Heat transfer analysis of using an electric resistant paint on road de-icing

Icing on roads poses a serious threat to the transportation, infrastructure, and safety of users. This article introduces an innovative paint material with the ability to de-ice through electric resistance heating. Organized in a sandwich structure, comprising an upper asphalt layer, a paint layer consisting of 40 % carbon black and 60 % water, and a lower asphalt layer, the system is examined for its physical, thermal, and electrical properties. The effects of different electrical powers, thermal contact resistance, as well as the presence of holes or defects of varying sizes on the paint layer, and the ice fusion process on the upper asphalt, are investigated. A two-dimensional numerical model is developed using COMSOL Multiphysics to explore thermal effects under various electrical powers and simulate thermal contact resistance through a thin 0.35 mm air layer. Validation experiments are conducted with two granite pieces as asphalt and heating paint. In-depth research on the impact of a defect in the paint on the uniformity of temperature distribution on the surface of the upper asphalt is carried out using a three-dimensional numerical model. Three boundary conditions represent different situations: ideal paint without defects, paint with a relatively small defect, and paint with a relatively large defect. Experiments, including a 5 cm hole in the paint layer, are performed to validate the simulation. The analysis of ice fusion on the surface of the upper asphalt aims to optimize the results. Two-dimensional models and experiments indicate that a power of 450 W/m² is economically the most effective, and the thermal contact resistance can cause a delay of 0.5 hours to reach 0 ∘^{\circ}C at the surface of the upper granite at this power. However, using a thicker paint layer or asphalt to replace the thin air layer can mitigate its impact. Experimental and numerical results demonstrate that, in the presence of a relatively small defect, the new heating paint has the ability to homogenize the temperature distribution on the surface of the upper granite, with a maximum temperature difference of 1.5 ∘^{\circ}C under a constant power of 654 W/m².

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