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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

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Title:

Anti-Skid Treatment: Tests with Glucose, Fructose, and Unrefined Sugar

Abstract:

The purpose of the investigation has been to perform tests with salt solution in combination with glucose/fructose and unrefined sugar in order to determine whether a certain proportion of the salt solution can be replaced by a product of these substances. The introductory sets of tests in 2004, which were performed on a runway, provided experience for the continued performance of the testing. This resulted, among other things, in the surfaces being constantly watered once the solution had been applied. This gave a leaching of the respective solution with the aim of being able to measure how the friction decreased as the preconditions for the solution gradually deteriorated. The results have varied and further tests where conducted the winterseason 2005/2006. The fact that salt will continue to play an important role in anti-skid treatment is verified by the results of all the tests. This investigation has shown that it is possible to use a mixture of the salt solution that is today used for anti-skid treatment together with a glucose/fructose- or unrefined sugar as base product. How large a proportion of "sugar solution" should be used, and in what concentration, should be further studied both by more "airfield tests" as well as on a road that is in normal use. When "sugar" is broken down, oxygen is consumed. The degradation of the sugar/salt mixture by the micro-organisms is influenced by the presence of toxic substances such as metals, and should be studied both in the field and in the laboratory. Furthermore, a study should be made of oxygen consumption in recipients.

Source(s):

86th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, Swedish National Road Administration. For an electronic copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 2007

Author:

Hallberg, Gustafsson, Johansson, Thunqvist

Keywords:


Anti-icing/Deicing chemicals
Environment

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