Design and Construction of the World’s First Full-Scale Electrically Conductive Concrete Heated Airport Pavement System at a U.S. Airport

Airport agencies spend millions of dollars to remove ice and snow from airport pavement surfaces to achieve accessible, safe, and sustainable operations during the winter. Electrically conductive concrete (ECON) based heated pavement system (HPS) has gained attention as a promising alternative technology for preventing snow and ice accumulation by maintaining pavement surface temperatures above the freezing point. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the world’s first full-scale ECON-based HPS at a U.S. airport. Two ECON slabs were designed and constructed in the General Aviation (GA) apron at the Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Iowa in 2016. Systematic design components were identified, and construction procedures were developed and implemented for ECON-based HPS. Using collected sensor data, the performance of the constructed and remotely-operated ECON slabs was evaluated under real weather conditions at DSM in the 2016–2017 winter season. The results demonstrate that ECON-based HPS have promising deicing and anti-icing capacities, promising to provide uniform heat distribution and prevent snow and ice accumulations on the entire area of application under various winter weather conditions, including extreme cold weather (i.e., arctic blasts).