29 September 2019
Délégation United States Air Force
Cerema’s Experimentation & Research Centre (CER) boasts unique skills in developing life-size geotechnical testing sites. Thanks to these skills, it was immediately able to meet the technical needs of the United States Air Force (USAF) as part of the “Odyssey” project, conducted in partnership with Rouen University (UMR M2C), Sorbonne University (UMR METIS) and École des Ponts ParisTech (UMR Navier).
Cerema research

News from the ENDSUM: Non-Destructive Testing of Structures and Materials
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The Odyssey Project

Project Odyssey compares the geophysical properties of soils, obtained in a high-yield non-destructive manner, with their geotechnical properties, obtained through destructive spot testing. The aim is to use geophysics to keep the number of geotechnical measurements required to a minimum, in order to determine the load-bearing capacity of different soils when landing large aircraft.

The American delegation was made up of military personnel from the Air Force Research Laboratory. They were met by the CER and ENDSUM research team managers, who introduced them to Cerema, its heavy machinery, and the work it is carrying out as part of the Odyssey project. 

Designing a life-size experimental structure

As part of the project, Cerema proposed creating an experimental control structure which, combined with geotechnical tools, could be used to study the load-bearing capacity of natural soils when landing large aircraft. Another aim was to assess the extent to which geophysical methods could be used to reduce the need for this kind of testing.

Planche expérimentale
Experimental surface

Experimental surfaces 33m long and 5m wide are currently under construction at the CER facility. The surface will be composed of three layers of loam, following the process described below: 

  • Clearing of the test area and compaction of the embankment surface

  • Construction of the first layer of loam

  • Series of tests

  • Repeat for layers 2 and 3

  • Additional series of tests

 

Geophysical readings (mainly electromagnetic) were taken in parallel during the construction phases.

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Cerema research

News from the ENDSUM: Non-Destructive Testing of Structures and Materials
Learn about the team, their challenges, its members, and the latest news......  by consulting his page