Evaluating Performance of Alternative Deicers for Winter Road Maintenance: Deicing and Corrosivity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency and environmental impacts of different types of deicers. Four different types of experiments were conducted.For the first three experiments there were seven alternative deicers and rock salt used for every experimental scenario, the last experiment used only rock salt. The first two tests were an ice melting capacity test and an ice penetration test, conducted simultaneously in the laboratory setting. The experiments determined the melting speed and ice penetration rate of each deicer at three different loading rates and three different temperatures. The results show that all alternative deciers were comparable to road salt in every aspect. The third test was a corrosivity test, the deicers were dissolved in water to create a brine solution where rebar pieces were soaked. The test did a soak/dry cycle for four weeks and the results showed that all the alternative deicers outperformed rock salt in minimizing the amount of rust created. The final test was the bare pavement regain efficiency of rock salt in a field setting in extreme cold conditions. Loading rates varied between 5lbs/1000sqft, 10lbs/1000sqft, and 20lbs/1000sqft. The field results were not promising from the ice melting perspective for winter road maintenance.