Self-deicing road system with a CNFP high-efficiency thermal source and MWCNT/cement-based high-thermal conductive composites

A novel self-deicing road system with utilization of solar energy was proposed in this paper, this system is consisted of a carbon nano-fiber polymer (CNFP) thermal source, an AlN-ceramic insulated encapsulation layer, a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/cement-based thermal conduction layer and a thermally insulated substrate. The electric and thermo-electric properties of a CNFP, which is composed of individual carbon nano-fibers (10–200 nm), were tested. The property of high thermo-electric efficiency was verified, and the resistivity of the CNFP exhibited piecewise linear temperature-dependent characteristics within a certain temperature range (0–280 °C). The MWCNT/cement-based composite, which was filled with 3% by weight MWCNT, was proposed as the thermal conduction layer because its thermal conduction properties are superior to those of cement with other fillers and to those of common cement-based composites. To ensure the efficient operation of the CNFP, an AlN-ceramic wafer (0.5 mm) was employed as the electro-insulated layer because of its favorable insulating and thermo-conductive properties. The constructed system was applied in deicing and field snow-melting studies, in which the effects of ambient temperature, heat flux density and ice thickness on the deicing and snow-melting performance of the self-deicing system were investigated. The efficiency, repeatability, cost and feasibility of the self-deicing road system in both deicing and snow-melting applications were analyzed. Indices for evaluating the deicing or snow-melting performance of the self-deicing road system were proposed and the optimal values for each parameter are presented.

► A CNFP-based deicing system utilizing solar energy was developed.
► The remarkable electro-thermal propertied were investigated.
► The Cement-based composite with high thermal conductivity was developed.
► Deicing investigations of CNFP-based deicing system were implemented in freezer.
► CNFP-based deicing system was applied to the field test of snow-melting.