Abstract
This article investigates the mechanical response of slender rockfall protection embankments subjected to impacts based on real-scale experiments. More specifically, it deals with rectangular (in cross-section) vertical-sided gabion structures, designed to meet footprint constraints. These three-layered structures, 3 m in width and 4 m in height, are made up of gabion cages filled with different materials, depending on their location in the structure. Real-scale experiments were conducted with impact energies up to about 2000 kJ on two structures differing by the fill material used for their middle layer: ballast or sand–tire mixture. The experiments demonstrate the capacity of these slender structures in resisting high-energy impacts. The response of the structures is also addressed considering data obtained using different measuring techniques and a large number of sensors within the structure. The results are presented and discussed with the aim of highlighting some issues associated with the structure impact response, such as the load lateral diffusion, stone breakage, the contribution of the wire mesh, and the fill material characteristics. In the end, a structure with a middle layer filled with ballast appears more efficient in reducing the structure back face displacement.
Highlights
Protection against rockfall may be achieved by civil engineering structures built perpendicular to the slope, such as embankments, fences, or concrete barriers
The other limitation with embankments, in particular over fences, is the large volume of building materials, which is critical where the natural slope is not stable or where the onsite materials are not suitable for this aim (e.g., Simmons et al 2009; Lorentz et al 2010). In this context, optimizing rockfall protection embankments with the aim of reducing their volume and footprint is a challenging issue. This was addressed in the framework of the research project REMPARe, considering gabion structures to serve as rockfall protection embankments
The results presented clearly reveal that after the 500 kJ impact test, gabion cage deformation is observed within the structure as well as crushing of the front layer fill material
Summary
Protection against rockfall may be achieved by civil engineering structures built perpendicular to the slope, such as embankments, fences, or concrete barriers. The studies differ by the gabion fill materials, structure dimensions, and boundary conditions, as well as rock block incident kinetic energy Some of these experiments in particular addressed the influence of the fill material characteristics (Heymann et al 2010; Amato et al 2015; Ng et al 2018) or repetition of impacts (Heymann et al 2010; Ng et al 2016, 2018; Su et al 2018). For cost reasons, the test configurations do not cover the wide variety of energy ranges and existing structure types These experiments provided very limited data related to the embankment response during the impact, while this would be of great value when developing numerical models of these structures, as those presented in Ronco et al (2009) and Breugnot et al (2015). The results are presented and discussed in particular with the aim of highlighting some trends and mechanisms observed and that are considered as having an influence on the structure impact response
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
