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  • Full-Scale Demonstration of the Modernized Bridge Supplemental Set

    Abstract: The Overhead Cable System (OCS) serves as the main anchorage system of the Bridge Supplemental Set and is used to hold the Improved Ribbon Bridge (IRB) against river flow. Several improvements have been made to OCS components and employment procedures, theoretically allowing the OCS to operate safely within most environments. However, the modernized OCS had yet to be constructed over an actual river, making it necessary to conduct a full-scale capability demonstration. Range W2 of Camp Ripley was selected as the test site because the 200th Multi-Role Bridge Company agreed to support the demonstration during an ongoing training cycle. A site reconnaissance trip revealed environmental obstacles on each bank, which made the site a unique test for the modernized OCS. The OCS model, a software package developed to analyze the loading imposed by river drag force on the OCS, was used to design a unique layout that circumvents Camp Ripley’s environmental challenges. The OCS was successfully deployed over Camp Ripley’s wet gap flowing at a river speed of 3.5 ft/s, and the IRB supported vehicular traffic for 3 hr before safe disassembly. Several lessons were learned regarding system deployment, and data were collected to facilitate technical manual development.
  • Evaluation of the Bridge Supplement Set overhead cable system with uneven bank heights

    Abstract: A numerical model was developed to analyze the effects of environmental conditions and construction layout on the structural capacity of the modernized Bridge Supplemental Set (BSS). Environmental variables included even and uneven bank heights, soil strength, river width, and river flow rate conditions. Construction variables included tower placement, tower guy line orientation, and catenary length. Loading conditions, the drag force of the bridge due to river current, were conservatively applied with the assumption of uniform flow rate across the entire river width to account for the wide range of operating environments in which the BSS may potentially be used. Analysis of system performance informed several BSS construction optimizations to maximize system capabilities over the wide range of conditions considered. Catenary length was found to have the greatest influence on system performance, indicating that a small increase in catenary length would greatly reduce the loading on the critical components of the BSS, thus increasing the capacity and safety of the system. A stand-alone computer program was developed to quickly provide BSS construction guidance for a large variety of operating conditions, as the number of charts and figures required to account for most scenarios numbers in the thousands.
  • Force multipliers: 51 Charlies benefit both USACE and U.S. Army

    Behind almost every project at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is at least one contracting action. Depending on the size of the project, there could be dozens. Behind every contract is a dedicated team of professionals ensuring contracts are prepared within federal regulation. Most of these contracting professionals are Department of the Army civilians. But a select few are active-duty military serving in USACE as contracting officers, also known as 51 Charlies.
  • From battlegrounds to playgrounds, Army Reserve Soldiers flex engineering muscles thanks to WRDA

    A new authorization in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 grants permission to U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers to work on projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of their official training plans.
  • USACE engineer support team provides expertise, broadens professional experience on European deployment

    Headquartered at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Alaska District and staffed with engineering professionals from throughout USACE, the 62nd Forward Engineer Support Team – Advanced, or FEST-A, is one of eight expeditionary teams that provides rapidly deployable engineering capabilities throughout the world. Primarily composed of civilian employees, these critical personnel groups perform infrastructure damage assessments, environmental surveys and building plans in support of the Army’s mission abroad.
  • Military night operations training to be held at McNary Lock and Dam March 25 through 27

    UMATILLA, OR. -  Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will conduct military night operations training at McNary Lock and Dam from Monday, March 25 through Wednesday, March 27. The training employs the use of helicopters and simulated munitions to make the exercise as realistic as possible. The training will primarily occur after sunset.
  • DARPA ‘ICE’ program kicks off at ERDC-CRREL

    Making ice work “for” and not “against” the U.S. military is the mission behind Ice Control for cold Environments (ICE), a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program that recently kicked off at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire.
  • What a leader looks like

    “What does being a leader mean to you?” This was a question posed by Lt. Col. ShaiLin KingSlack, Commander of the Walla Walla District, when she spoke to tribal students at schools in Pendleton, Oregon.
  • ERDC researcher to be honored at Black Engineer of the Year Awards

    Samuel Stidwell, a research architect at the U.S. Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), was recognized as one of the Science Spectrum Trailblazers at the 2024 Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) STEM DTX Conference.
  • Research project studies enhanced performance of thermally modified structural lumber

    A groundbreaking partnership between the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) is paving the way for a new mass timber product that would be more readily available in the United States and could also meet military needs abroad.