Experimental investigation of heat performance of carbon fiber heating cable for long-term applications

Accumulated snow and ice pose significant safety risks. Conventional methods of de-icing and snow melting are labor-intensive and come with substantial implementation and maintenance costs. This study examines the applicability of carbon fiber heating cables (CFHC) for de-icing and snow melting systems across diverse industries and structures. However, an evident data gap exists regarding the long-term temperature-maintaining characteristics of these cables, posing challenges in assessing their overall performance. Experimental work was carried out to analyze the heat performance of CFHC for long-term applications. The cable maintained a temperature of 100 °C for 300 days, with standard error variations ranging from 0.09 °C to 0.45 °C. The heating cable demonstrated long-term effectiveness in de-icing, capable of melting a 3 mm-thick layer of ice within 0.5 hours and achieving complete water evaporation within 2.5 hours. These results align with the performance of the heating cable that was not subjected to a heat performance test. Consequently, it is believed that the use of CFHC for long-term applications is indeed feasible. These findings offer valuable insights that can facilitate further development in de-icing systems.