Assessing the Anti-Icing Durability of Asphalt Pavement Incorporating Innovative Salt-Storage Additives as Sustainable Winter Road Maintenance Practices.

This master thesis investigates and addresses critical aspects of winter road maintenance, focusing on the assessment of the anti-icing durability of asphalt pavement incorporating innovative salt-storage additives. The research delves into the realm of winter road maintenance, recognizing the need for advanced strategies to mitigate the impact of snow, and ice on road safety. The thesis comprehensively reviews traditional winter maintenance strategies, unveiling their consequences on the environment, highway infrastructure, users, and socio-economic factors. It then scrutinizes sustainable winter road maintenance technologies, including self-de-icing asphalt pavements, heated pavement technologies, and other cutting-edge approaches. The core of the research revolves around the evaluation and development of anti-icing asphalt pavements incorporating salt-storage additives. This involves a thorough examination of the fundamentals and mechanisms of this innovative pavement, classification of salt storage additives, their performance characteristics under various conditions, and factors influencing anti-icing performance. A dedicated laboratory investigation of Winterpave®, an innovative anti-icing additive, follows. This includes outlining the experimental program, aggregate characterization, mixture design, and geometric and mechanical characterization. Testing methods for durability prediction of deicing mixtures are applied, and results are discussed in detail. Results and discussions focus on ice-melting ability and durability prediction of deicing agents. In conclusion, this comprehensive exploration contributes to the scientific understanding of anti-icing durability in asphalt pavements, providing valuable insights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers involved in winter road maintenance practices. It also contributes to the advancement of winter road maintenance strategies, particularly in the realm of anti-icing asphalt pavements.