Ring Net Rockfall Barrier	Wire Rope Mesh Rockfall Barrier	Spiral Rope Mesh Rockfall Barrier

Passive Rockfall Protection Barrier System

A rockfall protection system with the appropriate strength characteristics and height can be designed. Wire rope net rockfall protection barriers of varying designs have been engineered with the proven ability to withstand impact kinetic energies ranging from 81 kJ (30 ft-tons) for the simplest of designs, to a maximum of 1,000 kJ (369 ft-tons). The actual design load chosen for each site and system should be the simplest possible, but such that little or no repair of the system will be required after impacts, other than occasional cleaning and other minor maintenance.

Figure 1 shows a typical wire rope net barrier design. Each of the system components and the system as a whole is designed to emphasize flexibility and energy dissipation. The one exception to this point is the columns, which only serve to support the nets and cables. During a rock hit, kinetic energy is transferred from the nets to the support wire ropes and finally to the anchors. In the case of energies approaching the system design limits, the friction braking elements will activate, further dissipating kinetic energy.