Researchers are testing ‘self-warming concrete' that could drastically reduce the demand for winter maintenance on highways, bridges and airport runways.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 The winter sights and sounds of plowing, shoveling and spreading salt could one day be a lot less common.
00:09 Self-heating is a type of slab that could heat itself without any external source of energy.
00:17 Amir Farnam says simple physics when temperatures drop makes it possible.
00:22 Any liquid that switches or changes phase from liquid to solid, they release heat because of latent heat of fusion.
00:31 So we're using that physical concept that we were taught during high school.
00:36 Paraffin oil, found in candles and cosmetics, could be the ideal phase change material.
00:42 Farnam and the team at Drexel University in Philadelphia put the idea to the test.
00:48 Concrete with paraffin warmed itself enough to melt snow compared to standard concrete.
00:54 I'm very optimistic that this technology is going to find its way to industry.
00:59 The benefits of concrete that can warm up on its own to melt ice and snow are huge.
01:04 Less plow trucks needed, safer driving conditions and less road salt ending up in our rivers and streams.
01:10 Our front cost is higher, but looking at this is going to work for 5-10 years, that cost is going to be alleviated over the years and it's going to be beneficial.
01:22 These experts say self-heating concrete would last longer with fewer freeze and thaw cycles that cause cracks and potholes.
01:30 This concept could become a reality on highways, bridges, sidewalks, even airport runways in the future.
01:38 For AccuWeather, I'm Bill Waddell.
01:41 [wind]