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Engineers and technicians from the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory use winches to provide a simulated stream flow with realistic loading conditions for testing the Army’s floating bridge. The new system being developed at the ERDC is easier for Soldiers to install, safer for Soldiers to use, transport and construct. The new system is also 50% faster to build, holds twice as much load, and provides significantly more consistent and predictable results.

Lulu Edwards, an engineer with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center 's Geotechnical and Structures Lab, presents Rapid Large Crater Airfield Repair. The Geotechnical and Structures Lab has refined tactics, techniques, and procedures to repair large areas of damaged airfields. Runways can now be repaired and used within hours instead of weeks, even in remote areas. ( U.S. Army Video by Jake Pope)

Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory’s Dr. Ben Cox, Web Floyd and Dr. John Rushing along with Dr. Craig Rutland from the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center published a magazine article titled, “In All Kinds of Weather,” in Roads and Bridges Magazine for a special issue on innovative solutions on pothole repair materials. The GSL team submitted their novel solution to the common problem of potholes in asphalt pavements for patent. Their repair material, induction hot-mix asphalt, referred to as iHMA, offers patching quantities of asphalt mixture that can be heated on-demand in the field. The technology results in superior performance with over 90% time savings compared to other heating methods. By using induction technology, the patching material is heated to more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit in less than five minutes by generating an even distribution of heat throughout the containerized mixture. While the solution was developed for the Air Force to repair damaged airfields, it has wide-ranging applications for state and local agencies often unable to perform durable pavement repairs, especially during winter months when asphalt plants are not operational.