# Research Progress of Electrically Conductive Asphalt Concrete Deicing and Snowmelt Technology: Material Development and Application Progress

## TL;DR

This paper reviews electrically conductive asphalt concrete, a new road material that heats up to melt snow and ice, improving winter road safety and reducing reliance on traditional methods.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of electrically conductive asphalt concrete's development and application for snow-melting pavements.

## Key findings

- ECAC can increase surface temperature by 10–30 °C within 10–30 min under 30–60 V, enabling rapid snow melting.
- ECAC mixtures with conductive fillers have electrical resistivity reduced to 10−1–102 Ω·cm, enabling efficient Joule heating.
- Optimized ECAC maintains mechanical performance with dynamic stability exceeding 3000 cycles/mm.

## Abstract

Snow accumulation and ice formation can significantly reduce pavement friction, posing a serious threat to traffic safety during winter. Traditional snow-removal methods, including mechanical removal, chemical de-icing agents, and heated pavement systems, suffer from several limitations such as low efficiency, environmental impacts, and high operational costs. Electrically conductive asphalt concrete (ECAC) has therefore emerged as a promising active snow-melting technology. When an electric current passes through the conductive network formed within the asphalt mixture, heat is generated through the Joule heating effect. After incorporating conductive fillers, the electrical resistivity of ECAC mixtures can be reduced from approximately 106–108 Ω·cm for conventional asphalt mixtures to about 10−1–102 Ω·cm. Under an applied voltage typically ranging from 30 to 60 V, ECAC pavements can increase the surface temperature by 10–30 °C within 10–30 min, thereby enabling rapid snow melting and ice removal. Meanwhile, an optimized conductive network can maintain sufficient mechanical performance, with dynamic stability generally exceeding 3000 cycles/mm. When the conductive filler content is reasonably controlled, only a limited reduction in fatigue resistance is observed. This paper presents a comprehensive review of electrically conductive asphalt concrete technologies for snow-melting pavements. The background, underlying mechanisms, material development, system configuration, and field applications of ECAC are systematically summarized. Finally, the current challenges are discussed, including the stability of conductive networks, the trade-off between electrical conductivity and pavement performance, and electrical safety. Future research directions focusing on material optimization, intelligent power control, and long-term field performance evaluation are proposed to support the practical application of ECAC pavements in sustainable winter road maintenance.