Study on Electro-thermal and Electromagnetic Properties of
Carbon Fiber Heating Wire in Airport Cement Concrete
Pavement
Y Lai
1, 2, *
, Y Liu
1, 2
, P Wang
1, 2
and D X Ma
1, 2
1
China Airport Construction Group Corporation, Beijing, 100101, China
2
Beijing Super-Creative Technology Co., LTD, Beijing, 100621, China
Abstract. This paper studies the electro-thermal and electromagnetic properties of carbon
fiber heating wire (CFHW) buried in airport cement concrete pavement. The temperature of
CFHW is analyzed when the input power of CFHW is from 10 W/m to 60 W/m. The
magnetic flux density is analyzed when the heat flux is from 100 W/m
2
to 600 W/m
2
. It is
shown that the temperature of 24k CFHW is higher than that of 48k CFHW, and the magnetic
flux density of pavement with 15 cm CFHW spacing is higher than that of 10 cm CFHW
spacing. The 24k CFHW is more suitable for melting snow on airport pavement. The
magnetic flux density can meet the electromagnetic environment requirements for
aeronautical radio navigation stations.
1. Introduction
Snow, ice and slush on airport cement concrete pavement significantly impact aircraft landing,
taxiing and takeoff safety in winter because snow, ice and slush reduce the friction coefficient
between the tire and the surface of airport pavement, which not only hinders the transportation of
people and goods but also threatens people's lives and properties [1]. The traditional method of
pavement snow removal with snow-melting chemicals or machine induces flight delay and needs a
large number of manpower, chemicals and machine, which is labor intensive and time-consuming.
The use of snow-melting chemicals also leads to some adverse effects on the structure, function and
environment [2-4].
It is necessary to conduct timely and high-efficient removal of snow and avoid the adverse effects
of snow-melting chemicals on airport pavement. Some other pavement snow-melting methods have
been researched, such as super-long flexible heat pipes [5], electric heating cables [6], electrically
conductive concrete [7-9], hydronic heating system [10-12] and CFHW [1, 13].
In recent years, Zhao et al. conducted a systematic study on bridge deck and pavement snow-
melting by embedding CFHW in concrete [1, 13]. In different climatic conditions, the results showed
that the method can meet the requirement of bridge deck and pavement snow-melting with different
input powers. However, the snow-melting method with CFHW requires further study on the
application of airport pavement [14]. The CFHW generates electromagnetic fields when it is
electrified. The Electro-thermal and Electromagnetic Properties of CFHW are the important factors
of melting snow on airport pavement. The aeronautical radio navigation stations have some specific
Lai, Y., Liu, Y., Wang, P. and Ma, D.
Study on Electro-Thermal and Electromagnetic Properties of Carbon Fiber Heating Wire in Airport Cement Concrete Pavement.
In Proceedings of the International Workshop on Materials, Chemistry and Engineering (IWMCE 2018), pages 319-323
ISBN: 978-989-758-346-9
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
319

electromagnetic environment requirements [15]. Therefore, it is proposed that the electro-thermal and
electromagnetic properties of CFHW is studied.
2. Experiment
2.1. Materials
The raw materials include cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, water, water reducer and CFHW.
The mix proportions of concrete are given in table 1. The cement is Ordinary Portland Cement 42.5.
The fine aggregate is natural sand with fineness modulus of 2.7. The coarse aggregate gradation is
the gravel of 5~40 mm. The mixed water is tap water. The ratio of water to cement is 0.42. The sand
ratio is 0.3. The solid content of water reducer is 5.0%. The heating material is 24k and 48k CFHW
with Teflon coat, the resistance of which is 18.89 Ω/m and 8.75 Ω/m, respectively.
Table1. Mix proportions of concrete.
Cement
(kg m
-3
)
Fine aggregate
(kg m
-3
)
Coarse a
gg
re
g
ate (k
g
m
-3
)
Water
(kg m
-3
)
Water reducer
(kg m
-3
)
5-20 m
m
20-40 mm
330 609.4 568.8 853.2 138.6 6.6
2.2. Experiment program
The 24k and 48k CFHW are connected to the AC voltage regulator which is connected with the
power supply. The load power of CFHW is 0~60 W/m by adjusting the output voltage. The CFHW
hang in the air at ambient temperature of 0°C. The temperature sensor is tied up on the CFHW, and
the temperature is measured by the data acquisition device.
The mixture is stirred for 90s according to GB/T 20473-2009. The specimens are prepared in the
mold of 60 cm×60 cm×40 cm. The 24k and 48k CFHW are located 5 cm below the pavement
surface. The CFHW spacing is 10 cm and 15 cm. The cement concrete pavement is cured for 28 days
at 20°C and 60%±5% relative humidity. As shown in Figure 1, the test location of magnetic flux
density contains 12 test points. The test location of magnetic flux density that is directly above the
CFHW is 0 m, 0.25 m, 0.5 m, 0.75 m and 1 m on the pavement surface, respectively. The test is
carried out at the ambient temperature of 0 °C.
(a) 10 cm CFHW spacing (b) 15 cm CFHW spacing
Figure 1. Test location of magnetic flux density.
3. Results and discussion
In the experiment, the input power is controlled by an AC voltage regulator. The power of CFHW is
10 W/m, 20 W/m, 30 W/m, 40 W/m, 50 W/m and 60 W/m, respectively. The input heat flux of the
airport cement concrete pavement is 100 W/m
2
, 200 W/m
2
, 300 W/m
2
, 400 W/m
2
, 500 W/m
2
and 600
W/m
2
, respectively.
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3.1. Electro-thermal properties
The resistance value of CFHW is invariable after heating, which is considered to be a constant value.
The temperature of 24k and 48k CFHW is measured against heating time as shown in Figure 2. After
the CFHW is electrified, the temperature of CFHW increases rapidly. The greater the power is, the
greater the temperature increases. However, the temperature increase decreases with time and then
gradually becomes stable. As shown in Figure 3, when the power per meter is increased from 10
W/m to 60 W/m, the time that the temperature of 24k CFHW is stable is shortened from 8 minutes to
5 minutes, and the time that the temperature of 48k CFHW is stable is shortened from 12 minutes to
7 minutes. The time difference between the temperature of 24k and 48k CFHW reaches a stable
value is decreased from 4 minutes to 2 minutes.
As shown in Figure 4, when the power per meter increases from 10 W/m to 60 W/m, the constant
temperature of 24k CFHW increases from 32°C to 132°C, the constant temperature of 48k CFHW
increases from 29°C to 111°C. The temperature difference between 24k and 48k CFHW increases
from 3°C to 21°C. The greater the power is, the shorter the temperature of CFHW tends to be
constant, and the higher the temperature is. The CFHW with Teflon coat is intact without damage
after heating, indicating that the high temperature performance of CFHW with Teflon coat is better.
Based on the thermal effect and the price of CFHW, the 24k CFHW is selected as the following test.
(a) 24k CFHW (b) 48k CFHW
Figure 2. The CFHW temperature variation with heating time.
Figure 3. The time variation with power per meter. Figure 4. The CFHW temperature variation
with powe
r
per mete
r
.
3.2. Electromagnetic properties
According to GB 6364-2013, a key requirement of electromagnetic environment is protection rate
that is the minimum ratio between signal electric field intensity at receiving point of normal
operation of navigation receiving equipment and interference electric field intensity of the same
0
40
80
120
160
024681012
Temperature /°C
Time /min
10 W/m 20 W/m
0
40
80
120
160
024681012
Temperature /°C
Time /min
10 W/m 20 W/m
30 W/m 40 W/m
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
10 20 30 40 50 60
Time /min
Power per meter /W•m
-1
24k 48k
0
40
80
120
160
10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature /°C
Power per meter /W•m
-1
24k 48k
Study on Electro-Thermal and Electromagnetic Properties of Carbon Fiber Heating Wire in Airport Cement Concrete Pavement
321

channel. In the test, the electric field intensity measured at any position of concrete pavement is 0
V/m. The magnetic flux density of pavement with 24k CFHW is measured against height as shown in
Figure 5. For the same heat flux, the magnetic flux intensity on concrete pavement rapidly decreases
when the height increases from 0 m to 0.25 m, and then the magnetic flux intensity decreases slowly
with the increase of height. As shown in Figure 5(a), the magnetic flux intensity of pavement with 10
cm CFHW spacing is 0μT when the height is higher than 0.75 m. As shown in Figure 5(b), the
magnetic flux intensity of pavement with 15 cm CFHW spacing is close to 0μT when the height is 1
m.
As shown in Figure 6, the magnetic flux density increases with the increase of the heat flux for
different height and spacing. When the heat flux increases from 100 W/m
2
to 600 W/m
2
, the
magnetic flux density of pavement surface with 10 cm CFHW spacing increases from 0.69μT to
1.78μT, and the magnetic flux density of pavement surface with 15cm CFHW spacing increases from
0.98μT to 2.6μT. At the height of 0.5 m above the pavement, when the heat flux increases from 100
W/m
2
to 600 W/m
2
, the magnetic flux density with 10cm CFHW spacing increases from 0μT to
0.08μT, and the magnetic flux density with 15 cm CFHW spacing increases from 0.13μT to 0.43μT.
The magnetic flux density of pavement with 15 cm CFHW spacing is higher than that of 10 cm
CFHW spacing for the same heat flux. This is because the current of CFHW with 15 cm spacing is
larger than that of 10 cm CFHW spacing. All the test data show that the electromagnetic performance
meets the requirements of the navigation electromagnetic environment.
(a) 10 cm spacing (b) 15 cm spacing
Figure 5. The relationship of magnetic flux density and height.
Figure 6. The relationship of magnetic flux density and heat flux.
4. Summary
The CFHW with Teflon coat has the advantages of fast heating speed, good heat resistance and the
stable resistance value. It is easy to control when the CFHW is electrified. Compared with the 48k
CFHW, the heating rate of the 24k CFHW is faster for the same power, the time to achieve stable
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
0,00 0,25 0,50 0,75 1,00
Magnetic flux density
/μT
Height /m
100 W/m² 200 W/m²
300 W/m² 400 W/m²
500 W/m² 600 W/m²
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2,5
3,0
0,00 0,25 0,50 0,75 1,00
Magnetic flux density
/μT
Height /m
100 W/m²
200 W/m²
300 W/m²
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2,5
3,0
100 200 300 400 500 600
Magnetic flux density /μT
Heat flux /W·m
-2
0 m height and 10 cm spacing
0 m height and 15 cm spacing
0.5 m height and 10 cm spacing
0.5 m height and 15 cm spacing
IWMCE 2018 - International Workshop on Materials, Chemistry and Engineering
322

temperature is shorter and the temperature is higher; the economic benefit and the heating effect of
24k CFHW are better in snow-melting project. The magnetic flux density of pavement with 10 cm
CFHW spacing is less than that of 15 cm CFHW spacing when the heat flux is less than 600 W/m
2
.
The farther the distance is, the smaller the magnetic flux density is. The magnetic flux density is zero
when the height is greater than 1 m. The electromagnetic performance of snow-melting pavement
meets the requirements of navigation electromagnetic environment.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by Science and Technology Project of CAAC (MHRD201225)
and Science and Technology Project of CAAC (20150225).
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