The role of falling rock protection barriers in the context of landslide risk analysis and mitigation

In this paper, the authors investigate the behaviour of the falling rock protection barrier at present installed within the territory of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (PAB). Information relevant to the description of these structures are found in the complete inventory of all rockfall protection works, recently developed by PAB (VISO). Based on these data, suitably integrated with the available technical documentation and in situ surveys, a set of FE models was developed to predict the response of such structures to the impact of blocks of known kinetic energy. The models were designed so that the results could be interpreted to evaluate the effectiveness of existing barriers toward any possible rockfall event, in terms of structure deformation and forces developed at the foundations and anchoring points. This study forms part of the research activities of the European project PARAmount: imProved Accessibility, Reliability and safety of Alpine transport infrastructure related to MOUNtainous hazard in a changing climate.