Highly conductive carbon fiber reinforced concrete for icing prevention and curing

Abstract

This paper aims to study the feasibility of highly conductive carbon fiber reinforced concrete (CFRC) as a self-heating material for ice formation prevention and curing in pavements. Tests were carried out in lab ambient conditions at different fixed voltages and then introduced in a freezer at -15°C. The specimens inside the freezer were exposed to different fixed voltages when reaching +5°C for prevention of icing and when reaching the temperature inside the freezer, i.e., -15°C, for curing of icing. Results show that this concrete could act as a heating element in pavements with risk of ice formation, consuming a reasonable amount of energy for both anti-icing (prevention) and deicing (curing), which could turn into an environmentally friendly and cost-effective deicing method.