Set in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the Keweenaw Research Center (KRC) is ideal for cold weather testing as it receives over two hundred and fifty inches of snowfall annually. Combined with Michigan Tech, the KRC is a unique and affordable resource for applied research and testing, utilizing experienced full-time staff and Michigan Tech faculty to provide engineering solutions to industries both foreign and domestic. Click here to visit the KRC website.
Areas of Expertise
- Computer Based Modeling and Analysis
- Vehicle Testing & Evaluation
- Laboratory Based Evaluation and Testing
- Snow and Ice Research
- Noise, Vibration and Harshness Testing
The Keweenaw Research Center uses high level computers for solid modeling, rapid prototyping, computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis, dynamic systems analysis and simulation. With a broad range of the latest software and optimized computing power for the quickest, most accurate solutions, the combination of software, hardware, and experience makes KRC the ideal place for advanced computing needs.
With a long history in vehicle testing and evaluation, the KRC’s continuously evolving test course can be inexpensively configured to meet the customer’s specific testing and vehicle needs. Complete instrumentation and portable data acquisition makes vehicle testing and analysis efficient and accurate. Field and vehicle support personnel are available to ensure productive testing for a variety of vehicles, in a range of environments. The vehicle testing grounds offers space for large vehicle testing, off-road courses, winter testing for durability, traction, tire performance, stability, and handling. There are also obstacle and customized courses available to test vehicle suspension and drive train in sand, snow, mud, or pavement.
In the laboratory-based evaluation and testing situations, the KRC is able to test and evaluate almost any component using experimental procedures, custom setups and ASTM standards. The facilities at KRC enable testing to be done in almost any environment with any load condition. A large array of materials testing can be performed at the Keweenaw Research Center including composites and elastomers with instrumented testing and full data acquisition and material analysis.
Whether it involves winter maintenance of roads and runways, anti-icing and deicing, mobility in snow with vehicles ranging from army tanks to snowmobiles, or the development of pavements made entirely from snow, our engineers and scientists are ready to tackle the problem at the KRC’s Institute of Snow Research. The unique weather conditions on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, coupled with a large array of equipment and facilities, makes the Institute the right place to bring your research questions.