On the design of rockfall protection galleries

Galleries are common measures to protect roads and railways from rockfall, which is a relevant natural hazards in mountainous regions. The aim of this research is to provide a better understanding of the dynamic response of rockfall protection galleries in order to improve the prediction accuracy of their impact load capacity. Therefore, an analytical model based on a system of multiple degrees of freedom is proposed. The model allows for a performance based design predicting both, shear and bending failure of the slab structure due to impact. In order to verify and calibrate the model, various tests from small to large-scale were performed. The small-scale tests were used to evaluate the adequate test setup for laboratory research. In midscale tests different cushion layers were evaluated and in particular the performance of the measurement equipment was evaluated. Large-scale tests in a scale 1:2 provided the required data to calibrate the analytical model. In the last series punching tests were performed with different boundary conditions and a smaller loading area.