Enhancing the Thermal Performance of Electric Cable-heated Pavement by Asymmetrical Thermal Insulation Coating: A Numerical Simulation Study

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on incorporating energy systems into infrastructures. Among these systems, electrically cable-heated pavements stand out for their ability to melt snow and ice in cold regions during winter. Thermal Insulation Coating (TIC) is a technology employing thermally insulating materials as a spray to coat surfaces. These materials include suspension plasma spraying, silica aerogel, and nanostructured materials. Given that the heat from electrically cable-heated pavements is primarily directed upwards, employing an asymmetrical configuration of TIC in these systems could be advantageous. In this investigation, TIC would function effectively as a thermal barrier, blocking the thermal flux toward deeper and optimizing the whole system’s thermal performance. Initially, a numerical model of an uncoated cable-heated pavement system was developed. This model was extended to include an asymmetrical TIC and subsequently its thermal interaction with the pavement structure. The incorporation of asymmetrical TIC has the potential to significantly enhance the energy performance of cable-heated systems. In a comparative analysis of uncoated cable-heated pavements, it was observed that cable-heated pavements had a higher surface temperature under identical conditions. Furthermore, the asymmetrically applying TIC could lead the heat transfer asymmetrically around heated-cable, which enriches the scientific understanding of asymmetrically applying TIC in cable-heated systems embedded in pavements.