Sweden: argument for snowmelt systems heats up

A recent study by Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology concludes that pavement and road snowmelt systems reduce the risk of slipping in winter conditions. The study compared statistics from 20 of the country's largest cities, according to a report in the newspaper Göteborgs Posten. It found that the difference in accidents between heated ground and unheated ground was so large that four of five slipping accidents could be avoided through snowmelt systems.
November 12, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

A recent study by Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology concludes that pavement and road snowmelt systems reduce the risk of slipping in winter conditions.

The study compared statistics from 20 of the country's largest cities, according to a report in the newspaper Göteborgs Posten. It found that the difference in accidents between heated ground and unheated ground was so large that four of five slipping accidents could be avoided through snowmelt systems.

The 3530 Swedish Transport Administration – 1096 Trafikverket - concluded that this should open the way for more investment in heated streets.

Early last year, the university published a paper on hydronic heating pavements - HHP – completed by an engineering student as part of his doctoral work. An HHP system, consisting of pipes embedded into the road, is based on heat transfer between the pipes and the road surface. Thermal properties of the road materials will play an important role in the efficiency of the HHP system, according to the paper Thermal Properties of Asphalt Concretes and Numerical Simulations, by Raheb Mirzanamadi.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lower noise surfaces under spotlight
    July 31, 2012
    Research is paramount in the development of better roads and safety. In a new series, Eurofile looks at the work and programmes of organisations dedicated to that end. In this issue: The German Federal Research Institute (BASt) The aims of BASt (an arm of the Federal Ministry of Transport) are to improve the cost-effectiveness of building and maintaining federal trunk roads, to increase the safety of road transport, to reduce the environmental impact produced by road traffic and construction and to improve
    Read More
  • Trump loses key infrastructure adviser DJ Gribbin
    April 5, 2018
    The key infrastructure policy adviser to US president Donald Trump has resigned, according to US media reports. DJ Gribbin is "moving on" to pursue unspecified opportunities, a White House official told the Washington Examiner newspaper. Gribbin joined the White House staff in February 2017 to advise Trump on how he could fulfil his election promise to boost infrastructure spending with around US$200 billion. Gribbin previously worked as chief counsel for the Federal Highway Administration and general
    Read More
  • Securing safer transportation infrastructure through non-destructive technology
    June 16, 2014
    Kevin Vine reports on the use of non-destructive testing for structural analysis of bridges Seven years ago, the overpass collapse in Laval, Québec that led to the death of five people brought to light severe issues with the state of the country’s bridges and transportation infrastructure. More recently, a crack in the Champlain Bridge to Montreal that forced over 160,000 commuters to find alternate routes to work reaffirmed a need for greater emphasis on early detection before a crisis occurs.
    Read More
  • Thermal Road Repair’s updated pavement heater is now automatic
    August 7, 2017
    Aidan Conway, founder of Thermal Road Repairs, the UK manufacture of paver-mounted pavement heaters, explains how the latest version operates. The equipment, which allows asphalt to be laid seamlessly, eliminates joints from the outset. The latest version of the paver-mounted pavement heater from Thermal Road Repairs includes start-stop technology. This allows the computerised equipment to operate independently while synchronising with the paver. In TRR’s original system this was a manual process, explains
    Read More

Highlighted Content