2015 Storm Thread!

[spikerS]

Originally posted by benyl


Seriously?

Comparatively speaking, yes. By keeping the bridge deck at a more constant temperature it would require less maintenance, and because it would not be exposed to plow blades, would require resurfacing less often.

Add in the reduced cost of having bottle necked traffic and the people required at a high accident location...never mind the safety aspect...

I mean, I know there is probably more to it than a few boilers and pumps to push heated glycol through tubing, but to me it seems like a no brainer.

Personally, if someone tells me there is an accident on deerfoot on a snowy day, my fist guess it is on the Calf Robe Bridge.

[speedog]

I think more of the Calf Robe bridge problem is people's perception of what might happen - too often I have been driving in winter or rainy conditions only to have some fool in front of me jam on the brakes before they even get onto that bridge. It's more dangerous before that bridge because of idiot drivers.

[colinxx235]

Originally posted by spikerS


Comparatively speaking, yes. By keeping the bridge deck at a more constant temperature it would require less maintenance, and because it would not be exposed to plow blades, would require resurfacing less often.

Add in the reduced cost of having bottle necked traffic and the people required at a high accident location...never mind the safety aspect...

I mean, I know there is probably more to it than a few boilers and pumps to push heated glycol through tubing, but to me it seems like a no brainer.

Personally, if someone tells me there is an accident on deerfoot on a snowy day, my fist guess it is on the Calf Robe Bridge.

As nice of an idea as that would be quite a few problems.
- Glycol is very expensive, so are the heaters, reboilers, etc. Glycol would need to be trucked in/out at a high rate during very cold times/storms.
- The cost to tube up and insulate a stretch like calf rob would be huge
- Where do you store all the glycol
- Environmental concerns of having large quantities of glycol stored over a major waterway

The list could go on for quite a bit, I usually cringed on projects once glycol HT was brought up. Or just dealing with dehy towers and the NO/CO venting rates etc

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog
I think more of the Calf Robe bridge problem is people's perception of what might happen - too often I have been driving in winter or rainy conditions only to have some fool in front of me jam on the brakes before they even get onto that bridge. It's more dangerous before that bridge because of idiot drivers.

Disagree. The Calf Robe (along with Crowchild/Bow bridge, and Stoney Tr. West over Bow by COP) all share the same recipe for disaster. They all sit above a large river, freeze much earlier than the roads leading to the bridge (so you HAVE to slow down), all sit on high speed roads, and have a tricky elevation changes that doesn't help a car's stability on ice.

People slow down because nobody has a clue if the bridge is iced up on not. We don't get rally pace notes on our drives lol.

[schocker]

Originally posted by colinxx235
As nice of an idea as that would be quite a few problems.
- Glycol is very expensive, so are the heaters, reboilers, etc. Glycol would need to be trucked in/out at a high rate during very cold times/storms.
- The cost to tube up and insulate a stretch like calf rob would be huge
- Where do you store all the glycol
- Environmental concerns of having large quantities of glycol stored over a major waterway

The list could go on for quite a bit, I usually cringed on projects once glycol HT was brought up. Or just dealing with dehy towers and the NO/CO venting rates etc

That is why you use electric trace!

[codetrap]

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[spikerS]

Don't take my word for it. This technology is already in use around North America in one form or another, with cost/benefit analysis and what yearly upkeep is.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publication...9158/99158.pdf

http://conf.tac-atc.ca/english/resou.../pdf/essex.pdf

http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/9000/9000/9035/51bridge.pdf

Here is the final evaluation of Virginia's first heated bridge:
http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main.../pdf/01-r8.pdf

CONCLUSIONS
• Applying heat pipe technology to heating bridge decks is feasible.
• Selecting a proper working fluid for heat pipes is critical to effective deck heating.
• The surface condition sensor should be placed on the bridge deck.
• The heat pipe system does not pose a construction problem.
• Operating costs for the heat pipe system are lower than for an alternate electrical or hydronic
system.
• The heating system does not seem to have any adverse effects on the durability of the bridge
deck.
• The use of an infrared camera can be very effective in evaluating heat distribution and
intensity across the deck surface.

This report is from 1995 mind you. But this report also states that while in operation for bridge de-icing, it was costing $18/hour. Pretty cheap if you ask me.

[codetrap]

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[Amysicle]

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[speedog]

Originally posted by Amysicle
Not really a storm, but just wondering if anyone has been out yet this morning and could tell me if there is a layer of ice from the rain yesterday under the layer of snow from this morning? NW Calgary.

Nope or not at least in central north Calgary.

[Cooked Rice]

moved