Abstract
The formation of ice and snow on road pavement surfaces is a recurring problem, creating hazardous driving conditions, restricting public mobility as well as having adverse economic effects. It would be desirable to develop new and improved ways of modifying the pavement surface, to prevent or at least delay the build-up of ice and to weaken the pavement–ice bond, and making the ice which forms easier to remove. This development could lead to economic, environmental and safety benefits for winter service providers and road users. This paper describes how environmental scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the mechanism by which de-icing chemicals, added as a filler replacement to bituminous materials, can be transferred to the pavement surface. The paper assesses the potential for chemical modifications to reduce the adhesion between ice and the pavement surface by means of work of adhesion calculations, based on surface energy parameters and a new physical ice bond test. The paper also examines the influence that the chemical modifications have on the durability of the pavement surface course.
Highlights
The formation of ice and snow on road pavement surfaces creates hazardous driving conditions, restricts public mobility and has adverse economic effects
Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) testing has demonstrated that de-icing chemicals incorporated into a bituminous mastic as a filler replacement can be transferred to the mastic surface owing to moisture absorption at relatively high humidity
When specific de-icing/low surface energy chemicals, sodium formate and sodium silicate, are present in frozen water solutions, a substantial reduction in bond strength between the bitumen mastic and ice has been measured relative to water alone
Summary
The formation of ice and snow on road pavement surfaces creates hazardous driving conditions, restricts public mobility and has adverse economic effects. Materials) and environmental impacts (Avery, 1973; Backman and Folkeson, 1996; D’Itri, 1992; Schraufnagel, 1973) It would be ‘desirable to develop new and improved ways of modifying the highway surface, to prevent or at least delay the build-up of ice, and to weaken the pavement– ice bond so that the ice which forms is easier to remove’ Research has generally been focused on improving the tried and tested methods of applying de-icing chemicals to the road surface, such as pre-wetting (Burtwell, 2004), spreading performance (Evans, 2012), impacts of changes in winter severity (PIARC, 2013) and extreme cold weather conditions (Evans et al, 2012). The paper aims to examine the influence the chemical modifications have on the durability of the pavement surface course
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