyzed to determine the temperature-field distribution pattern and relevant influencing factors as well as its performance on asphalt pavements. The research results show that: (1) the system exhibited excellent performance. Three natural snowfall events occurred on the full-scale test platform. In each event, the snow-melting system was able to effectively melt the snow. (2) Under long-term low-temperature conditions in winter, the active snow-melting system was able to increase the pavement temperature by approximately 10 °C. (3) In winter, the underground soil temperature decreased by approximately 4 °C as a result of heat extraction by the underground heat pipes and gradually recovered to its previous level as the outdoor ambient temperature gradually increased. This finding suggests that underground soil can provide heat to the snow-melting system for an extended period of time and continuously ensure its pavement snow-melting performance. The engineering application on the G18 Highway further demonstrates the effectiveness and reliability of active snow-melting systems based on heat-pipe technology.