Numerical analysis on thermal characteristics and ice melting efficiency for microwave deicing vehicle

Abstract

In the high latitudes, the icy patches on the road are frequently generated and have a wide distribution, which are difficult to remove and obviously affect the normal usage of the highways, bridges and airport runways. Physical deicing, such as microwave (MW) deicing, help the ice melt completely through heating mode and then the ice layer can be swept away. Though it is no pollution and no damage to the ground, the low efficiency hinders the development of MW deicing vehicle equipped without sufficient speed. In this work, the standard evaluation of deicing is put forward firstly. The intensive MW deicing is simplified to ice melting process characterized by one-dimensional slab with uniform volumetric energy generation, which results in phase transformation and interface motion between ice and water. The heating process is split into the superposition of three parts -non-heterogeneous heating for ground without phase change, heat transfer with phase change and the heat convection between top surface of ice layer and flow air. Based on the transient heat conduction theory, a mathematical model, combining electromagnetic and two-phase thermal conduction, is proposed in this work, which is able to reveal the relationship between the deicing efficiency and ambient conditions, as well as energy generation and material parameters. Using finite difference time-domain, this comprehensive model is developed to solve the moving boundary heat transfer problem in a one-dimensional structured gird. As a result, the stimulation shows the longitudinal temperature distributions in all circumstances and quantitative validation is obtained by comparing simulated temperature distributions under different conditions. In view of the best economy and fast deicing, these analytic solutions referring to the complex influence factors of deicing efficiency demonstrate the optimal matching for the new deicing design.

Microwave Deicing Efficiency: Study on the Difference between Microwave Frequencies and Road Structure Materials

“…In 1987, Jack Monson studied the winter road non-contact deicing project and designed a microwave deicer. The project failed to be implemented because the deicing efficiency was too low [11,12]. Lindroth Ye et al established the microwave deicing model, designed the microwave deicing test vehicle [13,14], and conducted further research on road microwave deicing technology.…”

Effect of Carbon Fiber Admixture and Length on Microwave Deicing Efficiency of Airport Road Surface Concrete

“…(1) e doping amount is constant, and the temperature rise [27] decreases first and then increases with the increase of carbon fiber length. When the length of carbon fiber is 0.6 cm, the temperature rise of the specimen is the highest, up to 26.2 °C, and the microwave deicing effect is the best.…”

Comparative Study on Microwave Absorbing Heating Characteristics and Microwave Deicing Performance of Airport Pavement Modified Concrete

“…Wang (2010) established magnetron heating model, and calculated the electric eld distribution of heating material by HFSS simulation. Wang et al (2016) put forward a standard evaluation method of deicing, and from the perspective of rapid deicing and optimal economy, presented the best matching scheme for the new deicing design. Gao et al (2017) explored the feasibility of using steel slag as the aggregate of microwave deicing asphalt mixture through experiments, and determined the most effective volume and particle size to partially replace the traditional aggregate.…”