Bridge ice accretion and de- and anti-icing systems: A review

Blocks of ice or snow falling from bridge members can cause traffic accidents, direct damages to passing vehicles, and generally place human safety at risk. Consequently, the lack of successful de- or anti-icing measures may result in bridge closure, which leads to traffic hindrance that can in turn lead to severe financial losses.

This paper presents a review of the different de- and anti-icing techniques, already developed or in development, which could be applied to bridge cables or pylons. Furthermore, the fundamentals of icing caused by freezing precipitation and in-cloud icing are presented together with the physical mechanisms expected to induce ice shedding.