Experimental Validation of a Sensor Monitoring Ice Formation over a Road Surface

• Main Authors: Amedeo TROIANO, Eros PASERO, Luca MESIN
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IFSA Publishing, S.L. 2012-03-01
• Series: Sensors & Transducers
• Subjects: Ice detection; Road information system; Road pavement condition
• Online Access: http://www.sensorsportal.com/HTML/DIGEST/march_2012/SENSORDEVICES/P_SI_185.pdf

The reliable detection of ice over road surfaces is an important issue for reducing maintenance costs and improving traffic safety. An innovative capacitive sensor was developed to detect the presence of ice on its surface, and its repeatability, stability and reliability were assessed in simulations and experiments described in previous papers. The indications of the sensor are compared in this paper with the objective identification of ice formation or melting over a road surface in laboratory, under dynamic or stationary conditions, using tap water or a solution with 5 % of salt concentration. The sensor provides indications which are in line with the condition of the road surface, with a mean error in the identification of the time instants of ice-wet and wet-ice transitions lower than about 10 and 40 minutes in the case of tap water and salt water, respectively, both under different temperature gradients or in stationary conditions. Moreover, the indication provided by the sensor always anticipates the formation of ice over the road surface.