A new-type flexible rock-shed under the impact of rock block: initial experimental insights

Abstract. A new concept of flexible rock-shed is proposed in this paper. The flexible rock-shed is made of flexible nets held up by a specially designed, steel vaulted structure. A 1:1 prototype is manufactured and tested for functional evaluation with an impact experiment. It is shown that the structure can stand for an impact energy of about 250 kJ without observable rupture of the flexible nets or cables and can be put into service again with some maintenances on the steel vaulted structure. Experimental data such as local strains, peak loads and impact times are recorded by dynamic strain gauges, load cells and a high-speed camera for structural analysis and some complementary suggestions of improving and designing are offered with respect to the joints and components. Finally, the advantages and limitations of the flexible rock-shed are outlined and the limits of the present experimental investigation and the future research for the flexible rock-shed are proposed.