Review of Rockfall Protection Structures

Living in the hilly terrains, rockfall emerges as a significant disaster for the local population. So, the need for rockfall protection structures comes into the picture as urbanization is increasing. Since the terrain is hilly, the modes of connectivity are limited and destruction of them hampers the growth and affects the life of the local people for a long time, therefore the protection of slope is of utmost importance. The protection may be active or passive. The paper reviews the various Rockfall Protection Structures (RPS), giving special attention to the rockfall barriers, an important passive measure. In India, rockfall protection structures used are mostly retaining barriers, flexible nets, and rock sheds. Due to the limitation of the flexible nets the retaining barriers are gaining more popularity. The 2D and 3D software analysis helps in determining the falling velocity of the rock block and the stresses produced due to interaction which will help in the further study of the designing of the rockfall barrier.