Modelling the thermal conductivity of a melting snow layer on a heated pavement

- The change in thermal conductivity during a snow melting process is studied.
- The thermal conductivity is calculated using the volume fractions of ice, water and air.
- A combined parallel/series system is proposed to calculate the thermal conductivity.
- Ice and air are modelled as a series system and water and ice/air in parallel.

A snow layer on a heated pavement strongly affects the energy balance at the pavement surface. Freshly fallen snow has a fairly low thermal conductivity and acts as a good insulator. The thermal properties can vary greatly during the melting process. This study looks into the change of the thermal conductivity during the melting process of dry uncompressed and compressed snow on heated pavements. The energy balance of the heated pavement system is described and the effective thermal conductivity of the melting snow layer during the melting process of snow on a heated pavement system is calculated based on the volume fractions and thermal conductivity of ice, water and air. The results show that the thermal conductivity of an uncompressed and compressed melting snow layer on a heated pavement can be best described as a combination of a parallel and series system. Ice and air are modelled as a series system and water and ice/air are modelled in parallel.