Effects of Microtopographic Features on Tilt of the Wide Area Mine Ground Platform
Abstract
Under the Proof of Principle Program for development of the Wide Area Mine (WAM), the US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station was responsible for characterizing terrain features expected to affect the WAM performance. The off-vertical angle of the WAM ground platform (tilt) erected on the terrain surface will affect several critical functions of candidate WAM systems. Digital terrain elevation data of adequate spatial resolution (2-ft horizontal spacing) was not available to accurately estimate the distribution of tilt angles for the WAM ground platforms. Actual tilt measurements were therefore made on pre- erected (legs locked in pulse) WAM surrogates (mass models) on four terrain surface types representing managed and agricultural lands. Mean tilt angles ranged from 2 deg for meadowland to almost 11 deg for a freshly plowed and rowed field. The Textron Defense System WAM exhibited a slightly larger mean and standard deviation of tilt angle than the Honeywell, Inc., WAM for each terrain surface type; however, this difference was statistically significant in only one of the four cases. Because this study did not consider the ground platform erection process, these data should not be interpreted as tilt angles resulting from realistic deployment of WAMs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA237421
Entities
People
- Bruce Sabol
- Tommy Berry