Federal Highway Research Institute

SNOWLESS

Real-time, reactive energy efficient snow removal solution for lightly and heavily trafficked pavement structure.

SNOWLESS is the only real-time, reactive energy efficient snow removal solution for lightly and heavily trafficked pavement structure, also enabling low temperature cracking prevention and frost protection.

Background

Logo SNOWLESS

Global warming, political changes and scientific breakthroughs are shifting the worlds economy from using fossil fuels, manual operation and inefficient traditional solutions into renewable based, automated and connected technologies. This change has an influence on all industries and sectors, including transportation and automotive.

But, for many reasons, the road infrastructure sector is left behind. However Snowless enables efficient snow melting/de-icing, road cracking prevention and frost heaving protection. The patented and fully, real-time, automated Snowless heating systems prevent the need for ploughing or the application of environmentally harmful solutions as salting or glycol.

The Snowless heating systems are suitable for asphalt implementations, based on efficient methodology for large-scale deployment and integration of the heating elements. The heating elements endure the heat of poured liquid asphalt and the mechanical pressure of heavy paving machinery.

Snowless brings new standards of safety and sustainability to the winter maintenance and roads infrastructure market.

Implementation Snowless duraBASt test site

In June 2022 the Snowless system was installed at the duraBASt test site in order to examine the bonding of the asphalt layers in different installation methods of the heating ribbons.

As mentioned, the SNOWLESS innovation approach targets heavy-duty asphalt pavements; it aims for automatically clearing the ride-surface during snowfall events, preventing subsequent ice formation and preventing the formation of longitudinal micro cracking of the pavement. This is sought by means of shallow-depth installation and smart operation of electrical heating ribbons controlled by constant weather simulations and heat transfer models which guide the operation of the Snowless system.

Illustration of the grooving methods and installation Top: Horizontal and vertical grooving methods; Bottom: Horizontal and vertical installation of the ribbons before closing the top layer

Technical drawing Profile of the ribbon embedment

The main objective of the installation at the duraBASt test site is to examine the different methods of the implementation of the heating ribbons. As part of Snowless’ unique methodology of cutting grooves in the infrastructure asphalt binder layer that is aiming for increasing the durability of the ribbons and enabling repaving, Snowless’ has developed two main practices: horizontal and vertical grooving. Each has its own advantages for different applications and needs. Snowless’ goal is to test the influence of these practices on the mechanical strength of the road. This research will enable Snowless’ to make fine-tuned adjustments to the implementation techniques and to ensure the systems durability for the long-term.

Further Information