5 Aug 2025

Determination of Runoff Coefficient and Permeability of Airfield Matting (AM2) Long-Term Placement

Abstract: This report describes a small-scale water infiltration study of airfield mat-ting version 2 (AM2) at a test site on the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Vicksburg, Mississippi, site. Before constructing AM2 runways, engineers must conduct a storm water drainage analysis; but no published study defining the runoff coefficient for AM2 exists. This study evaluated water infiltration of AM2 when subjected to 10-year and 100-year storm conditions from a proposed building site at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. The allowable grade slopes for AM2 runways range from 1% to 3% in the longitudinal direction and 1% to 5% in the transverse direction. Multiple tests were conducted at various combinations of allowable grade slopes to determine grade slope orientation effects on AM2 runoff behavior. Runoff coefficients generally fell within the range of 0.05 to 0.10 for AM2. The highest runoff coefficients observed were within the range of 0.35 to 0.40 for a 5% transverse grade slope with a 1% longitudinal grade slope. Observation of the water infiltration behavior showed runoff increased with increasing transverse slope and de-creased with increasing longitudinal slope.

4 Oct 2023

Full-Scale Trafficability Testing of Prototype Submersible Matting Systems

Abstract: This report describes the full-scale evaluation of prototype submersible matting systems (SUBMAT) at a test site at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Vicksburg, Mississippi, site. The SUBMAT prototypes were designed to bridge the gap between high and low tide at a beach interface to enable 24-hour operation at an expeditionary watercraft landing site. This phase of the SUBMAT prototype development was intended to determine prototype system durability by applying military vehicle loads representing a combat brigade insertion across a littoral zone. The two mat systems evaluated in this study were the PYRACELL Road Building System (PRBS) and a basaltic rebar mat system. The results of the study showed that the PRBS system was able to sustain 1,000 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement, 350 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, and over 150 M1A1 main battle tank passes without significant damage. The basaltic rebar mat failed early in the test and was removed from further consideration for the SUBMAT application. Observations and lessons learned from this phase of the prototype PRBS development will be used to improve the PRBS design and modify its installation procedures for improved efficiency.