Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Test and Validation of a Model for Forecasting Frost on Bridges

Abstract:

Frost frequently forms on roads and bridges during winters when the pavement temperature is at or below 273 K and below the dew-point temperature. Accurate forecasts of frost onset times, frost intensity, and frost disappearance help roadway maintenance personnel decide when, where, and how much frost-suppression chemicals should be used. A finite-difference program has been developed that predicts bridge surface temperature by simulating vertical heat transfer in a bridge in response to evolving weather conditions. A vapor flux calculation uses the bridge surface temperature and concurrent meteorological variables from a weather forecast model to produce forecasts of depth of frost deposited, melted, or sublimed. Comparisons of model results with measured surface temperatures from a RWIS station have demonstrated that the model realistically represents early-morning low temperatures and temperature trends when run with input from current observations.

Source(s):

Iowa State University, Prepared for Minnesota DOT

http://www.lrrb.org/pdf/200529.pdf

Date: 2005

Author:

Takle, Greenfield

Keywords:

Pavement temperature
Pavement condition
Ice/Frost
Forecast/Prediction

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