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  • July

    ERDC-CERL, USDA Forest Products Laboratory and Joint Munitions Command teams preparing to begin field work studies in Earth Covered Magazines (ECMs) at Crane Army Ammunition Activity

    ERDC researchers combat corrosion and mold at Crane Army Ammunition Activity

    In Crane, Indiana, researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are assisting in a critical battle against time and nature. Within the vast expanses of Crane Army Ammunition Activity (CAAA), lie thousands of Earth Covered Magazines (ECMs) — crucial semi-buried bunkers that safeguard the nation's munitions and explosives.

  • June

    ERDC broke ground on its new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility, a $11.4 million, 4,300 square-foot building that will contribute to significant advances in permafrost engineering, geotechnical research, and Earth and Mars polar science, as well as a greater understanding of life in extreme environments.

    ERDC breaks ground on new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility

    The U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center (ERDC) broke ground June 25 on its new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility, a 4,300 square-foot building that will contribute to significant advances in permafrost engineering, geotechnical research, and Earth and Mars polar science, as well as a greater understanding of life in extreme environments.

  • April

    Researchers from ERDC along with the Association of Maryland Pilots run virtual simulation tests on a bypass channel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge accident site using the Ship/Tow Simulator located at ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory in Vicksburg, Miss., April 12, 2024.

    ERDC’s Ship/Tow Simulator used to assist the Francis Scott Key Bridge Response

    Francis Scott Key Bridge Response Unified Command is utilizing simulation resources from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) to test shipping runs around the Key Bridge accident site.
  • Poe Lock ship arrestor contractor OCCI, Inc. of Fulton Missouri installs the largest U.S. civil works component produced by a 3D printer at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on March 1, 2024.

    Infrastructure Innovation: New Poe Lock arrestor arm is the largest U.S. civil works component produced by 3D printer

    As America’s civil works infrastructure ages, managers need innovative solutions to replace parts that have been in service for nearly a century. Often, these original components were fabricated using vintage material and manufacturing methods, making them costly, burdensome and time-consuming to replace. Responding to this need, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is employing cutting-edge 3D-printing techniques to manufacture these parts faster and at a lower cost while maintaining, and even improving, their properties.

  • February

    Lead Instructor Mike Crawford advises a group of program participants during a railroad training exercise.

    ERDC experts lead railroad repair training at Fort Johnson

    FORT JOHNSON, La.—Making railroads safer was the focus of a recent training led by experts from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL).

  • January

    Engineers at ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory have developed techniques that better protect concrete construction in cold environments. The Additive Regulated Concrete for Thermally Extreme Conditions (ARCTEC) enables the use of commonly available concrete additives as alternative freeze-protection in frigid conditions.

    Techniques developed to advance concrete construction in frigid environments

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) researchers have developed Additive Regulated Concrete for Thermally Extreme Conditions – or ARCTEC – to enable the use of commonly available concrete additives as alternative freeze-protection in cold conditions. ARCTEC builds upon pioneering work performed at ERDC over the last several decades, with the goal of improving the user-friendliness, economy and utility of the technology.
  • A crane sits on top of the spillway at the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River in Washington. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains approximately 740 dams and associated structures that provide significant benefits to the nation.

    Researchers develop tools to forecast risk of potential infrastructure failure

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates and maintains approximately 740 dams and associated structures that provide significant, multiple benefits to the nation. In order to effectively operate and maintain those dams, USACE applies risk-informed decision making to evaluate, prioritize and justify dam safety decisions. Using risk information allows the organization to repair its dams in the most effective manner within a constrained budget.
  • Mass timber uses special processes and new technology to bind wood products together in layers, creating a strong and durable material that is also more sustainable than steel or concrete.

    ERDC leads advances in sustainable materials for military construction

    Climate change is a major priority for the Biden administration, which has set a goal to reach net zero emissions by no later than 2050. As the Army works to meet these goals and accomplish the objectives set in its own Climate Strategy, it has begun to focus more attention on one of its biggest emissions drivers: construction activities related to its vast inventory of buildings.

  • December

    Full length view of the Advanced Blast Load Simulator

    The capabilities of ERDC’s Advanced Blast Load Simulator Facility

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has a lead role in the study of blast effects, and a newly upgraded facility allows for even more innovative research to better protect structures, facilities and most importantly, people.

  • July

    Blast, Ballistic and Forced Entry Resistant Shelter

    New ERDC patent expands protective buildings

    As an inventor at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL), research civil engineer Justin Roberts has received seven patents, five of which are additions and improvements of the Hardened Alternative Trailer System (HATS) and Methods of Producing Same.

  • May

    Dr. Robert Moser, ERDC's Senior Scientific Technical Manager, discusses advanced materials and experimental testing capabilities with USACE District personnel.

    Engineering Solutions through Advanced Materials

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is conducting innovative research on advanced materials and manufacturing technologies that will play a vital role in both civilian and military applications.

  • January

    The National Technical Committee for Ordinary High Watermarks (OHWM), made up of researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), the Environmental Protection Agency, regulators from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other academic institutions, stand in front of a waterfall following a field test of an interim OHWM identification data sheet.

    ERDC Releases New Data Sheet for Identifying Ordinary High Watermarks

    For 10 years, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) has  led research on the development of a national manual and data sheet to identify the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) across the United States. The national manual was released as an interim draft and describes the OHWM, which is used to define the boundaries of aquatic features for a variety of federal, state and local regulatory purposes.

  • November

    Presently based in Mobile, Alabama, as an emergency operations specialist with the USACE Reachback Operations Center (UROC), Theodore Lee coordinates requests for information from the field, has deployed as a Blue Roof data manager, and manages training and equipment operations, among other duties. The Office of Research and Technology Transfer, which coordinates patents for ERDC, will recognize Lee in 2023 for his achievements with a patent presentation ceremony and placement of an additional plaque on the patent recipients’ wall at ERDC headquarters.

    Predicting future runway alignment earns patent for Mobile’s Lee

    While the convenience of Global Positioning System (GPS) can assist drivers to desired locations, pilots can also depend on it to locate runways that have been renamed as the result of shifting magnetic fields, thus assuring passengers’ safety.

  • September

    Dr. George Stubblefield, research mechanical engineer, received SMART SEED Program funds to further his research.

    ERDC research engineer awarded SEED grant

    A researcher from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) has been awarded funds through the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholar Seed Grant (SEED) Program.

  • August

    Jeb Tingle receives the Resilient Roads Roundtable’s 2022 Top Innovator and Influencer award.

    Tingle Selected as Top Innovator and Influencer for 2022

    The Resilient Roads Roundtable selected Jeb S. Tingle, senior scientific technical manager, in the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory as a Top Innovator and Influencer for 2022.

  • July

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center are using a 1:100 scale navigation approach model to test designs for a new auxiliary lock structure for the Montgomery Lock on the Ohio River. The model will help evaluate guard wall lengths in relation to navigation conditions as well as how safely a vessel can navigate into the lock on both sides. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    ERDC researchers test designs for lock improvements along the Upper Ohio River

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Pittsburgh District for a study focused on replacing auxiliary locks at three sites along the Upper Ohio River — Montgomery Lock, Emsworth Lock and Dashields Lock.

  • June

    Construction work at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center will soon be complete on the latest infrastructure enhancement project at the main campus in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The project includes road repair, easier access and cleaner layouts of roads, addition of new lighting, moving powerlines, repairing water and gas lines and rerouting and improving the communication lines.

    ERDC-Vicksburg infrastructure enhancements will soon be complete

    Construction will soon be complete on the latest infrastructure enhancements to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) main campus in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • ERDC-GSL research civil engineer Dr. Kennan Crane inspects a modular ramp system at the Structural Strong Floor during testing on May 24.

    Unique ERDC facility allows researchers the opportunity for large-scale structural testing

    There are many ways to test the load-bearing capability of structures, and fortunately, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has a unique facility to accomplish this task.
  • Graphical representation of the equity analysis methodology used by ERDC-EPH researchers.

    ERDC establishes new center focused on public health and infrastructure research

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL) is establishing an Engineering for Public Health and Human Factors (EPH) Center. The new center’s focus will be developing engineering and public health research and data analytics before, during and after crisis events for all manner of activities and applications, anywhere in the world.

  • May

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center recently validated a concrete repair product manufactured in South Korea as part of the U.S. Office of Under Secretary of Defense’s Foreign Comparative Testing Program. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    ERDC researchers assist in validating new South Korean concrete repair material

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) recently validated a concrete repair product manufactured in South Korea as part of the U.S. Office of Under Secretary of Defense’s Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program.