WEBVTT 00:00.980 --> 00:03.789 2023 is nearly into the fourth quarter . 00:03.799 --> 00:06.579 As August is upon us , your US , army 00:06.590 --> 00:08.646 Corps of Engineers continues to work 00:08.646 --> 00:10.757 and deliver projects and programs for 00:10.757 --> 00:12.979 our nation . In this month's episode of 00:12.979 --> 00:15.310 core connection , the ST Paul district 00:15.319 --> 00:17.541 recently performed modifications to its 00:17.541 --> 00:20.229 pool Two Wing dam in Hastings Minnesota . 00:20.799 --> 00:22.910 The Jacksonville District takes us to 00:22.910 --> 00:25.021 Puerto Rico where they are working on 00:25.021 --> 00:27.077 several projects in the US territory 00:27.077 --> 00:28.910 and our engineering research and 00:28.910 --> 00:31.077 development centers , geotechnical and 00:31.077 --> 00:33.132 structure laboratory is looking into 00:33.132 --> 00:35.188 advanced manufacturing technology to 00:35.188 --> 00:37.410 develop new material systems for use in 00:37.410 --> 00:39.577 both civil and military applications . 00:39.577 --> 00:41.799 Those stories coming up in this edition 00:41.799 --> 00:42.966 of Core connection . 00:52.770 --> 00:55.349 Once again , welcome to Core connection . 00:55.360 --> 00:58.220 I'm your host , Patrick Bloodgood . We 00:58.229 --> 01:00.630 start this month's program in Minnesota 01:00.639 --> 01:02.806 where the ST Paul district completed a 01:02.806 --> 01:05.510 $324,000 modification to the pool Two 01:05.519 --> 01:07.860 Wing Dam . The modification is the 01:07.870 --> 01:09.981 first ecosystem project in the nation 01:09.981 --> 01:12.290 to be awarded under the navigation and 01:12.300 --> 01:14.269 ecosystem sustainability program . 01:16.970 --> 01:19.410 Hello , my name is Mitchell Candor and 01:19.419 --> 01:21.139 I am a contracting officer 01:21.150 --> 01:23.639 representative ac or for the US Army 01:23.650 --> 01:26.330 Corps of Engineers . My job is to make 01:26.339 --> 01:28.561 sure that the contractor is not cutting 01:28.561 --> 01:30.672 any corners and to make sure that the 01:30.672 --> 01:32.895 taxpayers have a quality product behind 01:32.895 --> 01:35.110 me is Pool Two and we just completed 01:35.120 --> 01:38.889 notching 17 wing dams . These wing dams 01:38.900 --> 01:40.733 were created back in the late 18 01:40.733 --> 01:42.860 hundreds and they were used to raise 01:42.870 --> 01:45.360 the Mississippi river level to 4.5 ft . 01:45.819 --> 01:48.069 With the installation of our lock and 01:48.080 --> 01:50.247 dam system , we doubled that making it 01:50.250 --> 01:54.230 from 4.5 ft to 9 ft , making our wing 01:54.239 --> 01:56.459 dams going from partially to almost 01:56.470 --> 01:59.000 completely submerged . Even though 01:59.010 --> 02:01.232 these things have been a hazard for our 02:01.232 --> 02:03.288 boaters , they've also been a really 02:03.288 --> 02:05.454 big home for our fish and a really big 02:05.454 --> 02:08.699 enjoyable to the fishermen so to help 02:08.710 --> 02:12.339 improve navigation but also 02:12.509 --> 02:14.820 protect our environment . The Corps of 02:14.830 --> 02:17.660 Engineers created a long term and dual 02:17.669 --> 02:20.020 purpose initiative called the 02:20.029 --> 02:22.809 Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability 02:22.820 --> 02:25.869 Program or Nest for Short and this is 02:25.880 --> 02:27.991 the first nest project and we notched 02:27.991 --> 02:31.300 17 wing dams all the way through South 02:31.309 --> 02:34.630 ST Paul Park down to Spring Lake and 02:34.639 --> 02:37.690 these wing dam notches were about 40 to 02:37.699 --> 02:40.339 100 ft long . And what we did with the 02:40.350 --> 02:42.539 rock that we notched or removed is we 02:42.550 --> 02:45.139 placed it adjacently downstream or on 02:45.149 --> 02:47.220 top of the leftover existing dam 02:47.229 --> 02:49.396 structure . A little bit more about my 02:49.396 --> 02:51.520 job is I just love being outside and 02:51.529 --> 02:53.640 being able to actually see the things 02:53.640 --> 02:55.862 that we've designed , being able to put 02:55.862 --> 02:58.085 everything from paper onto ground while 02:58.085 --> 03:00.307 also being able to talk to other people 03:00.307 --> 03:02.473 from the community or just contractors 03:02.473 --> 03:04.473 that have a lot of experience . And 03:04.473 --> 03:06.529 overall , while I'm doing that , I'm 03:06.529 --> 03:08.640 also making sure that , you know , we 03:08.640 --> 03:10.414 are having a product that is 03:10.425 --> 03:12.755 environmentally friendly but also very 03:12.764 --> 03:15.160 helpful to the people around the 03:15.169 --> 03:17.058 notches , modified the channel to 03:17.058 --> 03:19.113 provide suitable habitat for channel 03:19.113 --> 03:21.289 catfish , white or yellow bass , wally 03:21.699 --> 03:24.380 and paddlefish . Turning our attention 03:24.389 --> 03:26.278 to Puerto Rico , the Jacksonville 03:26.278 --> 03:28.056 District is working on multiple 03:28.056 --> 03:29.889 projects in the territory . They 03:29.889 --> 03:31.945 highlight those efforts in this next 03:31.945 --> 03:34.222 story . The US Army Corps of Engineers , 03:34.222 --> 03:36.278 Jacksonville District and Tills area 03:36.278 --> 03:38.333 office continues to make progress on 03:38.333 --> 03:40.333 its flawed risk management projects 03:40.333 --> 03:42.500 around the island of Puerto Rico . You 03:42.500 --> 03:44.500 project managers at the Puerto Rico 03:44.500 --> 03:46.667 integrated project office continues to 03:46.667 --> 03:48.860 provide engineering solutions to some 03:48.869 --> 03:51.300 of the nation's toughest challenges to 03:51.309 --> 03:53.539 reduce the risk of flooding , save 03:53.550 --> 03:55.606 lives and preserve properties to the 03:55.606 --> 03:57.606 communities of Puerto Rico . So the 03:57.606 --> 03:59.606 exciting part about what we've been 03:59.606 --> 04:01.772 doing today is that every project that 04:01.772 --> 04:03.939 we've completed , there's already been 04:03.939 --> 04:05.994 realized benefits . For example , in 04:05.994 --> 04:07.939 Rio , Puerto Nuevo , all the lower 04:07.939 --> 04:07.710 segments of the project that we've 04:07.720 --> 04:10.000 already completed , there's residences 04:10.009 --> 04:12.120 that are already feeling the benefits 04:12.120 --> 04:14.231 of it or there's a reduction of flood 04:14.231 --> 04:16.065 as we continue to complete these 04:16.065 --> 04:18.720 projects over the next 5 to 10 years , 04:18.730 --> 04:20.730 you're going to continue seeing the 04:20.730 --> 04:22.897 reduction of flood risk , you're going 04:22.897 --> 04:24.952 to see an improved quality of life . 04:24.952 --> 04:27.174 You're going to see more businesses pop 04:27.174 --> 04:29.397 up and you're really going to just have 04:29.397 --> 04:31.508 an overall better feel to the city of 04:31.508 --> 04:33.730 San Juan and all the other towns that , 04:33.730 --> 04:35.786 that we have our projects in the Rio 04:35.786 --> 04:38.008 Puerto flood risk management project is 04:38.008 --> 04:39.841 a massive project with 12 active 04:39.841 --> 04:41.674 contracts , all of which seek to 04:41.674 --> 04:43.452 improve one of the most densely 04:43.452 --> 04:46.878 populated areas in San Juan . I mean , 04:46.889 --> 04:48.945 what's completed This project really 04:48.945 --> 04:51.940 improves overall , San Juan . Again , 04:51.950 --> 04:53.950 you're reducing flood risk , rough 04:53.959 --> 04:56.309 flood risk to the area . You're 04:56.320 --> 04:58.549 inviting businesses to come in . You're 04:58.559 --> 05:00.503 inviting residents to want to live 05:00.503 --> 05:02.503 alongside the river . The Rio de la 05:02.503 --> 05:04.760 Plata flood risk mitigation project is 05:04.769 --> 05:07.100 located in the town of Dorado and Baja 05:07.790 --> 05:09.957 and it's looking to soon celebrate the 05:09.957 --> 05:12.100 completion of articulated concrete 05:12.109 --> 05:15.609 block mat and Toki installation and the 05:15.619 --> 05:17.619 diversion of the river into the new 05:17.619 --> 05:19.619 channel . This project is important 05:19.619 --> 05:21.980 because the , it causes significant 05:21.989 --> 05:24.190 flooding in the town of Dorado and in 05:24.200 --> 05:27.589 the town of Baja , this , what we're 05:27.600 --> 05:29.822 going to do is we're going to widen the 05:29.822 --> 05:31.822 channel , we'll deepen it and we're 05:31.822 --> 05:33.878 going to realign the river and we're 05:33.878 --> 05:36.044 also building levees on either side of 05:36.044 --> 05:38.267 the river . This way , we're protecting 05:38.267 --> 05:40.267 both municipalities . About 160,000 05:40.267 --> 05:42.322 people will be protected right now . 05:42.322 --> 05:44.433 We're excavating what will be part of 05:44.433 --> 05:46.656 the new channel . And at the end of the 05:46.656 --> 05:46.035 summer , we're going to open the , so 05:46.045 --> 05:48.212 that water can flow through and that's 05:48.212 --> 05:50.489 what we're calling the river diversion . 05:50.489 --> 05:52.656 So sometime at the end of the summer , 05:52.656 --> 05:52.244 we're going to be celebrating this 05:52.255 --> 05:54.311 important milestone in the project . 05:54.311 --> 05:56.154 The Cano Martin Pena Ecosystem 05:56.165 --> 06:00.105 restoration project is a 3.75 mile 06:00.114 --> 06:02.464 long tidal channel located within the 06:02.475 --> 06:04.994 San Juan Bay National Estuary in Puerto 06:05.005 --> 06:07.809 Rico . It is the only tropical estuary 06:07.820 --> 06:10.320 within the National Estuary program . 06:10.480 --> 06:12.779 It's a restoration project in the heart 06:12.989 --> 06:14.933 of a heavily populated area in the 06:15.000 --> 06:17.220 middle of San Juan . It's about 06:17.230 --> 06:20.890 community partnerships , organization 06:20.899 --> 06:24.359 on the ground , equity hope . 06:25.260 --> 06:28.690 And as of today , in the early 20th 06:28.700 --> 06:31.049 century , unauthorized development 06:31.059 --> 06:33.281 triggered ecological degradation within 06:33.281 --> 06:35.119 the estuary which affected the 06:35.130 --> 06:36.908 socioeconomic conditions of the 06:36.910 --> 06:39.260 community surrounding it . Very happy 06:39.269 --> 06:42.769 and emotional because I know 06:43.040 --> 06:45.769 the hard work that this has taken for 06:45.779 --> 06:47.835 the communities . They were with the 06:47.835 --> 06:49.946 coin in years . You know , we've been 06:49.946 --> 06:52.112 working with the cop for the past over 06:52.112 --> 06:54.223 10 years . There have been some highs 06:54.223 --> 06:56.589 and lows , but this latest years having 06:56.649 --> 06:59.130 so many achievements like the approval 06:59.140 --> 07:02.410 of the report in 2016 . And now the PP 07:02.420 --> 07:05.450 A definitely signifies how this has 07:05.459 --> 07:07.959 become a priority for the agency . And 07:07.970 --> 07:11.359 also Puerto Rico , the 07:11.369 --> 07:13.500 restoration of the Cano Martin Pena 07:13.720 --> 07:16.160 will reestablish the tidal connection 07:16.170 --> 07:18.519 between the San Jose lagoon and the San 07:18.529 --> 07:20.585 Juan Bay . I have a strong belief in 07:20.585 --> 07:22.529 the core mission . I have a strong 07:22.529 --> 07:24.751 belief in the projects in Puerto Rico . 07:24.751 --> 07:26.918 I have a strong belief that the people 07:26.918 --> 07:26.739 of Puerto Rico are going to benefit 07:26.750 --> 07:28.694 from these projects . So I hope to 07:28.694 --> 07:30.694 continue to working on this mission 07:30.694 --> 07:32.750 that that is intended to protect the 07:32.750 --> 07:34.917 people of Puerto Rico reporting for us 07:34.917 --> 07:36.917 from San Juan Puerto Rico . This is 07:36.917 --> 07:39.450 Jennifer Garcia Torres looking to the 07:39.459 --> 07:41.679 future . The engineering Research and 07:41.690 --> 07:43.690 Development Center is continuing to 07:43.690 --> 07:45.801 work and develop new material systems 07:45.801 --> 07:48.023 particularly in the area of 3D printing 07:48.023 --> 07:49.912 to create material properties for 07:49.912 --> 07:51.968 military engineering and civil works 07:51.968 --> 07:54.190 applications that couldn't otherwise be 07:54.190 --> 07:56.079 created . We take a look at those 07:56.079 --> 07:58.023 efforts . So the focus area of the 07:58.023 --> 07:59.912 group I lead here at the Engineer 07:59.912 --> 08:01.857 Research and Development Center is 08:01.857 --> 08:03.746 focused on advanced manufacturing 08:03.746 --> 08:05.801 techniques or additive manufacturing 08:05.801 --> 08:07.579 techniques and leveraging those 08:07.579 --> 08:07.140 techniques for the development of new 08:07.149 --> 08:10.470 material systems . So most people that 08:10.480 --> 08:12.536 work in additive manufacturing focus 08:12.536 --> 08:14.510 mostly on either complex geometry 08:14.519 --> 08:16.630 systems or things that you can't make 08:16.630 --> 08:18.741 through traditional manufacturing . A 08:18.741 --> 08:20.797 lot of what we do here internally at 08:20.797 --> 08:22.741 our is development of new material 08:22.741 --> 08:24.797 systems . So creating things through 08:24.797 --> 08:24.557 additive that you couldn't create 08:24.566 --> 08:26.344 otherwise that have interesting 08:26.344 --> 08:28.399 material properties . So things like 08:28.399 --> 08:30.566 extremely high hardness or things that 08:30.566 --> 08:32.747 may be functionally graded and deform 08:32.757 --> 08:35.067 in particular design manners . So a lot 08:35.077 --> 08:37.327 of material by design type work , some 08:37.336 --> 08:39.558 of the specific projects I'm working on 08:39.558 --> 08:41.396 here at er deal with leveraging 08:41.406 --> 08:43.577 advanced manufacturing techniques to 08:43.586 --> 08:45.475 either develop these new material 08:45.475 --> 08:47.419 systems , scale them up into large 08:47.419 --> 08:49.642 focus areas . So one of the cool things 08:49.642 --> 08:51.864 about is we don't , a lot of times deal 08:51.864 --> 08:54.030 with little small things . Our mission 08:54.030 --> 08:55.586 hats are either civil works 08:55.586 --> 08:57.642 infrastructure , which is very large 08:57.642 --> 08:59.586 components or even on the military 08:59.586 --> 08:58.823 engineering side . A lot of those 08:58.833 --> 09:01.055 applications are very large in nature . 09:01.055 --> 09:02.944 So whether it's infrastructure or 09:02.944 --> 09:04.944 moving troops from one place to the 09:04.944 --> 09:07.277 other , it's all about big large things . 09:07.277 --> 09:09.389 So instead of a lot of the small tiny 09:09.389 --> 09:08.713 trinkets that you deal with 09:08.723 --> 09:10.890 traditionally through additive , we're 09:10.890 --> 09:13.223 developing a lot of really large things . 09:13.223 --> 09:15.390 So pushing the envelope of what can be 09:15.390 --> 09:15.200 done with large scale additives . So on 09:15.210 --> 09:17.043 the metal side that may be going 09:17.043 --> 09:19.210 through and looking at either ridge or 09:19.210 --> 09:21.043 railway steel repair using added 09:21.043 --> 09:23.266 manufacturing techniques or we're going 09:23.266 --> 09:25.432 through and developing new large scale 09:25.432 --> 09:27.488 palmer components that have strength 09:27.488 --> 09:29.488 values close to those like aluminum 09:29.488 --> 09:31.599 alloys and things of that nature . So 09:31.599 --> 09:33.766 really trying to push the envelope and 09:33.766 --> 09:35.821 what those large scale things can be 09:35.821 --> 09:37.932 using additive technologies . So some 09:37.932 --> 09:40.099 of the applications we work on here at 09:40.099 --> 09:41.988 AR are mainly twofold . So on the 09:41.988 --> 09:44.099 military engineering side , we have a 09:44.099 --> 09:46.266 lot of work that focuses on say impact 09:46.266 --> 09:48.210 kinetics . So things ballistics or 09:48.210 --> 09:50.266 maybe we need high strength material 09:50.266 --> 09:50.250 systems or something of that nature . 09:50.340 --> 09:52.284 So a lot of times we're focused on 09:52.284 --> 09:54.062 developing new material systems 09:54.062 --> 09:56.007 specific to like high hardness and 09:56.007 --> 09:58.118 things of that nature . The beauty of 09:58.118 --> 10:00.340 that though is that a lot of those same 10:00.340 --> 10:02.562 material systems that we develop on the 10:02.562 --> 10:01.784 high hardness side for military 10:01.794 --> 10:04.205 engineering are also great in the wear 10:04.215 --> 10:06.271 performance standpoint . So they can 10:06.271 --> 10:08.326 also be leveraged on the civil works 10:08.326 --> 10:10.215 infrastructure side for high wear 10:10.215 --> 10:12.565 fatigue , for services and things like 10:12.575 --> 10:14.619 that . The drivers for making this 10:14.630 --> 10:16.574 research important can be two fold 10:16.574 --> 10:18.739 depending on the mission space that 10:18.750 --> 10:20.917 you're looking at . So on the military 10:20.917 --> 10:22.806 engineering side , it's all about 10:22.806 --> 10:25.083 increasing your your protection factor . 10:25.083 --> 10:27.250 So if we can take material systems and 10:27.250 --> 10:29.083 increase their hardness or their 10:29.083 --> 10:29.080 overall strength of that particular 10:29.090 --> 10:31.312 material system , maybe we can use less 10:31.312 --> 10:33.368 of it . So maybe we can decrease the 10:33.368 --> 10:35.368 weight by still holding true to the 10:35.368 --> 10:37.534 same performance factor . On the civil 10:37.534 --> 10:39.534 arts infrastructure side , a lot of 10:39.534 --> 10:41.757 that has to do with lead time . So when 10:41.757 --> 10:41.380 you talk about the same component being 10:41.390 --> 10:45.299 made from a cast part 18 to 72 months , 10:45.309 --> 10:47.476 that's a non start . So you can't have 10:47.476 --> 10:49.587 a waterways navigation structure down 10:49.587 --> 10:51.753 for 18 to 72 months because you have a 10:51.753 --> 10:53.587 critical component that can't be 10:53.587 --> 10:55.809 fabricated . So when you change and you 10:55.809 --> 10:57.976 can now fabricate those on demand in a 10:57.976 --> 11:00.198 couple of weeks as opposed to months or 11:00.198 --> 11:02.365 years , it really changes the paradigm 11:02.365 --> 11:04.539 of what can be done that does it for 11:04.549 --> 11:06.771 the August edition of core connection . 11:06.929 --> 11:09.207 We'll be back next month to once again , 11:09.207 --> 11:11.318 highlight the efforts of your US army 11:11.318 --> 11:13.429 Corps of Engineers . Until then , I'm 11:13.429 --> 11:15.729 Patrick Bloodgood and this is core 11:15.739 --> 11:16.340 connection .