An infield study of road snow properties related to snow-car adhesion and snow smoke

This article analyzes the properties of snow on the road related to the formation of snow smoke and contamination of the car. The increased usage of sensors for active safety in modern cars increases the importance of understanding contamination of the car body. The analysis characterizes snow in terms of shape, size, and adhesiveness. The data is related to changing weather conditions and experienced car contamination. Several different sampling positions were chosen both on the road and on the car. The temperatures during the days of measurements ranged from −4°C to −12°C, which gave cold and dry snow. Data on size and shape was obtained via microscope analysis. An infield adhesion tester for snow adhesion measurements was built.