5 Oct 2023

Burgess-Capps Cabin: Historic Context, Maintenance Issues, and Measured Drawings

Abstract: The Burgess-Capps Cabin is located on the US Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1975 under the name of “Pioneer Cabin.” The building is currently not occupied but used as a history interpretive site. It is one of the few log cabins that remain in this part of Colorado from the time of European settlement. All buildings, especially historic ones, require regular planned maintenance and repair. The most notable cause of historic build-ing element failure or decay is not the fact that the historic building is old, but rather, it is caused by incorrect or inappropriate repair or basic neglect of the historic building fabric. This document is a maintenance manual compiled with as-is conditions of construction materials of the cabin. The secretary of interior’s guidelines on rehabilitation and repair per material are discussed to provide the cultural resources manager at USAFA a guide to maintain this historic building. Additional chapters include information regarding the historic materials and a structural analysis. This report satisfies Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 as amended and will help USAFA’s Cultural Resources Management Office to manage this historic building.

5 Oct 2023

José María Gil Adobe: Historic Context, Maintenance Issues, Measured Drawings, and Adaptive Reuse

Abstract: The José María Gil Adobe, located on Fort Hunter Liggett, California, was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974. The building has been vacant since the early 1970s. It is a fine example of a small adobe ranch house possessing character-defining features of its period of significance of the mid-19th century on its exterior, interior, and within the site itself. This document is a reconstruction, repair, maintenance, and adaptive reuse report compiled with photographed, written, and drawn as-is conditions of construction materials of the José María Gil Adobe building and site. The building was 3D scanned to obtain the necessary information for the measured drawings. The secretary of the interior’s guidelines on rehabilitation and repair per material are discussed to provide the cultural resources manager at Fort Hunter Liggett a guide to maintain this historic building. Rehabilitation is the best option for the successful reuse of the José María Gil Adobe as it will move the building from a vacant status to an occupied status. It is highly likely that this building can again serve an appropriate use as outlined in Section 11, reflecting its appearance in the early 20th century or WWII periods.

3 Oct 2023

Historic Context for Railroads at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

Abstract: This report provides a historic context for the railroads that operated within the present-day boundaries of Fort McCoy. The objective of this historic context is to deliver a useful reference for future evaluations of railroad-related resources in the installation. Ultimately, the report is in-tended to save the installation time in determining potential areas of significance for future evaluations. This is accomplished through the creation of a broad historic context for railroading in the Midwest, establishing a survey of railroad history at Fort McCoy, and providing examples of areas of significance and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria commonly applied to the historic railroad resources of the Midwest. This report does not provide NRHP eligibility recommendations for any specific resources; however, possible research questions for further study are posited in the concluding chapter.

3 Oct 2023

Pattern Language for a More Resilient Future

Abstract: The Department of the Army (DA) manages millions of acres of land for military use. Military installations and other US DoD operations contain architectural structures and civil infrastructure that require continuous improvements to resiliency. This includes resiliency in the form of protection against both natural and man-made disasters. This document seeks to identify multiple risks to infrastructure and people and encourages open dialogue for creative solutions. Designers and engineers as well as other disciplines can work together to achieve higher resiliency in both new and renovated work. The following sections are created to provide a starting guide, utilizing various tools to discover the best resilient design strategies for your building. This special report will argue for actionable design strategies; drawing inspiration from historical building forms, while also looking toward emerging technologies that should be further explored.

26 Sep 2023

Evaluation of a Visible Light Responsive Photocatalytic Coating to Resist Microbial Contamination and Increase Indoor Air Quality

Abstract: To meet new Department of Defense (DoD) energy standards, buildings are being constructed, and existing buildings are being retrofitted with tighter envelops. These new standards can reduce operational costs significantly but also limit fresh outdoor air coming into the built environments. This can result in the accumulation of harmful substances within buildings, which can have adverse effects on its occupants. New photocatalytic coatings may be a solution to this ever-increasing problem as they have the ability to destroy both chemical and biological toxins when activated with light. This work evaluated a novel indoor-light-reactive photocatalytic coating for its ability to eliminate or reduce microbial contamination under in situ test conditions. However, air and surface sampling revealed no reduction in either viable fungi and bacteria or total air-borne mold spores. Additionally, no significant differentiation could be made in the composition of volatile organics between the treated and untreated areas. However, testing the photocatalytic activity of the coating with standardized test methods and increased illumination, revealed the coating did exhibit antimicrobial activity against mold, bacteria, and viruses. This suggested that there may be limited benefit to using the indoor-light-reactive photocatalytic coating to inhibit microbial contamination unless specific lighting conditions can be met.

5 Sep 2023

Resilience Modeling for Civil Military Operations with the Framework Incorporating Complex Uncertainty Systems

Abstract: Framework Incorporating Complex Uncertain Systems (FICUS) provides geographic risk analysis capabilities that will dramatically improve military intelligence in locations with the Engineer Research and Development’s (ERDC) demographic and infrastructure models built and calibrated. When completed, FICUS would improve intelligence products by incorporating existing tools from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, ERDC, and FICUS prototype models, even in places without demographic or infrastructure capabilities. FICUS would support higher-fidelity intelligence analysis of population, environmental, and infrastructure interaction in areas with Human Infrastructure System Assessment (HISA) and urban security models built and calibrated. This technical report will demonstrate FICUS prototype tools that allow Civil Affairs Soldiers to provide situational awareness information via a browser interface.

5 Sep 2023

Dining Facility Whole-Building Evaluation to Reduce Solid Waste: Opportunities and Best Practices for Optimization and Management of Food Waste

On military installations, an average of 1.2 pounds in food waste is dis-posed per person per day, accounting for 68% of dining facility (DFAC) refuse and 46% of the total installation refuse stream, making food waste the heaviest portion of installation solid waste. At a single installation, this can contribute up to 1.5 million dollars lost yearly from food waste alone. Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 4715.23 (DoD 2016) establishes policy and prescribes procedures to implement waste management through waste prevention and recycling. The US Army Installation Management Commands (IMCOM) installations have limited resources and limited personnel to study which source reduction methods are optimal to reduce food waste given their unique mission requirements. This study identifies opportunities for optimization and management of solid waste across IMCOM installations. Recycling is not enough to significantly reduce the economic or environmental costs to the DoD. Army installations pay over $100 million annually in disposal fees. Source reduction is emphasized in regulations but not prioritized in process modifications or technology solutions. Additionally, food waste contributes to excessive global greenhouse gas emissions, which affect global warming and climate change. A multitiered approach is necessary, placing more emphasis on source reduction advances and initiatives.

29 Aug 2023

Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Full Coverage Planning with Negative Obstacles

Abstract: We explored approaches that offer full coverage path planning while simultaneously avoiding negative obstacles. These approaches are specific to unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), which need to constantly interact with a traversable ground surface. We tested multiple potential solutions in simulation, and the results are presented herein. Full coverage path planner (FCPP) approaches were evaluated based on their ability to discretize their paths, use waypoints effectively, and be easily integrated with our current robot platform. For negative obstacles, we explored approaches that will integrate with our current navigation stack. The preferred solution will allow for teleoperation, waypoint navigation, and full autonomy while avoiding positive and negative obstacles

18 Aug 2023

Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Path Planning in 2.5D and 3D

Abstract: Herein, we explored path planning in 2.5D and 3D for unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) applications. For real-time 2.5D navigation, we investigated generating 2.5D occupancy grids using either elevation or traversability to determine path costs. Compared to elevation, traversability, which used a layered approach generated from surface normals, was more robust for the tested environments. A layered approached was also used for 3D path planning. While it was possible to use the 3D approach in real time, the time required to generate 3D meshes meant that the only way to effectively path plan was to use a preexisting point cloud environment. As a result, we explored generating 3D meshes from a variety of sources, including handheld sensors, UGVs, UAVs, and aerial lidar.

14 Aug 2023

Technology Transfer: Converting Multizone HVAC Systems from Constant to Variable Volume

Abstract: This project promotes awareness and facilitates implementation of a low-cost controls retrofit for multizone air handling systems as an interim solution for energy efficiency that accrues savings while delaying system replacement. Implementation tools support technology evaluation and rapid implementation. Products include the following: fact sheet, technical note, pitch briefing, scoping guide, savings estimator, procurement package templates, commissioning guide, and on-line training. Multiple outreach activities occurred including presentations, journal articles, and contacting potentially interested parties.