Road Weather Management Program
photos of lightning, trucks plowing snow, an empty road before a storm, and an evacuation
Office of Operations 21st century operations using 21st century technologies

Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Fresnor: A New Smart Pavement Sensor

Abstract:

In this paper, a new solid-state pavement sensor, called Frensor, designed to measure the freezing point of moisture on bridge decks, roads, and runways is described. Using the Peltier principle and controlled by a microprocessor, the Frensor actively changes the temperature of the moisture deposited on its surface and provides an output of the pavement temperature and conditions. The conditions reported include dry, wet, wet but not frozen, dew, frost, and amount of chemicals on the surface. The freezing point is measured to an accuracy of ±0.5 degrees C, over a calibrated range of -27 to 0 degrees C. Thus, the Frensor provides a direct measurement of the freezing point temperature of the material on the pavement, with which chemical application decisions can be made.

Source(s):

Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Record 1387, Climatronics Corporation. For a copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 1992

Author:

Katz

Keywords:


Pavement temperature
Pavement condition
Environmental Sensor Station (ESS)
Dew
Ice/Frost
Winter maintenance

PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®.

Office of Operations