Novel heated concrete infrastructure

Concrete infrastructure are vulnerable to disruptions caused by hydroplaning, ice and snow. The current methods for preventing ice/snow build-up are detrimental to the environment or have been shown to damage infrastructure surfaces, leading to significant maintenance costs and putting society at risk if such damage goes undetected. Infrastructure operators have expressed a strong desire to utilise permeable concrete technology as a means of keeping pavements clear.

Permeable concrete pavements drain surface water, enabling storm water to pass through otherwise impermeable infrastructure. However, the frequent maintenance required due to premature clogging, which degrades performance and service life, would be difficult to perform for active infrastructure. Most importantly, conventional permeable concrete pavements have low strength, making them unsuited for infrastructure use.

A next generation clogging resistant permeable concrete pavement (CRP, also referred to as Kiacrete) has been developed which is capable of addressing all of these issues. The aim of this PhD project within the Resilient Sustainable Infrastructure Group (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/resilient-sustainable-infrastructure/) is to test the viability and efficiency of incorporating different heating systems in transferring heat through CRP using: i) novel test rigs developed at Imperial College, ii) small and large scale numerical modelling and iii) large-scale field sites at National Green Infrastructure Facility in Newcastle University.