Preventive treatment of road surfaces with chemical anti-ice materials to combat winter slippery

Abstract

The article summarizes the analysis of the international experience of eliminating and preventing the formation of winter slippage according to the data from international conferences under the auspices of PIARC. Among the various methods of combating winter slippage, the chemical method with the use of anti-icing materials and the use of chloride salts has become the most widespread. The specificity of the anti-icing process is that both liquid and solid reagents can be used to combat icing. Analysis of international experience shows that there is almost no alternative if considered on a scale for each country separately and for all countries as a whole, the use of sodium chloride to eliminate winter slippage. At present, special attention is paid to the preventive treatment of the surface of road clothing with anti-icing materials, because when ice forms, the coefficient of adhesion of the wheel to the road surface sharply decreases and the number of road accidents increases. The most interesting experience of the countries of Northern Europe, Canada, and the USA, which combines the use of modern snow removal tools and effective anti-icing reagents, which ensure maintenance of the road network of these countries in good condition and reduce the negative impact of reagents on the environment. The preventive method of combating ice consists of applying anti-icing materials to the road surface before the formation of ice, to form a boundary layer of reagent solutions between the coating and the ice layer. Solutions of chlorides and other salts included in the composition of the reagent are distributed in the form of films along the boundaries of ice crystals. This film breaks intercrystalline connections and under the action of external loads serves as a kind of lubricant, i.e. promotes the mutual movement of crystals. Thanks to this, the strength of ice with chloride solutions decreases as its saturation increases. Switching to preventive treatment allows to reduce the total consumption of chemical anti-icing reagents by 20%.