Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Overview

Making the world safer and better

By Wayne Stroupe - February 6, 2012

X-FLEX is an adhesive tape, similar to peel-and-stick wallpaper, that can shield people from wall fragments during a blast. It can be applied to interior walls quickly and easily. Here an ERDC technician applies one-quarter-scale X-FLEX to a one-quarter-scale brick wall for a blast test. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

ICESCAPE and Climate Change

ICESCAPE – Impacts of Climate Change on the Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment – is a multi-year program sponsored by NASA to study the impact of changing sea ice conditions on the biogeochemistry and ecology of the Arctic’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas. While both seas are experiencing significant changes in ice cover, it is believed that their biogeochemical response will likely be quite different due to their distinct physical, chemical, and biological differences.

ICESCAPE integrates field expeditions, modeling, and satellite remote sensing. Research is coupling remotely sensed information to that obtained via state-of-the-art chemical, physical, and biological sensors located in water, on or under ice, and in the atmosphere. Assimilation and synthesis of data will benefit from coupled atmosphere, biology/ecology, ocean, and sea ice linked modeling. ERDC is also characterizing the physical and optical properties of the sea ice cover, including measuring the ice thickness and the ice surface morphology.

The past two years have included field work aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy; 2012 and 2013 will be focused on data analysis and modeling. Such research is giving the world a greater understanding of possible impacts from climate change, especially on such areas of the Arctic that may be a benchmark for environmental changes for the future.

Energy Conservation

Military installations must comply with a growing number of new national and Department of Defense directives to reduce energy consumption, but installations across the nation have thousands of existing buildings built in the days of lower-cost energy that could be targeted for retrofits or other measures to reduce energy demands. To assess buildings for energy-saving opportunities, USACE established a team that includes ERDC and other USACE elements, along with the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to identify potential savings through new technologies.

To help identify energy-saving opportunities, ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) developed the comprehensive Energy and Process Assessment Protocol in coordination with an international standards group and other participants. The protocol describes how to find and assess energy inefficiencies in existing facilities using three levels of audit. This guidance is used to help manage the Energy Engineering and Analysis Program to conduct energy surveys and to provide the rationale for future investments for military installation construction plans.

In the first 24 surveys, 2,369 energy conservation measures were identified. If all are implemented, they would generate an estimated annual savings to the Army of $125.4 million and the capital investment of $438.8 million would see an average simple payback of 3.5 years. Such technologies are providing energy-saving alternatives for our military and techniques that can be used in other government facilities and even in the private sector. Plus, they are making the Department of Defense and our nation less energy dependent and providing a greener environmental footprint for facilities.

Greenhouse Gases and the Environment

All federal agencies have been directed to develop reduction plans and accurate tracking of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to help the environment. Environmental performance requirements include reducing the use of petroleum, electricity, and water consumption, as well as improvements in the use of renewable energy, green buildings, and waste reduction.

USACE has set a comprehensive GHG reduction target for building and transportation emissions of 23 percent by FY 2020. To aid in reaching this goal, USACE engaged its Center for the Advancement of Sustainability Innovations (CASI), based in Champaign, Ill., to build a Sustainability Planning team with experts from ERDC laboratories and other USACE elements.

In 2010, the CASI team helped develop USACE’s first-ever Sustainability Plan and a USACE-specific data collection tool for GHG, energy, and water consumption at the facility level. The CASI team conducted training webinars; developed an Inventory Management Plan; gathered and compiled more than 1,000 USACE project data submissions; archived results; and built data analysis and visualization tools. An energy and GHG calculator provides information for FY 2012 sustainability projects and the FY 2013 USACE budget, and an Energy Management Field Guide provides savings opportunities with upcoming modifications aimed specifically at USACE-unique facilities. Again, USACE research technologies are providing real-world assistance to address energy conservation and environmental issues.