One of ERDC’s key research areas is focused on improving the performance of conventional concrete and asphalt-type materials by incorporating advanced two-dimensional, or 2D, materials such as graphene. These 2D materials offer superior mechanical, chemical, thermal and electrical properties. Concrete, asphalt, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites modified with graphene and 2D nano materials have shown promising results for increased strength and durability. ERDC researchers are also leveraging advanced composites to strengthen layered materials, like modular panels – making them more blast resistant without sacrificing logistical advantages. This material systems research will expand pathways to more sustainable and resilient solutions for numerous military and civil works challenges.

One of ERDC’s key research areas is focused on improving the performance of conventional concrete and asphalt-type materials by incorporating advanced two-dimensional, or 2D, materials such as graphene. These 2D materials offer superior mechanical, chemical, thermal and electrical properties. Concrete, asphalt, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites modified with graphene and 2D nano materials have shown promising results for increased strength and durability. ERDC researchers are also leveraging advanced composites to strengthen layered materials, like modular panels – making them more blast resistant without sacrificing logistical advantages. This material systems research will expand pathways to more sustainable and resilient solutions for numerous military and civil works challenges.

With a long history of accurately modeling vessel maneuverability in American ports and harbors, the Ship Simulator at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) can be used by the military to plan, rehearse and train for amphibious operations around the world. Benefitting from ERDC’s deep expertise and understanding of the physical environment – including tide, current, wind and terrain – the simulator can also help leaders assess whether a planned mission can be executed within the parameters that have been defined. ERDC demonstrated these military capabilities of its Portable Ship Simulator during the Maneuver Support, Sustainment & Protection Integrating Experiments (MSSPIX 23), allowing it to reach a much larger audience than visiting an individual unit.

Samantha Lucker from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Port Administration have invested heavily in dredging to maintain Baltimore’s navigation channel depth and width. However, while the current configuration works well for legacy ships that can easily exit the terminal via a loop channel, those with drafts greater than 42 feet, such as Ultra Large Container Vessels, can only back out through the loop channel’s turning basin, a maneuver that presents safety concerns and vessel traffic inefficiencies. As a result, the USACE Baltimore District and the Maryland Port Administration initiated a study to identify safe, technically feasible, economically justifiable, and environmentally acceptable modifications to the existing Seagirt Loop Channel. The study included engineering improvements, such as deepening and widening the western half of the Seagirt Loop Channel, to meet future demand capacity and provide large vessels an alternative path to exit the terminal. The study also tapped the rich expertise of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Ship Simulator facility and a team of licensed pilots from the Association of Maryland Pilots, who ran multiple simulations of proposed design improvements to the Seagirt Loop Channel, providing valuable feedback on vessel navigation safety.

As advanced manufacturing technology continues to evolve, researchers at ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory are working to leverage this technology’s full potential for the development of new material systems. They are expanding 3D printing solutions to create material properties for military engineering and civil works applications that couldn’t otherwise be created -- broadening the protection of both our troops and our nation’s infrastructure.

As advanced manufacturing technology continues to evolve, researchers at ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory are working to leverage this technology’s full potential for the development of new material systems. They are expanding 3D printing solutions to create material properties for military engineering and civil works applications that couldn’t otherwise be created -- broadening the protection of both our troops and our nation’s infrastructure.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Port Administration have invested heavily in dredging to maintain Baltimore’s navigation channel depth and width. However, while the current configuration works well for legacy ships that can easily exit the terminal via a loop channel, those with drafts greater than 42 feet, such as Ultra Large Container Vessels, can only back out through the loop channel’s turning basin, a maneuver that presents safety concerns and vessel traffic inefficiencies. As a result, the USACE Baltimore District and the Maryland Port Administration initiated a study to identify safe, technically feasible, economically justifiable, and environmentally acceptable modifications to the existing Seagirt Loop Channel. The study included engineering improvements, such as deepening and widening the western half of the Seagirt Loop Channel, to meet future demand capacity and provide large vessels an alternative path to exit the terminal. The study also tapped the rich expertise of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Ship Simulator facility and a team of licensed pilots from the Association of Maryland Pilots, who ran multiple simulations of proposed design improvements to the Seagirt Loop Channel, providing valuable feedback on vessel navigation safety.

Dr. Brittany Bruder, Dr. Ian Conery and Sean McGill from...

Dr. Ben Parsons from the Department of Defense (DOD)...

Dr. Orian Welling and Michael Parker from the U.S. Army...

Point Hope is a village in remote northwestern Alaska experiencing coastal erosion, flooding, thawing permafrost, and sea level rise. These factors affect the community ice cellars (siġluaqs), sod houses, and the only road providing access to higher ground. To address these impacts on cultural heritage, food security, and safety, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering With Nature® (EWN) program, in partnership with E.A. Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC, the Point Hope community, and others, are working to incorporate natural and nature-based features along the north shore of the Point Hope peninsula. Such partnerships that actively include Traditional Ecological Knowledge enable EWN to optimize designs for enhanced resilience in cold regions. To learn more about the EWN program, visit https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil.

Fundamental research of material properties, characterizations, interactions, and novel materials provides the Army with knowledge required to advance future technologies beyond current operational standards. With a focus on force protection, ERDC scientists and engineers are researching how polymer networks can be modified using different stimuli to alter materials. And ultimately, how these materials will perform at the point of failure. Beyond the needs of the Warfighter, this advanced materials research technology may also be sought after for use in civil works applications.

Jeremy Herring and Kelly Ervin from the U.S. Army...