Ice Contact-Bonding in Air and in the Presence of an Aqueous Sodium Chloride Solution

Influence of NaCl Aqueous Solution on Compacted Snow: Field Investigation

“…The driving speed determines how quickly the snow will become compressed, and at low speeds there is more time for the snow crystals to re-arrange themselves into a denser configuration (Lee, 2009). The re-arranging process of the compressed salted snow fills the voids of the underlying uncompressed snow layer (Lee, 2009), thereby increasing both the snow density and bonds between the ice crystals (Wåhlin et al, 2016).…”

“…Snow compaction is more severe at a temperature close to its melting point (Minsk, 1998), as in these cases a higher densification of the solid ice crystals occurs. Consequently, this contact in enhances stronger bonds (Wåhlin et al, 2016) and facilitates the sintering process, which makes the snow layer compacted and thus stronger (Szabo and Schneebeli, 2007). Therefore, the minimum required solution content may be considered to be a conservative estimate.…”

“…The purpose of salting has traditionally been viewed as a measure used to weaken the bond between pavement and snow (Ketcham et al, 1996;Minsk, 1998;Penn and Meyerson, 1992); thus salt, or any other de-icer, has typically been applied either prior to or during the first minutes of a snowfall. Several studies on how salt affects the mechanical properties of snow (Wåhlin et al, 2016;Klein-Paste, 2015, 2014) have provided us with the belief that the entire snow layer, and not only the snow-road interface, is affected by salt. When snow starts to fall on a salted road, the snowflakes start to melt, and the pavement becomes wet from the resulting meltwater.…”