Investigation of using conductive asphalt concrete with carbon fiber additives in intelligent anti-icing systems

The icing that occurs on the roads causes serious problems. Traditional anti-icing methods are widely used to prevent such problems. With technological developments, different modern methods have started to emerge in ice removal. Conductive Asphalt Concrete (CAC) is one of these modern methods. In this study, an intelligent anti-icing system has been developed by increasing the conductivity and mechanical properties of the CAC. It is aimed to integrate this developed system into Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). For this purpose, two different series of CAC specimens were produced, and a marshall design in accordance with the Highway Technical Specification (HTS) type 2 wearing course was realized. Both specimens contain 0,3% carbon fiber (CF) as the conductive component. Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) block copolymer and SBS + 14% carbon black (KS) modified binders are used in Series 1 and Series 2, respectively. Thermal diffusivity state, ice melting performance, and electrical heating-cooling cycle tests were performed on specimens of two series prepared at optimum bitumen ratio. The long-term performance of CAC specimens has been tested with the experiments performed before and after the cycle. Finally, an intelligent anti-icing system has been developed. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the conductivity properties improved with the increase in the number of conductive components and that such systems can be used by integrating with ITS.