SnowMicroPenetrometer Applications for Winter Vehicle Mobility

The U.S. Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Military Engineering Program on Remote Assessment of Infrastructure for Ensured Maneuver (RAFTER) Boreal Aspects of Ensured Maneuver (BAEM) identifies the need for modeling over-snow vehicle performance, as many factors related to vehicle setup and land surface condition contribute to vehicle efficiency. Accurately estimating snow macromechanical characteristics—such as elastic modulus, stiffness, and strength—is critical for understanding how effectively a vehicle will travel over snow-covered terrain.