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Researchers at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), working in the field of vehicle mobility, have developed methods to predict the physical interactions of vehicles with soil surfaces. This set of methods use research conducted at the ERDC over the last 40 years to predict the physical interactions of vehicles and terrain surfaces under all seasons. Methodologies to measure pertinent terrain properties and assess vehicle performance have also been developed. Much of the work focused on practical applications and is the result of extensive vehicle performance testing and the subsequent analysis of the test results. While there have been attempts to identify and characterize soil media properties using standard soil classification techniques and to assess their effects on vehicle mobility using classical soil mechanics and other theoretical approaches, the current state-of-the-art is such that these approaches have limited practical application.

The Future Combat System Operational Requirements Document requires that manned and unmanned ground vehicles be capable of negotiating gaps 1.5- to 4.0-meters wide. Gaps include both natural and manmade obstacles. Overcoming battlespace gaps requires the ability to effectively conduct four tasks: prediction, definition, avoidance, and defeat. The inability to overcome gaps within the theater of operations will significantly impair the Future Force's responsiveness, agility, and sustainability. Researchers at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), working in the field of vehicle mobility have developed methods to predict the physical interactions of vehicles with terrain mechanics. This physics-based simulation method uses research conducted at the ERDC to combine historical empirical laboratory and field evaluations with lumped parameter and numerical analysis to develop a simulated environment of the terrain.