Impact pf Embedded Carbon Fiber Heating Panel on the Structural/Mechanical Performance of Roadway Pavement.

摘要

An ongoing collaborative research project is helping find more cost-effective and sustainable de-icing solutions to benefit a wide variety of transportation infrastructure users. Partnering with the AUTC and the University of Houston, researcher Zhaohui Yang of UAA plans to test a carbon fiber tape (CFT) based de-icing technology in hopes of offering an environmentally-friendly, anti-corrosive, cost-effective de-icing technology that can improve transportation safety. This new de-icing technology is potentially applicable to bridge decks, road sections susceptible to icing, airport runways, street crossings and frequently used sidewalks in urban areas in Alaska and other cold regions. Cold regions like Alaska suffer serious transportation system safety problems in the winter months. South central Alaska--Anchorage in particular--susceptible to a large number of icing events due to frequent freeze/thaw cycles in the winter season. This creates ice on sidewalks, pavement and bridge decks that poses a significant safety risk to pedestrians, travelers/commuters, and commercial drivers alike. Black ice, a thin shiny layer of ice with a slick surface, is of particular concern because of its near invisibility o drivers, pilots and pedestrians.