There’s a patch of concrete on Drexel University’s campus that could portend a frost-free future for sidewalks and highways in the Northeast.
There’s a patch of concrete on Drexel University’s campus that could portend a frost-free future for sidewalks and highways in the Northeast. Tucked inconspicuously next to a parking lot for the university’s facilities vehicles, two 30-inch-by-30-inch slabs have been warding off snow, sleet and freezing rain on their own — without shoveling, salting or scraping — for a little over three years. Researchers in Drexel’s College of Engineering, recently reported on the science behind the special concrete, that can warm itself up when it snows, or as temperatures approach freezing.
Self-heating concrete, like Drexel’s, is the latest in an ongoing effort to create more environmentally responsive and resilient infrastructure, particularly in the northern regions of the United States, where the National Highway Administration estimates states spend $2.3 billion on snow and ice removal operations each year and millions to repair roadways damaged by winter weather.
“One way to extend the service life of a concrete surfaces, like roadways, is to help them maintain a surface temperature above freezing during the winter,” said Amir Farnam, PhD, an associate professor in the College of Engineering whose Advanced Infrastructure Materials Lab has been leading the research. “Preventing freezing and thawing and cutting back on the need for plowing and salting are good ways to keep the surface from deteriorating. So, our work is looking at how we can incorporate special materials in the concrete that help it to maintain a higher surface temperature when the ambient temperature around it drops.”
Read more at Drexel University
Photo Credit: congerdesign via Pixabay
