Shut the Dam Road Down! AVERT Barrier System for Hostile Vehicle Mitigation

Abstract Only - International and domestic terrorists are constantly adapting methods of attack to circumvent countermeasures and exploit vulnerabilities. In recent years, the increasing number of vehicle ramming attacks on large crowds in urban environments worldwide has given merit to the hostile vehicle threat (HVT). These threats also extend to critical infrastructure assets that host large open areas accessible by the public. With approximately 1.3 million visitors a year at over 400 lakes and recreational project sites, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces the unique security challenge of developing innovative hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) solutions to protect the dam projects in its Civil Works portfolio against HVT. Originally designed for military applications, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has devoted efforts for the development of a patented Aggressor Vehicle Entry Readiness Technology (AVERT) rapidly-deployable barrier system has been recognized as a viable HVM option. To tailor its functionality and performance to the unique requirements of dams and their large geographical footprint, advanced research on the AVERT system is currently underway. Operational and environmental concerns are being addressed and implemented at the design level. Computational modeling validated by full-scale vehicle ramming testing will be conducted to improve our understanding of the upper and lower performance limits of the system. With a baseline operational and performance spectrum defined, component level design changes can be made to maximize the overall system performance and increase its capability to mitigate heavier vehicles impacting at higher rates of speed.