Application Guidelines for Optimal Deicing and Anti‐icing

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Application Guidelines for Optimal Deicing and Anti‐icing

Kamal Hossain, S.M. / Muresan, Matthew / Fu, Liping

This chapter presents a review of current snow and ice control methods, and a guide for selecting an optimal application rate for specific weather, treatment and level of service requirement. Determining the proper treatment course for a given winter event is extremely important, both from an economic and environmental perspective. Excess salt has been shown to cause corrosion to infrastructure and vehicles, and can negatively affect surrounding soils, wildlife and lakes. This chapter highlights current maintenance practices and gives an overview of application strategies (e.g., deicing, anti‐icing, prewetting) and mechanical strategies (e.g., plowing, using icebreakers) that are in common use. This chapter also includes a discussion on the snow‐melting process, which is essential in understanding how application rates are derived. Finally, the chapter ends with an overview of some recommended procedures that can be used to select application rates and maintenance actions. In addition to roadway maintenance strategies, this chapter also discusses the selection of maintenance actions and application rates for parking lots and sidewalks separately from highways. These facilities have unique safety considerations and pose different challenges to maintenance practitioners than highways.