Winning the war on dust

An erosion-control technique developed here helps helicopters land safely in the Iraq war zone.

When one is driving down a gravel road, dust can be annoying. When someone is trying to land a helicopter in a desert war zone, dust can be deadly.

Rotor downwash kicks up huge dust clouds, blinding the pilot during the final moments of a landing.

Soil stabilization research that started in the sand country around the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences’ Hancock Agricultural Research Station has found a lifesaving application in the deserts of Iraq and Kuwait. The soil-bonding method uses polymers to clump soil particles together into larger granules. Developed to prevent soil erosion from hillsides and construction sites, the method also locks down dusty soils at helicopter landing sites.

Working with the U.S. Marine Corps, Dane County urban conservationist Aicardo Roa-Espinosa, adjunct professor at the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, adapted the technique to desert soils during four days of trials in the Mojave Desert. Soon afterward, the technique hit the ground in the Iraq war.

The technique increases visibility during landings from near zero to nearly 100 percent and reduces the risk that static electricity in the dust cloud will fry onboard electronics.

Early this year Roa-Espinosa received a call from U.S. Marine Corps chief warrant officer Andrew Mikel, who was seeking ways to stabilize desert soils. Mikel had tried commercial soil stabilizers, but none stood up to helicopter propwash. Since he was based in South Carolina, Mikel talked with South Carolina extension agents. They sometimes used acetone, which creates explosive vapors — not a good idea around helicopters. Eventually he heard about Roa-Espinosa’s work.

Roa-Espinosa frequently recommends polyacrylamide applications to prevent erosion on Dane County construction sites. He has worked with polymers to stabilize soils for more than 15 years, but never in a desert environment.

Roa-Espinosa and the Marines tried various techniques before hitting the winner. “We figured out we could spread the polymer granules over the sand, rake it in and spray water on it,” he says.

Crews need less than two hours to prepare a 150-by-150-foot landing area for about $150, vs. thousands of dollars and several days for a concrete pad of equal size. The treated landing pads last up to three weeks in Iraq and Kuwait. Ground crews also use the technique to treat dust around existing concrete landing zones.

Roa-Espinosa says helicopters might eventually be equipped with onboard systems that spray polymers and water, allowing pilots to create landing pads on the fly.

“Thanks to this technique, we were able to eliminate an enemy the Marine Corps was not trained to fight — dust clouds,” Mikel says. “I think this might have helped bring some pilots home to see their kids again.”