Photo: Drexel University
A self-heating concrete developed by researchers at Drexel University in the US can melt inches of snow without salt, warming up without an external heating system when it starts to freeze. In the northern US, millions of dollars are spent yearly to repair roadways damaged by winter as well as more than two billion dollars on ice removal. The critical ingredient is liquid paraffin. “We have demonstrated that our self-healing concrete is capable of melting snow on its own, using only the environmental daytime thermal energy,” said Amir Farnam, associate professor at the College of Engineering at Drexel University. “This self-heating concrete is suitable for mountainous and northern regions in the US, such as Northeast Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, where there are suitable heating and cooling cycles in winter.”
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