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Sponsor: Oklahoma
Department of Transportation
U.S. Department of Transportation
Investigators: J.D.
Spitler, S.J. Rees, D.E. Fisher
Students: Jankovic,
D. Hamill, H. Jin, X. Liu, M. Ramamurthy
Description: Research into the geothermal smart bridge is ongoing at Oklahoma
State University, with the close cooperation of the Oklahoma Department of
Transportation. The project is aimed at the development of a bridge deck heating
system to eliminate preferential icing. The proposed bridge deck heating system
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Is hydronic, i.e. a heated fluid is circulated through tubes
embedded in the bridge deck,
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Makes use of a ground source heat pump system, which
recovers energy stored in the earth, and uses it to heat the fluid
circulated through the bridge deck,
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Is automatic, and makes use of local and remote weather
stations to forecast potential icing conditions, (the automatic nature of
the controls has given rise to the informal name "Smart Bridge")
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Is expected to enhance both safety, by eliminating
preferential icing conditions, and bridge deck life, by eliminating the
application of salt on the bridge deck, and reducing corrosion of the
reinforcing steel.
Initial research was funded by the Oklahoma Department of
Transportation. Initial research was done on a very small-scale (3' by 10') test
bridge deck, along with an experimentally calibrated numerical model. More
recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation has funded a much larger
research project. Additional
work is aimed at deploying the technology at a bridge
on Interstate 40, just East of Weatherford.
The concept for the bridge deck heating system came about
approximately five years ago, with the idea that two areas of special technical
expertise available at Oklahoma State University (OSU) might be combined to
increase bridge deck life. The two areas are:
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Ground source heat pump systems. OSU has been at the center
of ground source heat pump system research and application for over 20
years. The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) is
headquartered at OSU and has trained and certified 1000 installers, and
numerous engineers, architects, etc. Three faculty members perform extensive
experimental and computational research related to ground source heat pump
systems funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Electric Power Research
Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the
Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium.
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The Oklahoma Mesonet is a collaborative project between
Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. The Mesonet is a
network of 110 weather stations distributed throughout Oklahoma. Nearly
real-time weather data is available over the Internet. The weather data will
be used to aid the forecasting of potential icing conditions. It should be
emphasized here that the high density of weather stations will allow us to
investigate a range of availability of weather stations, as might be found
at various locations throughout the U.S.
In addition to the two areas of special technical expertise, the
project takes advantage of OSU expertise in heat transfer, systems simulation,
computer software development, corrosion control, concrete structures, and
intelligent transportation systems. Where appropriate, we will be partnering
with colleagues at the University of Oklahoma to utilize additional expertise in
weather forecasting and economic analysis .
Publications:
Srdjan Jankovic's
M.S. Thesis
Xiao Xia's
M.S.
Thesis
Xiaobing Liu
Ph.D. Thesis
Liu, X. and J.D. Spitler. 2004.
A Simulation
Tool for the Design of the Hydronic Bridge Snow Melting System. Proceedings
of the12th International Road Weather Conference, Bingen (on Rhine), Germany,
June 16 - 18, 2004.
Liu, X. and J.D. Spitler. 2004.
Simulation Based
Investigation on the Design of Hydronic Snow Melting System. Proceedings
of the Transportation Research Board 83rd Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C.
January 11-15, 2004.
Jenks, S.C., J.R. Whiteley, K. N.
Pandit, D. S. Arndt, M. L. Stone, R. L. Elliot, J. D. Spitler, and M. D.
Smith. 2003. Smart Control of a Geothermally Heated Bridge Deck.
Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 82nd Annual Meeting.
Washington, D.C. January 12-16, 2003.
Liu, X., S.J. Rees, J.D. Spitler.
2003. "Simulation of a Geothermal Bridge Deck Anti-icing System and
Experimental Validation." Proceedings of the Transportation Research
Board 82nd Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. January 12-16, 2003.
Chiasson, A. and
J.D. Spitler. 2001. Modeling Approach to Design of a Ground-Source
Heat Pump Bridge Deck Heating System. Transportation Research Record.
1741:207-215.
Chiasson, A., J.D. Spitler.
2000. A
Modeling Approach To Design Of A Ground-Source Heat Pump Bridge Deck Heating
System. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Snow Removal
and Ice Control Technology. Roanoke, VA. September 5-8, 2000.
Spitler, J.D., M. Ramamoorthy
2000. Bridge
Deck Deicing using Geothermal Heat Pumps. Proceedings of the Fourth
International Heat Pumps in Cold Climates Conference, Aylmer, Québec. August
17-18, 2000.
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