KRC has an established record of competency and maintains a broad physical infrastructure to support current and future ground vehicle technological development. For over six decades, KRC has conducted extensive research, development, analysis, simulation, laboratory testing, and vehicle testing under numerous commercial and US government contracts. The center has developed the capabilities crucial to evolving military assured mobility and maneuver support doctrine, as well as supporting commercial and recreational ground vehicle development.
Capabilities at the main KRC facilities are extensive and readily accessible. Testing is conducted in all four seasons. Our engineers routinely provide daily test result briefings and can change test plans quickly to adapt to a dynamic environment. Experienced reconditioning of soil, snow, and ice covered surfaces establishes consistent and repeatable testing surfaces for comparing products and vehicles in all seasons.
Using the latest instrumentation and data acquisition systems, staff readily provide quick, on-site review of field test results. KRC researchers possess expertise with several acquisition systems and sensors. These data collection efforts allow the acquisition of mechanical motions, loads, strains, operating temperatures, accelerations, and/or acoustic emissions collected under normal and abnormal vehicle conditions. This experience not only develops data acquisition expertise but also refines the development of analysis techniques. These methods are aimed at evaluating and solving durability, noise, vibration, mobility, and general performance problems unique to wheeled and tracked vehicles. These efforts also allow KRC engineers to possess intimate knowledge of the performance metrics, dynamic loading, and duty cycle conditions for a range of vehicle systems.
General List of Capabilities:
- experienced staff well-versed in ground vehicle testing
- test course construction and reconditioning
- large vehicle receiving, maintenance, and repair
- military relevant equipment
- physical characteristics
- standard automotive and mobility evaluations
- purpose built mobility and durability test courses
- summer and winter surface characterization
- reliability and maintainability (RAM) testing
- verification and validation assessments
- safety assessments
- vehicle-terrain-human interaction
- unmanned vehicle mobility evaluations
- structured and unstructured vehicle performance evaluation
- test driver training
- procedural development, test planning, and coordination
- SAE and ATEC recognized
- virtual and physical simulation with geospatial terrain data base
- extensive data acquisition capacity
- wireless data transmission
- sensor integration and development
- multi-channel high-speed data acquisition
- noise, vibration, and sound quality analysis
- instrumentation and data analysis software
- elastomer testing and characterization
- high-energy (blast) test site with relevant charge capacity
- high-speed motion and data acquisition sensors and instrumentation
