25 Apr 2025

Analysis Tools and Techniques for Evaluating Quality in Synthetic Data Generated by the Virtual Autonomous Navigation Environment

Abstract: The capability to produce high-quality labeled synthetic image data is an important tool for building and maintaining machine learning datasets. However, ensuring computer-generated data is of high quality is very challenging. This report describes an effort to evaluate and improve synthetic image data generated by the Virtual Autonomous Navigation Environment’s Environment and Sensor Engine (VANE::ESE), as well as documenting a set of tools developed to process, analyze, and train models from, image datasets generated by VANE::ESE. Additionally, the results of several experiments are presented, including an investigation into using explainable AI techniques, and direct comparisons of various models trained on multiple synthetic datasets.

21 Apr 2025

Evaluation of NiTech FG-NDGB Pelletized Asphalt for Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery Applications

Purpose: The NiTech Corporation’s FG-NDGB Pelletized Asphalt (PA), herein referred to as NiTech PA, was identified as a surfacing material for Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery (RADR) applications by the US Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC). AFCEC tasked the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) with evaluating NiTech PA by conducting full-scale crater repairs and applying simulated F-15E aircraft loads. The properties of the repair material were also to be obtained via laboratory characterization testing.

31 Mar 2025

USACE Relief Wells for Dams and Levees: History and Current Practice

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to review relief well practices within the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). A literature review was performed on the history and use of relief wells relief and the state of practice within the USACE. As part of this study, a survey about relief well use and maintenance practice was prepared and distributed to selected Districts containing a large number of relief wells to determine their standard operating procedures for using those wells and to learn the history of their use. Responses obtained from these Districts were tabulated and classified according to the subject categories requested. Research needs and tools were requested as part of the survey, and a large portion of the responses indicated that there is an important need for research into biofouling prevention and remediation. Finally, a laboratory experiment was performed on several commercial-off-the-shelf sensors to measure effluent flow remotely. The results of the experiment showed that remote sensing of relief well flow is viable. It was found that pore pressures could be used to measure the relief well flows over a wide range of flow rates and with an error of 10 percent or less on average. Ultrasonic sensors also performed well during testing, with an average error of 10 percent or less.

27 Mar 2025

Toward a Method to Predict Thermo-Mechanical Properties of High-Strength Concrete Placements

Abstract: In this article, the merits of a thermo-mechanical framework to estimate properties of high-strength concrete are evaluated for potential standardization as a test method. Previous work conducted by the authors was summarized to show the individual advancements toward development of a laboratory testing framework. Most notably, laboratory-based curing protocols have been shown to produce temperature profiles that were similar to mass placements and achieving peak temperatures that were within 2°C of peak temperatures recorded in a mass high-strength concrete placement. Additionally, current testing methods to determine thermo-mechanical properties of mass concrete placements were reviewed, and a clear disconnect was noticed between methods that are predictive as well as a direct measure of mechanical properties. Based on this review of literature and the advancements summarized by the authors, a testing framework is proposed that takes the first steps toward filling this gap in literature of creating a predictive testing protocol that is also a direct measurement of mechanical properties.

12 Mar 2025

Old River Control Low Sill Structure: Monitoring and Performance

Abstract: The Old River Low Sill Structure (ORLSS) is located approximately 25 mi south of Vidalia, LA, and is part of the Old River Control Complex. The structure is founded on steel piles and is a 566-foot-long concrete structure constructed in 1959. The structure resembles a dam with 11, 44-foot-wide gates to prevent migration of the Mississippi River’s current course to a hydraulically shorter course down the Atchafalaya River. A re-analysis was undertaken by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center to investigate the current level of stability and the potential for adjusting the operating limitations placed on the structure because of damage during the 1973 flood. The investigation was performed by reviewing the design and post-design stability analyses, analyzing performance data, and performing an updated stability analysis. The stability analysis was performed with monitoring data that spanned several decades. Using historic monitoring data in the stability analysis, with a wide range of loading conditions, it was shown that uplift conditions were not as severe as previously considered. Performance data coupled with the stability analysis show that the structural performance supports the current operating conditions.

6 Mar 2025

Effect of Fighter Aircraft Traffic on Full-Depth Reclamation with Thin Surface Layers

Abstract: The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) constructed a full-scale test section to evaluate the effectiveness of different pavement surface technologies in sustaining fighter aircraft traffic. A deteriorated thin asphalt pavement was recycled utilizing full-depth reclamation (FDR) techniques with cement stabilization. Relatively thin surfacing solutions constructed with either conventional hot mix asphalt (HMA) or nontraditional surface materials were placed on the FDR layer and trafficked with a single-wheel F-15 load cart. Rutting behavior, instrumentation response, and nondestructive evaluation measurements were monitored during traffic. Experimental results showed that thin surface treatments and microsurfacing materials placed on FDR layers were capable of supporting an extremely limited number of F-15 operations, and the generation of foreign object debris (FOD) was a major concern. A 4 in. thick HMA layer was required to sustain a meaningful number of F-15 operations, that is, approximately 3,000, and a 2 in. thick HMA layer was required to sustain approximately 100 F-15 passes. An analysis using the Airfield Pavement Evaluation subroutine in PCASE suggested that existing stabilized equivalency factors were reasonable when the minimum asphalt layer thickness was specified. A reduced equivalency factor was observed when the asphalt layer thickness was less than the minimum thickness.

3 Mar 2025

Full-Depth Reclamation Equipment Evaluation and Expedient Pavement Reconstruction Process Development

Abstract: Full-depth reclamation (FDR) is a rehabilitation approach that can be readily applied to rapidly restore the structural capacity of heavily distressed or structurally deficient airfield asphalt pavements. This report presents a market survey of compact FDR construction equipment that could be deployed in contingency environments. Current equipment inventories from the US Air Force and Marine Corps were reviewed to identify gaps in terms of equipment for pavement reconstruction via the FDR technique. Additionally, a field demonstration was conducted to assess the effectiveness and productivity of FDR reclaimers on representative airfield asphalt pavements. A preliminary reconstruction process and a spreadsheet based calculator were developed to estimate construction times for the FDR technique. Examples of pavement reconstruction scenarios were generated to illustrate the FDR process as well as identify an approach with optimized construction times. The information in this report aims to assist in the implementation of reconstruction specifications for the FDR technique as applicable to expedient construction projects in contingency environments.

28 Feb 2025

The 2023 Joint Airfield Damage Repair Symposium (JADRS) at Fort Liberty, North Carolina

Abstract: The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the 20th Engineer Brigade, 27th Engineer Battalion, executed the Joint Airfield Damage Repair Symposium from 5 to 14 June 2023. The event was a training experience for personnel executing pavement-repair tasks and a planning and coordination exercise for senior military and civilian leaders developing technologies and plans for airfield damage repair (ADR). The participants included 14 trainers, 8 staff members, 48 observers, and 145 trainees from the US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. The Military Occupational Specialty of most Army trainees was 12N, Horizontal Construction Engineer. The symposium also included a workshop attended by more than 20 organizations representing all branches of the US Military. Breakout sessions were used to develop strategies to address gaps in ADR materials, training, and doctrine. At the end of the symposium, the 27th Engineer Battalion identified needs for an updated joint doctrine detailing the capabilities residing within each service branch and defining their roles and responsibilities, equipment up-grades based on commercially available products that would enhance efficiency for ADR missions, positioning ADR materials in strategic locations to reduce the logistical burden of delivery, and lighter, more expeditionary ADR kits across each service.

28 Feb 2025

Repair of Damaged Continuity Joints Using Ultra-High Performance, Fiber Reinforced Self-Consolidating, and Magnesium–Aluminum–Liquid–Phosphate Concretes

Abstract: Bridge elements known to develop damage over time are individual continuity joints connecting girders. Replacing damaged joints is an expensive and invasive process and a need exists to design a less invasive repair method. This study focused on evaluating an encapsulation repair method for continuity joints that would not require extensive demolition of the bridge deck to implement and could potentially be constructed without bridge closure. Approximately half scale connected bridge girder specimens were constructed and purposely damaged to create similar crack patterns to those seen in bridges. Once damaged, a set of three specimens was repaired using the encapsulation method with three different high performance materials, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), fiber reinforced self-consolidating concrete (FRSCC), and magnesium–aluminum–liquid–phosphate (MALP) concrete. Of the three repaired specimens for each material, one was tested in positive moment bending and two in negative moment bending, similar to in situ conditions. The results appear to indicate that using each of the tested materials as an encapsulation repair for damaged continuity joints is viable to re-establish continuity and load capacity. However, the UHPC repairs’ resistance to cracking could indicate the best performance by further protecting the continuity joint reinforcing steel from water ingress.

30 Jan 2025

Rapid Assessment Tools for Estimating Trafficability of Low Volume Roads

Abstract: Rapid assessment of low-volume road surfaces remains a challenge when attempting to forecast allowable vehicle crossings. Variations in soil type, compaction effort, and moisture content of the soil can greatly affect trafficability, and predictive equations for soil deformation under vehicle loads often have reduced reliability for low-strength materials. Portable tools to characterize soil stiffness and corresponding relationships to load-induced deformation are needed. In this effort, researchers performed comparative testing of multiple rapid assessment tools as potential devices for giving estimations of vehicle trafficability. The test devices included a Clegg hammer and light weight deflectometer as instruments that measure response from impulse loading. Silty sand with and without chemical stabilization (using cement) at varying moisture content were used for testing. These soil states represented very weak conditions capable of supporting fewer than 50 vehicle passes to moderate strength conditions capable of supporting several thousand vehicle passes. Data from full-scale tests were used to correlate allowable traffic with data obtained from the rapid assessment tools. Recommendations from the effort include ranges of response data to categorize low-volume road surfaces based on their ability to handle ranges of vehicle loadings.