Instrumented Below Ground Biomass Sampler.

Numerous studies have been completed investigating the effects of vehicle trafficking on terrain and how soils and soil conditions affect the mobility of military vehicles. The majority of these studies however were conducted on non-vegetated soils. The purpose of the Optimal Allocation of Land for Training and Non-Training Uses (OPAL): Vegetation Effects on Soil Strength and Trafficability project is to investigate the effects of heavy vehicle trafficking on vegetated soils and assess the impacts of vegetation, specifically grass, on vehicle mobility (S.Shoop et al., 2010). During 2011 summer research, a below ground undisturbed biomass sampler were redesigned. The instrument was designed at first instance to take measures of cut load and sample depth on soft soil. A redesign was needed to accomplish the mission of taking below ground biomass samples on hard soils such as compacted sand with grass and clay with grass using this instrumented sampler. Some of the improvements to the apparatus were made to prevent the torque applied on the load cell while testing. Also a system that carries two people (during a test) instead of one was needed to be able to apply more load. SolidWorks software was used to sketch the improvements before building. The instrument redesign was successfully completed and tested on this summer trafficking session with reliable results.

Keywords: vehicle trafficking, vegetated soils, soil strength, biomass sampler, design