ELECTRICALLY HEATED CONCRETE PAVEMENTS INCORPORATING CARBON MESH

There is an ongoing debate about whether roads should be paved with concrete or asphalt and how to maintain the pavements. In today’s world, sustainability matters highly. Therefore, it is safe to argue that using concrete pavements is economical, environmental, and human-friendly.

In our case, high traffic, high-load volume, inter-city roads with tunnel entrances/exits, and winter conditions are considered. There are regions in Turkey severely affected by harsh winter conditions, evidenced by the number of traffic accidents occurring during winter. These accidents are mostly not only due to slippery roads caused by ice but also inadequately or wrongly maintained roads. Research and actual field implementations show that concrete pavements are much more sustainable and resilient than asphalt pavements; therefore, they have a longer service life and are relatively easy to maintain and rehabilitate.

This brings us to the issue of how to properly maintain the condition of concrete pavements until the determined service life. In the traditional methods of snow removal from pavement surfaces, de-icing salts as well as mechanical removal of heavy duty construction machineries, which often brings environmental concerns, are involved. To prevent this and other drawbacks, it is aimed to install electrically-heated carbon mesh; so that, the pavement is heated internally and remains resilient and durable during its service life. This method helps maintain performance, reduces accidents, enables more comfortable driving, and sustains structural and functional integrity of the pavement.