Vehicle Dynamics and Terrain Impacts Across Multiple Passes.

This study, conducted at Fort Riley on a clay loam soil, evaluated the terrain impacts of 4 common tracked and wheeled military vehicles: the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, HMMWV, HEMMT, and M113 APC. Disturbed width and impact severity were assessed along 14 spirals subjected to a maximum of eight consecutive passes for a total of 696 impact points. Understanding multipass vehicle dynamics will allow base land managers to determine with high accuracy the extent and severity of vehicle terrain impacts on military training areas, and quickly evaluate vehicle environmental impacts when used in conjunction with a GPS-based vehicle tracking system (VTS).
The goals of this project were to evaluate the vegetation impacts of tracked and wheeled military vehicles across multiple passes, to develop coefficients allowing more accurate predictive modeling of vehicle impacts, and to add to the growing body of literature associated with anticipating, modeling, and predicting the impacts of military vehicles on training installations as part of comprehensive management programs. Preliminary data suggest that multiple passes produce increased vegetative impacts, and indicate multipass coefficients ranging from 1.0 to 2.6.