Rockfall full scale field tests

Abstract

The phenomenon of rockfall along slopes is an environmental risk that frequently occurs in mountainous regions. In this phenomenon are directly involved infrastructures (railways, ordinary roads or highway) but also residential areas as well as individual structures are also interested in prevention and defense. Among different types of action taken into account to reduce the risk of rockfall, passive defenses are solutions widely adopted. In this field, the most frequently used are the elasto-plastic steel barriers, while greater resistance are offered by reinforced earth. University of Brescia has developed a special "test field" in Pezzaze (near Brescia) and in 2010 started a research activity with the aim of studying the phenomenon of rockfall both on elasto-plastic passive defenses and on reinforced earth. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.