ERDC Soft Soil and Cold Regions Mobility Research
Dr. Brad Hansen, ERDC-GSL
Mr. Michael Parker, ERDC-CRREL
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
August 21, 2024 | 11:00 EDT / 17:00 CEST / 00:00 JST » Register now
This talk will explore how the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center - ERDC (previously known as WES) approaches mobility for ground vehicles operating in adverse conditions. In particular, this presentation talks about mobility research on soft soils and cold regions.
HMMWV in soft soil during testing
Soft soil mobility research: Soft soil mobility has remained a vital research area for military vehicles. The Vehicle Cone Index (VCI) testing procedure developed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, is used to evaluate the ability of ground vehicles to traverse soft soils. VCI indicates the minimum soil strength required for a ground vehicle to make a specific number of passes (usually one or fifty). The simple and robust methods for testing and data collection, with soft soil mobility enhancers provide exceptional utility for the US Army during acquisitions and performance predictions.
Cold region mobility research: Cold region mobility is of growing concern with the Arctic, providing more opportunities for mineral and natural resources harvesting. In recent years, this has captured the interest of more and more countries, bringing more traffic to the Arctic regions. This has led to the U.S. Military to focus more on defending the Arctic and the US from a possible northern threat. This talk will discuss areas of active research in cold regions modeling, mobility, and autonomy at a high level.
Dr. Brad Hansen
Dr. Bradley Hansen is a Research Civil Engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, MS. His research focuses on Army vehicle mobility as well as other geotechnical topics. His current research focus includes (1) Real-time and high-fidelity validated terramechanics models, (2) Physical testing of military platforms for requirements development, (3) and expedient mechanical/chemical solutions for increasing ground bearing capacity.
Michael Parker
Michael Parker is a research mechanical engineer leading the Cold Regions vehicle mobility research group for the Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). He has been at CRREL studying vehicle mobility and modeling for 19 years and is an active participant in ISTVS and the associated conferences. Key projects of interest are winter tire research for the U.S. Army HMMWV, JLTV, and HEMTT vehicles, modeling and simulation of cold regions environments to enhance planning and preparation, joint US and NATO manned and unmanned vehicle testing on soft arctic soils, and unmanned ground vehicle testing and evaluation in cold regions.