• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.49-60
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• 2009

In order to develop a new rockfall protection fence using high carbon steel wire rod (HSWR) material instead of the conventional wire rope material, the author has conducted the laboratory strength tests of both materials and their connections, and carried out evaluation of absorbing rockfall energy through the vertical field rockfall tests. The vertical filed rockfall tests showed that the new rockfall protection fence with 12 rows of the HSWR could absorb more rockfall energy than 50 kJ which stands for the typical design criteria. In addition, when the quantity of HSWR was increased up to the 16 rows, the capacity of absorbing energy was greatly improved. The new rockfall protection fence was successfully applied to the highway rock-cut slope. As a result of the filed application, its constructability was similar to the conventional fence, but its total image was improved as simple and clean. The total construction cost was saved up to 20% in comparison with the conventional one.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.373-381
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• 2014

It is difficult to predict the magnitude of a rockfall with respect to the shape, volume, and weight of the rock mass, as a rockfall exhibits erratic behavior that depends on the slope geometry, such as the height and dip of the slope. In this study, a field survey was conducted on the slopes of Ulleung-Do, South Korea, where rockfalls frequently occur along coastal roads, to classify the mode of rockfalls and estimate their magnitude. This study also analyzed the effects of rockfall behavior on roads by applying a simulation technique. Agglomerate and trachytic rocks distributed across the study area produce rockfalls in a differential weathering rockfall mode and a toppling rockfall mode. In terms of rockfall weight, trachytic rockfalls were 2-3 times heavier than agglomerate rockfalls. An analysis of rockfall behavior from the simulation indicates that the impact energy on the road exceeded the absorbing energy of a standard rockfall protection fence; however, the rockfall was secured when a ring-net was applied.