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  • August

    A pilot from the Port of Nome in Alaska navigates a vessel through a docking simulation during a recent experiment with the U.S. Army Watercraft and Ship Simulator.

    Simulation now a fixture to optimize USACE navigation projects

    For years, the U.S. Army Watercraft and Ship Simulator — located at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi — has served as an important resource for district engineers. Whether planning new inland waterways, designing deep-draft coastal channels, or enhancing existing structures, districts could leverage the simulator and its team.

  • July

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center deploy a mobile trailer equip with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lock Operations Management Application (LOMA) capabilities to help strengthen gaps in broadcast coverage and allow critical messages to be transmitted to vessel traffic in Hickman, Kentucky.

    ERDC researchers use mobile trailers to expand critical messaging along inland waterways

    Low water, shoaling or missing buoys can cause hazardous conditions along our nation’s waterways, putting ships and crews at risk. Even the smallest disruptions in navigation can have catastrophic consequences for supply chains and the movement of essential goods across the country, impacting the economy. To help mitigate these hazards and strengthen gaps in broadcast coverage, researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are using deployable mobile trailers to ensure that critical messages can be transmitted to vessel traffic.

  • February

    People watching colored dye disperse in water.

    Testing continues on lock improvements along upper Ohio River

    As navigation improvements continue along the upper Ohio River, a team of researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are developing physical models to test new designs of the lock systems to ensure they function as intended.

  • December

    Crews prep equipment to collect data during anchor penetration-depth field tests at Stapleton Anchorage in the New York Harbor.

    ERDC and USACE New York District partner on New York Harbor field testing

    Four U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) laboratories, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District (NAN), recently joined forces to conduct a series of anchor penetration-depth field tests at Stapleton Anchorage in the New York Harbor.
  • Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Watercraft and Ship Simulation team accept the 2024 National Training and Simulation Association Modeling and Simulation Award.

    ERDC researchers receive National Training and Simulation Association award

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Watercraft and Ship Simulation team has been selected as a 2024 National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) Modeling and Simulation Award winner.
  • Hydraulic Engineer Ryan Hoben is demonstrating the navigation of a scale model tow into the Emsworth 1:100 scale navigation model.

    Modular Bathymetry Systems and Methods: A Revolutionary Approach to Underwater Mapping

    The recently patented Modular Bathymetry Systems and Methods, developed by researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), offers a groundbreaking solution for underwater terrain mapping.

  • July

    FUNWAVE, a numerical wave model that simulates ocean surface wave propagation in shallow and intermediate water, was developed and updated by ERDC and can be used to model complex coastal processes, such as tsunami waves, coastal inundation, wave propagation and surf zone-scale optical properties.

    FUNWAVE Model is a Feasible Solution for Vessel Wake Issues

    FUNWAVE, a numerical wave model that simulates ocean surface wave propagation in shallow and intermediate water was developed and updated by ERDC and released in 1998. It can be used to model complex coastal processes, such as tsunami waves, coastal inundation, wave propagation and surf zone-scale optical properties.

  • April

    Researchers from ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory and the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory hold paintings made by students from Fred Ipalook Elementary School in Utqiagvik, Alaska. The paintings were affixed to the solar panel array by the Joint Integrated Support for Operations in Polar Seas project team

    Multi-laboratory project explores ways to deliver manpower, supplies over complex Arctic shorelines

    Earlier this month, Integrated Support for Operations in Polar Seas (ISOPS) team members – comprised of interdisciplinary personnel from ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory – conducted fieldwork in Utqiagvik, Alaska, aimed at accelerating development of environmental support tools for Logistics-Over-The-Shore (LOTS) operations across Arctic coastal boundaries.
  • 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.

  • November

    Computer scientist Tung “Alex” Ly with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) invented the “Digital Buoy Systems and Method” in his laboratory at ERDC’s Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL), Alexandria, Virginia. He received a patent in May 2022 for his digital system which will help reduce operational costs to the U.S. Government and provide real-time, reliable and enhanced marine navigation safety for U.S. private, public and commercial industries.

    Army’s Digital Buoy System selected as R&D 100 finalist

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) collaborative effort with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Army Geospatial Center (AGC) on a Digital Buoy System has been selected as a 2023 R&D 100 Finalist in the IT/Electrical category.

  • October

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses the Hydro survey vessel "Blackwater" on the water near Fort Myers, Fla. Oct. 5, 2022 to survey vessel paths of debris and sunken ships. The vessel cleared the path for all vehicles before they could enter the Fort Myers Harbor.

    Crowdsourcing bathymetry could provide near-time picture of nation’s inland waterways

    Taking advantage of vessels already on the water, an effort in the works at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will use those vessels’ depth finders and GPS to create a snapshot of a channel and any obstructions that may exist.

  • 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.