Experimental study on directional thermal conduction design and temperature rise characteristics of composite concrete pavement in cold regions

The electric heating system for pavements in cold regions can effectively reduce road safety risks caused by ice and snow; however, it faces the issue of high energy consumption. To achieve efficient directional heat transfer and low energy consumption for snow and ice melting while maintaining the basic functional use of the road, this paper proposes a directional thermal conductive composite concrete pavement, using steel fiber concrete as the thermal conductive layer material and fly ash cenosphere concrete as the thermal insulation layer material. The mechanical strength and thermal conductivity of the pavement material under various mix ratio schemes are systematically analyzed, and indoor preheating temperature rise tests are conducted to analyze its energy consumption characteristics. The results indicate that, based on a comprehensive consideration of mechanical strength and thermal conductivity, the thermal insulation layer material is determined to be fly ash cenosphere concrete with a 20 % mass replacement ratio, while the thermal conductive layer material is selected to be steel fiber concrete with a 1.5 % Copper-plated steel fiber content. Moreover, the composite concrete specimens formed by these two materials exhibit enhanced compressive strength compared to ordinary concrete. The temperature rise test results show that under different heating power conditions, the energy consumption per square meter of the composite pavement model is reduced by more than 24 % when the surface temperature reaches 2–3°C. Based on the research results, an efficient, energy-saving electric heating concrete pavement with power regulation optimization is proposed, providing experimental foundation and theoretical support for active snow and ice melting pavements in cold regions. • A novel energy-saving electrically heated composite concrete pavement was proposed. • Composite concrete specimens have higher strength than ordinary concrete. • The composite pavement model cuts energy use per square meter by over 24 %. • A more energy-saving power regulation strategy was proposed based on this pavement.