Rail Professional Promotion Questions and answers
Armin Roduner, head of the technical department at Geobrugg Geohazard Solutions, Switzerland, talks about his work
R
PM: You are a civil engineer. What is your role at Geobrugg?
Roduner: I am the head of the technical department. There are nine engineers in our department. We focus on researching and developing measures to mitigate against natural hazards. I am in charge of co-ordinating the product testing and design of our systems. In addition to testing the systems, we want to understand the process of the hazard event itself, so that we can tailor the design of the systems accordingly. Each ‘natural hazard’ field has one or two specialist engineers within the department. We also support clients in designing systems for real projects. RPM: Which natural hazards do you have solutions for? Roduner: We are developing systems to mitigate against rock fall, rock and soil slope instabilities, debris flows and shallow landslides, sinkholes, snow slides and snow avalanches. We provide design concepts for most of these hazards.
RPM: How is reduced deflection of rock catch fences relevant for the railway industry?
Roduner: Railway lines are often located in cuttings or along slopes [Fig. 1]. Because of this there is not much space at the toe of the slope. Systems with reduced deflection are more suitable for these situations and site constraints.
(pull) as well as horizontally and vertically in relation to the slope and the forces in the border ropes.
RPM: What is the second main topic? Roduner: It is a research project in the field of slope stabilisation. We are an industry partner to the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research and the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Burgdorf, Switzerland. Thus far, a total of 23 large-scale field tests have been performed with flexible slope stabilisation systems. For this purpose, a 13 x 15 m steel frame was designed, filled with soil material and tilted using a 500 ton crawler crane [Fig. 2 and 3]. Different mesh systems and net coverings combined with a nailing system were used to stabilise the soil material against superficial instabilities. By varying the distance between the nails and the soil materials, we were able to analyse the load-bearing capacity of the different systems in detail, paving the way for an objective system comparison under similar conditions.
RPM: What has Geobrugg been working on most recently in the area of research and development? Roduner: There are two main topics right now. One is a follow-up to our GBE barrier line, which won the GE innovation award in 2011 for its ease of installation, lightweight construction and superior corrosion protection. The follow-up is the successful testing of our RXE barrier line with reduced deflection to address the requirements at railways for example. All systems are fully tested and approved according to the Guideline for European Technical Approval of Falling Rock Protection Kits.
Page 24 February 2014
RPM: In relation to the large-scale field tests for flexible facings you mentioned the comparison of different systems. What has been measured and how is this relevant for the rail industry? Roduner: We were able to measure the loads in the nailing, axial to the nail
The deformations were measured with a laser scanner. Using system- specific spike plates, interesting results have been obtained which will serve as a basis for the verification of the RUVOLUM dimensioning concept and provide tips for practical implementation. This will be relevant for our customers as we have used this information to design and produce new TECCO meshes which will be introduced to the market from 2014 onwards. Designers will be able to optimise protection as appropriate for the prevailing geological conditions. The very successful high tensile steel wire TECCO G65/3 mesh is a diamond- shaped mesh with in-circle opening of 65 mm and wire diameter of 3 mm. The load-bearing resistance of the mesh on puncturing is 180 kN. The high load- bearing capacity makes it possible to increase nail spacings and thus reduce total project costs. The new meshes will be TECCO G65/2 and G65/4 with load-bearing resistance of the mesh on puncturing of 80 kN/m and 280 kN/m respectively. Furthermore, the new meshes allow the nail spacing to be optimised.
RPM: The design will use the RUVOLUM concept. How can designers access and make use of this in their day-to-day work? Roduner: Software for designing according to the RUVOLUM concept is available online. The new TECCO meshes and different spike plates are integrated for design purposes. Users can register online at http://
applications.geobrugg.com. So that designers can find out more about the concept and the range of applications supported, we offer training courses in the UK at regular intervals. The next one will be in March 2014 in Manchester. Visit:
www.geobrugg.com
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