Failure behavior and bearing capacity prediction of steel wire-ring nets under rockfall impact using a coordination model-based analysis method

Abstract

Flexible barriers have been widely used to protect against rockfall disasters. Steel wire-ring nets, which are key components of the barrier system and directly bear impacts, present several unresolved issues, including the prediction of tensile-flexural stiffness and energy absorption considering ring-scale mechanical behaviors, as well as failure behavior under rockfall impact. In this paper, a coordination model for the tensile-flexural stiffness and elastic–plastic energy distribution of steel wire-ring nets is established, and the model parameters, including failure criteria, are calibrated through tests. The failure mechanism and resistance capacity evolution of net rings considering the influence of contact radius is revealed. The full-scale impact tests of nets were conducted to verify the accuracy of the model to predict net failure. The study demonstrates that the coordination model incorporating nonlinear factors in ring-scale can accurately reproduce the stiffness development and energy absorption of the net-ring, laying a foundation for predicting the failure of nets. The predicted net failure energy has an error within 5% of the results from destructive impact tests. The shape and impact attitude of blocks significantly influence the net failure energy, indicating potential safety hazards in net design posed by the assumption of a 26-face polyhedron impact block in current standards.