Prediction models of the thermal field on ice-snow melting pavement with electric heating pipes

The method of ice-snow melting pavement (ISMP) with electric heating pipes is presented to achieve the purpose of environmental protection, intelligence, and high efficiency. In order to determine the thermal field of the ISMP and prejudge the feasibility of heating schemes, two thermal field prediction models are proposed in this paper. The one is a theory model based on line heat source theory and virtual image method, the other is a semi-empirical formula based on theory model and experiment discussion. The effectiveness of the two models is verified by the heating experiment results of concrete slabs with electric heating pipes. Differences and advantages in the two models are compared. In summary, the theory model has the wider range of applications than the semi-empirical formula, but the semi-empirical formula is closer to the practice, and easier to conduct calculation than the theory model.