Haibin Wei

To achieve real-time, sustainable, efficient, and environmentally friendly active deicing of bridge decks, a new active electric heating deicing technology based on conductive rubber as a heat source is proposed in this study. The conductive rubber was laid between asphalt layer and cement layer as the functional deicing layer, and the conductive rubber active deicing composite bridge deck pavement structure was established. The interlayer treatment method of conductive rubber active deicing composite structure was proposed. Styrene butadiene styrene–modified asphalt, PB-II type polymer-modified asphalt waterproof coating, and AMP-100 second-order reactive waterproofing coating were selected as waterproofing bonding layer. The interlayer shear performance of conductive rubber composite structure was tested and evaluated by 45° inclined shear test. Taking shear strength as the evaluation index of interlayer shear performance, the durability of interlayer shear performance of conductive rubber composite bridge deck pavement in complex environment was studied. Taking the fatigue life as the evaluation index, the interlayer fatigue resistance of conductive rubber composite bridge deck and traditional bridge deck under different stress ratios were analyzed. The results showed that shear strength between the layers of the conductive rubber active snow-melting bridge deck pavement structure using PB-II type waterproof bonding layer material was the highest, which was 0.584 MPa, and the optimum dosage was 1.5 kg/m2. Under the complex environment, the interlayer shear performance of conductive rubber composite bridge deck pavement decreases, which could still be maintained at about 70 % and had certain durability. Under the same interlaminar shear stress, the interlaminar shear fatigue life of the conductive rubber active snow-melting bridge deck was reduced by about 34 % compared with the traditional bridge deck. The research results can provide a theoretical basis and data support for the structural design of conductive rubber active deicing bridge deck pavement and the selection of waterproof bonding layer materials.

To solve the snow problems on roads, conductive rubber composites are proposed to achieve active snow melting. The snow melting processes were analysed by numerical simulation and outdoor experiments. A thermal resistance model was used to analyse the heat transfer and phase change during snow melting. The snow melting effect under complex environments was evaluated by outdoor tests. Furthermore, the electric and thermal fields during snow melting of conductive rubber composites were simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics. The results show that the thermal resistance model reflects the heat transfer process of conductive rubber composites in roads. The conductive rubber composite melts 30 mm of snow in −5°C for 1.92 h. The conductive rubber composite melts snow more rapidly and evenly than existing snow melting methods. The model can predict the operation strategy for conductive rubber composites in engineering. Moreover, this study lays the theoretical and experimental foundation for practical applications.

To improve the environmental friendliness and sustainability of road deicing and snow melting, a kind of conductive ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (EPDM) rubber composite material with a thermally conductive layer, a heat-generating layer, and a heat-insulation layer is presented. It is placed under the asphalt surface to generate heat for deicing and snow melting by means of electrical heating. Vehicle load is inevitable in the road environment. To determine the feasibility of composite material long-term applications in the road environment, this paper mainly studied the durability of composite materials under vehicle load by rutting tests, resistance stability tests, mechanical properties tests, and heating tests. The results show that it has good anti-deformation durability and resistance stability under vehicle load. It has good mechanical and electrothermal durability after undergoing vehicle load. The durability of the composite material meets the requirements of safety, stability, and sustainability for long-term use in deicing under vehicle load. It is used as active deicing and snow-melting material in the road environment under vehicle load with broad application prospects.

Porous asphalt mixture (PAM) is an indispensable pavement material for the construction of sponge city with low-cost and environment friendly characteristics, which conducive to replenishing urban groundwater and alleviating the heat island effect. The main purpose of this article is to explore the change of road performance and water permeability of PAM under different diatomite dosage, and determine the optimal amount of diatomite content. First, the volume characteristics of diatomite permeable asphalt mixture (D-PAM) were measured by Darcy’s law, the void of D-PAM decreased slightly according to the test results. Furthermore, based on the water damage Marshall test and freeze-thaw splitting test, the water stability of D-PAM increases significantly with the increase of diatomite content. At last, the low-temperature anti-cracking performance and ductility of D-PAM were carried out based on the acoustic emission (AE) detector and the Low temperature universal mechanics testing machine. According to the experimental results, it is recommended that the content of diatomite is 10%.

Frost heaving and boiling are the most common road disorders due to the special climatic conditions in a seasonal frozen area. From the perspective of controlling road disorders in seasonally frozen areas and making effective use of industrial waste residue, two kinds of subgrade modified soil—crumb rubber modified fly ash soil (CRFS) and oil shale waste residue modified fly ash soil (OSFS)—were proposed by the research group. The research results proved that the two new subgrade fillers both have excellent engineering characteristics in cold areas, such as high strength and low thermal conductivity, and both have the function of waste utilization, giving them broad application prospects. In road engineering, the instability of slopes and retaining walls and the uneven settlement of the subgrade are closely related to soil creep, which are problems that cannot be ignored in road design and use. As a new material to treat road disorders in seasonally frozen areas, more attention should be paid to the continuous deformation property of modified soil under long-term load. The study on the creep characteristics of the modified soil can provide reliable parameters for the design of the modified soil subgrade and predict the settlement of the subgrade after construction, which is of great significance to the stability of the subgrade. In this paper, an experimental study on the consolidation–creep characteristics of two kinds of subgrade modified soil in a seasonal frozen region was carried out, the relationship between modified soil deformation and time is discussed, and the effects of different moisture contents and compaction degrees on the creep characteristics of modified soil were analyzed. The test results provide parameters for the engineering design of modified soil subgrade and provide data support for the popularization and application of modified soil in seasonally frozen subgrade.