Enhanced Microwave Deicing Capacity of Cement Pavement with Carbon Fiber Screens

Abstract

The combination of an absorbing structure and a road is a promising strategy for road deicing using microwaves. In this study, cement mortar (CM) specimens containing a carbon fiber screen (CFS) were prepared to concentrate electromagnetic losses on a road surface. The effect of the size and depth of the CFS on the surface heating efficiency of the microwave was studied and optimized, and a microwave deicing experiment was conducted. The results indicated that the destructive interference produced by the CFS led to the effective surface heating of the CM/CFS specimens. The optimal surface heating rate was 0.83 °C/s when the spacing, depth, and width of the CFS were 5.22, 13.31, and 2.80 mm, respectively. The deicing time was shortened by 21.68% from 83 to 65 s, and the heating rate increased by 17.14% from 0.70 to 0.82 °C/s for the specimen with CFS-1, which was 15 mm depth. Our results demonstrate that CM/CFS composite structures can be effectively applied to increase the capacity and accelerate the development of the microwave deicing of roads.

Microwave De-Icing Efficiency Improvement of Asphalt Mixture with Structural Layer Optimization and Heat-Resistance Design

“…The purpose of microwave de-icing technology places more emphasis on promoting the pavement surface to acquire enough heat to melt the frozen sticky layer. The accumulative heat on the pavement's surface can be mainly guaranteed by two aspects: (1) sufficient heat production efficiency and (2) a higher heat utilization rate [20,21]. The microwave-absorbing and heating material used in this work is magnetite slag, whose microwave heating efficiency is five times that of limestone aggregates [22].…”