The Geothermal Method of Pavement Heating

The problem to make highways safer is how to keep pavement from freezing under unfavourable weather conditions. The answer: heat, of course, but not that generated by costly and impractical conventional fuels. Instead, engineers use heat from the geothermal heat, that is free, inexhaustible and available everywhere. Heat pipes containing small amounts of ammonia under pressure, are placed about every six inches in the roadway surface and extend some 30 to 60 feet into the ground. Heat from the earth conducted through the sealed pipe, evaporates the ammonia at the lower end, causing the warmed gas to rise toward the roadway surface. Heat from the gas is exchanged through the pipe into the pavement. Result: a heated pavement. The test conducted on 24-by-12 foot wide slabs of pavement showed that where snow and ice covered the unheated, conventional slab, the geo-thermally heated piece remained watery, but clear.

Under extremely cold conditions it may be necessary to add another type of heater (electricity, gas, coal, etc.) to get the desired results, but even in these special areas, the heat pipes will reduce the amount of energy required. The geothermal system can be built into any new highway while it's being constructed, and could possibly be added to older roads as they are resurfaced.

Task 5

Restore the sentences. Consult the text above.

1. Conventional fuels are….

2. The geothermal heat is….

3. Road engineers use heat pipes containing.…

4. Heat pipes are placed….

5. The geothermal heat is conducted through.…

6. The ammonia at the lower end….

7. The warmed gas rises….

8. Pavement heating is necessary to keep…

Task 6

Answer the following questions using the information from the text.

1. What is one of the main problems of highway safety?

2. How can this problem be solved?

3. What kind of heat do road engineers use to keep the roadway surface from freezing?

4. How can this heat be obtained?

5. What do tests on unheated and geo-thermally heated slabs show?

6. Why is the geothermal method of pavement heating considered to be efficient?

Task 7

Pick up from the text words with meanings opposite to those listed below and translate each word into Ukrainian (Russian). Compare English and Ukrainian (Russian) prefixes, which create the opposite meaning in the given words.

Heated, favourable, exhaustible, practical.

Task 8

Fill in prepositions if necessary. Consult the text above.

1. Heat .… the gas is exchanged .… the pipe …. the pavement.

2. Heat …. the earth conducted …. the sealed pipe, evaporates the ammonia …. the lower end.

3. Heat pipes extend …. the ground.

4. Heat pipes contain small amounts .… ammonia …. pressure.

5. It is important to keep road pavement ….freezing …. bad weather conditions.

Task 9

Translate into English the following word-combinations.

1. Погода, погодні умови, несприятливі погодні умови.

2. Зледеніння, охороняти від зледеніння, охороняти дорожнє покриття від зледеніння.

3. Тиск, бути під тиском.

4. Випробування, проводити випробування.

5. Аміак, кількість аміаку, невелика кількість аміаку, випарювати аміак.

6. Паливо, традиційне паливо, непрактичне паливо.

7. Плита, дорожня плита, традиційна дорожня плита.

8. Заміняти, заміняти покриття, заміняти покриття на автостраді.

9. Труба, теплова труба, герметизована труба, укладати теплові труби.

10. Геотермальна система, закладати геотермальну систему.

11. Поверхня, поверхня дороги, підніматися на поверхню дороги.

Task 10

Translate into English using the active vocabulary and the text above.

1. Використання традиційних видів палива для нагрівання дорожнього покриття є дуже дорогим.

2. Геотермальний метод нагрівання дорожнього покриття є дуже ефективним і практичним.

3. Геотермальна енергія – це невичерпне джерело тепла.

4. У сучасному дорожньому будівництві використовуються геотермальні системи.

Task 11

Speak on advantages of the geothermal method of pavement heating.