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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

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Title:

Influence of Climatic Conditions on Rock Salt

Abstract:

A study was undertaken to determine the effects of relative humidity and air temperature upon the behavior of rock salt particles. The study was designed to simulate precautionary salting practice and was carried out within a climatic chamber. Individual particles were positioned over the surface of an instrumented asphalt slab and were photographed regularly over a period of 24 hours under constant humidity and temperature conditions. The results showed that, across a temperature range of +1 degree to -5 degrees Celcius, relative humidities in excess of 80 percent are required for a salt solution to form. Under such conditions, untrafficed salt starts to dissolve in less than seven hours on a dry road surface. By using salt with a smaller nominal particle size and an increased moisture content, the time taken for this process to begin was reduced by at least 50 percent.

Source(s):

10th Standing International Road WEather Conference (SIRWEC), Transport Research Laboratory (United Kingdom)

https://trid.trb.org/view/675925

Date: 2000

Author:

Burtwell

Keywords:


Anti-icing/deicing chemicals

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