Welcome to the Geothermal Smart Bridge

Under the provisions of TEA-21, research is ongoing at Oklahoma State University (OSU) to develop and implement a bridge deck heating system that will eliminate preferential icing on the nation's bridges and revolutionize bridge winter maintenance in the 21st Century.   This new technology makes use of a ground source heat pump system which recovers energy stored in the earth and uses it to heat fluid that is circulated through the bridge deck.

The concept for the geothermal smart bridge  deck heating system came about approximately five years ago, with the idea that two areas of special technical expertise available at OSU might be combined to improve safety and increase bridge deck life.  These two areas are:  the ground source heat pump technology and the Oklahoma Mesonet weather network.   In addition the smart bridge project takes advantage of OSU expertise in heat transfer, systems simulation, computer software development, corrosion control, concrete structures, and intelligent transportation systems.

We invite you to visit the links on this page for more detailed information about the Smart Bridge. If you cannot find what you're looking for, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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