1

MAC.RO
(Maccaferri Rockfall Protection System)
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1) Type of surface instability
2) Mitigating effects using a rock fall barrier system
3) Mitigating effects using a netting system
4) Considerations about the performance of a drapery system
Problem
To analyze how instability is originated and methodologies for a proper use
of drapery and rock fall barrier systems.
Factors affecting the performance of drapery and rock fall barrier systems
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SURFACE INSTABILITY OF
ROCK SLOPES
Relates to the external surface
without affecting the overall slope
stability
Concerns only the loose portion of
the rock surface
In few cases they can be described by
simple kinetic mechanisms
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SURFACE INSTABILITY OF SURFACE INSTABILITY OF
ROCK
ROCK
SLOPES
SLOPES
SURFACE INSTABILITY OF
SOIL SLOPES
5
TYPES OF POSSIBLE
INSTABILITY
Falling of small blocks
Falling of large blocks
Instability of the
whole slope
A
B
Collapse and
deep instability
C
D
Surface instability:
relates to external
rock surfaces
without affecting
the overall stability
of the slope
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PASSIVE PROTECTION Mitigation of instability effects
ACTIVE PROTECTION Instability prevention
PROTECTING FROM SURFACE INSTABILITY
CORTICAL STRENGTHENING
LOCAL CONSOLIDATION BY NAILING-ANCHORING
SIMPLE DRAPERY SYSTEMS
TRENCHES, EMBANKMENTS, BARRIERS
SOIL NAILING
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MORPHOLOGY OF UNSTABLE SLOPES
Obtain actual site measurements
C) Vertical slope
A) Regular slope B) Inclined slope
with some vertical
steps
D) Intermediate / complex situations
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ROCKFALL
PARAMETERS AFFECTING THE DESIGN OF
BARRIERS AND EMBANKMENTS :
FALLING
ENERGY
FALLING
VELOCITY
HEIGHT OF
IMPACT
BEST LOCATION
ALONG THE SLOPE
OPERATIVE PROBLEMS
DURING THE
INSTALLATION
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FALLING VELOCITY
A=Broken
barrier
A = Sacrificial Barrier
B = Effective barrier
Higher velocities (i.e. 35-40 m/s) are assumed to make
one barrier collapse under the impact.
In such case multiple barrier lines shall be used: the
first sacrificial line will break dissipating the block, the
second barrier will stop it.
Barriers are certified for
velocities up to 30 m/s.
VELOCITY VS HEIGHT OF FREE FALL
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 20 40 60 80
HEIGHT OF FREE FALL [m]
V
E
L
O
C
I
T
Y
O
F
F
A
L
L
[
m
/
s
]
range of
velocity
on slope
l
i
m
i
t

o
f

f
r
e
e

f
a
l
l

f
o
r

b
a
r
r
i
e
r
high velocity
afterwards
impact and
explosion
of boulders
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FALLING ENERGY
Energy of a falling rock:
E= E + Ek
Ek = translational energy = M
v
2
M = block mass
v = translational velocity
E = rotational energy = I
2
I = inertia moment
= angular rotational velocity
The most effective energy is the translational one which is normally 80% (or higher) than the total
kinetic energy.
The rotational energy is around 10-20% of the total energy and is related to the shape of the
block.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
5 15 25 35 45 55
HEIGHT OF FREE FALL [m]
E
N
E
R
G
Y
[
k
J
]
1.0 m3
1.5 m3
2.0 m3
3.0 m3
'
TRANSLATIONAL ENERGY
VS HEIGHT OF FREE FALL
0
5 15 25 35 45
N
R
G
[
J
]
1.0 m3
1.5 m3
2.0 m3
3.0 m3
'
range of
used
barriers
range of
used
barriers
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
t
n
o

f
r
e
q
u
e
n
t
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FALLING ENERGY
h
E 1/ 3 m g h
E = potential energy
m = mass
g = gravity 9.81 m/s
2
h = falling height
VELOCITY VS VOLUME OF A FREE FALL BOULDER
WITH CONSTANT ENERGY LEVEL
-
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0
13.0
14.0
15.0
10 15 20 25 30
VELOCITY (m/s)
V
O
L
U
M
E
(
m
3
)
-
W
E
I
G
H
T
2
6
.
5
k
N
/
m
3
E=250
E=1000
E=2000
range of
used
barriers
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HEIGHT OF IMPACT
Topographic
section with the
rock tracks
STEP
STEP
FLY
FLY
The barriers must be higher than the path
of falling boulders.
We must take into account:
A) A statistical approach cannot forecast
100% of the events
B) Simulation gives the trajectory without
considering the actual boulder
dimensions.
C) There is ratio between the
height of a rockfall barrier and its
energy dissipating capacity
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Topographic section
with the rock tracks
Slopes with moderate gradient:
Structure: Embankment
(double sided Reinf. Soil. Structures
to limit space occupancy)
Slopes with steep gradient:
Structure: Flexible barrier.
Slopes with very steep gradient:
Structure: Flexible barriers or
Rockfall canapee (shelter), in
case of energy dissipation
requirements higher than 3000
kJ
LOCATION AND TYPE OF STRUCTURE ALONG THE SLOPE
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A
B
C
D
The most favorable morphology
should be chosen:
Barriers are less effective when
built in ditches or at the bottom
of vertical rock slopes.
high: boulders have low velocity; they
roll and make a series of low jumps.
The assembly of the barrier is easy
because close to the road
D
high: boulders have low velocity; they
roll and make a series of low jumps
C
low: boulders can jump over the barrier
B
low: boulders with high velocity can
pierce the barrier. Boulders can jump
over the barrier
A
QUALITY LOCATION
LOCATION ALONG THE
SLOPE
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For a rockfall barrier location, the
following needs to be verified:
Minimum distance between barrier
and road (or building) to be protected
Presence of walls, slopes
Irregularities of the slope profile
Rockfall barriers shall be installed
at more than 10 m from road or
infrastructures.
Good location
D
Barrier foundation in proximity of a
retaining structure. Not admitted
C
The boulder can skip the barrier. Not
admitted
B
Too close to the road. Not admitted
A
QUALITY POSITION
SOIL
WALL
WALL
BOULDER
SOIL
ROAD
D C
B A
LOCATION ALONG THE
SLOPE
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INSTALLATION
ISSUES
Is it possible to remove
unstable blocks by scaling?
Is it possible to cut trees
before installation of the
mesh or rockfall barriers?
Are there access roads?
Where are they in relation
to the slope to be
protected?
What are the installation
requirements?
Road
Are there any
restrictions regarding
possible use or need
to use a helicopter ?
(presence of electrical
lines or cables etc.)
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POST INSTALLATION ISSUES
Maintenance ensures
efficective protection.
The customer must be
informed about
maintenance
requirements.
1. Periodical visual inspections to check
barriers
2. Periodical removal of the debris at the
back of barriers or embankments
3. Repair of the active-passive
protections (and check the state of the
anchoring system )
4. Check the dissipation system
especially when under heavy load
from high level of snow
5. Check barrier after fire events
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Advantages and limitations of drapery systems
Low power equipment
normally can be used
Uncertainty of the
geomechanical model
Low durability and high
maintenance costs
It only affects rock surface
instability
Reasonably low costs
No special site equipment
required
Easy to install
Low visual impact
Easy to design
Can solve most common
types of instability
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
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Netting performance
Wire mesh tensile and punching
resistance
Steel tensile strength
Stiffness (elongation)
Different performance in the
cross directions (anisotropy)
Resistance to chemical
degradation
Difficulties in the installation
process
KEY FACTORS AFFECTING INSTALLATION
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Deformation of the mesh
The load direction results by the
movement of small blocks
The wire net will deform because of:
1) Uneven pressure on the mesh
due to the slope irregularities
2) Untightened anchors allowing
mesh movement around it
3) Strain of the mesh
The steel resistance will start to be effective when all deformations
with small loads have occurred.
The higher the stiffness the more effective the drapery system i The higher the stiffness the more effective the drapery system i s s
KEY FACTORS AFFECTING INSTALLATION
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Most used types of netting.
Cable
mesh
panels
Simple
twist wire
mesh
Double
twist wire
mesh
Steelgrid
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LOAD TRANSFER
Load is transferred to the
closest anchor points.
S.T. WIRE MESH PANELS CABLE MESH PANELS
Load is transferred to the
anchor points along
diagonal directions
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BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Confining
lines
anchors
Cable mesh panels: load is
transferred along the
diagonal directions .
The border cable doesnt
improve the performance
Wire mesh rolls:
connection along
the longitudinal
boundaries is
important

Steelgrid provides
additional restraint
through the
longitudinal cables
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DEFORMABILITY OF MESH
Hexagonal wire mesh an
cable panel
High strength is developed
at low strain rates, enabling
more uniform stress across
the netting plane
Best to provide high
surface holding capacity.
Simple twist wire mesh
High strength is developed
at higher strains, when
fractured rock is partially
(or already) dislodged.
Best to build fences.
-
+
d
e
f
o
r
m
a
b
i
l
i
t
y
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Around anchor
points the stress on
the wire mesh may
be fairly high.
Wire mesh strength on the anchor points
Excessive stiffness
on the single wire
may result in local
wire failures!
The mild steel wire
used in the double
twisted mesh will
strain without
rupturing.
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Ductility vs slope morphology
Wire mesh drapery systems require to conform to the slope contours to perform effectively.
Double twisted mesh may be easily stretched sideways minimizing overlapping areas along the
joint lines, hence minimizing the quantity of rolls improving the effectiveness of the adhesion at
the same time.
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Manual drilling: anchor depth up to
3-4 m (typical for reinforced
drapery systems)
Light Drilling
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Direction of the perforation downwards:
typical of 10-20m anchor depths, up to
30m depth for weak rock soils. Used to
consolidate slopes (sometime in
reinforced drapery systems as well)
Deep drilling
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Anchor
performance
Steel tensile strength
(yielding) and shear
resistance
Typical steel bar
characteristics
(threading, hollow bars,
available attachments)
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Concrete grouting of anchors
Practical solutions
for operations on rock
face
Adhesion of
grouting to the rock
Resistance
to chemical /
physical
degradation
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?
?
Correct installation practices
Lack of reference standards or regulations may lead
contractors to perform incorrect installations.
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trench
Simple drapery
system with
longitudinal
cables
Simple drapery systems are provided with top
anchors.
Top anchors dont have structural function.
Wire mesh mainly holds the small size rocks (up
to 0.5m diameter for the double twisted mesh ).
A trench at the bottom of the slope is al ways
recommended.
Simple drapery
system with
trench
Simple drapery
system with vertical
cables
Vertical cables
woven in the
wire mesh
(SteelGRID)
enable to
transfer more
load to the
upper anchors
improving the
drapery
overall
effectiveness.
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It is not relevant to consider
the dynamic action of blocks
falling between the mesh and
the slope:
it is considered only in
particular applications or it
means that the design was
not accurate.
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Cortical strengthening
Cortical strengthening
systems are provided
with a regular anchor
pattern.
Anchors are placed to
improve the stability of
the rock surface.
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Background:
Underground a few cms of sprayed
shotcrete is sufficient to stabilize an
excavation and prevent block
detachment.
The shotcrete is enough to prevent
the mutual movement between the
blocks and therefore increase the
rock mass resistance (Hudson &
Harrison, 1997).
Conceptually the mechanism to be
considered to consolidate a
superficial instability is the same: to
prevent the movement between the
blocks.
For slope cortical strengthening the function of shotcrete is
performed by the anchors. The function of the mesh is to develop
a local holding effect for the small rocks and transfer the holding
effect across the anchor points for the larger blocks
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Thank you
for your kind attention