Thermal imaging of roadways is an effective approach to deal with frost for regions which experience mild and very moist winters where the formation of frost on roadways is a dominant winter road maintenance problem. The cost-benefit ratio of this technique, done in the traditional manner, for cold snowy winter climates is poor and operational applications lacking. However, it is important to develop new tools using these techniques to deal with ever milder winters that a warming climate will bring where frost will become more common. This project used a very cost-effective approach for the preparation of infra-red (IR) thermal fingerprints. A Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (NS TIR) patrol vehicle equipment with an IR sensor and an Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) service was used to perform IR data runs along a section of Highway 104 in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. The logic and steps in the preparation of a Night Icing Potential (NIP) chart will be covered and the NIP product will be described. NIP product assumptions and limitations will be reviewed. Finally, verification results from the NIP operational demonstration phase will be provided. For the covering asbtract of this conference see ITRD number E216597.
Abstract