ABSTRACT
A number of different gravity driven hazards (shallow landslide, rockfall, snow slides), threaten the safety of people and infrastructure. Combined shallow landslide and rockfall hazards are a common situation for unstable slopes: the steep flanks of landslide slopes are often sources of rockfalls. Moreover, the erosive action of a shallow landslide can remove soil and vegetation cover down to the underlying bedrock, exposing further potential for rockfall events. In this contribution we discuss the challenges in designing protection measures that can cope with both shallow landslides and rockfalls, each one characterized by different load cases. Shallow landslides impact with spreading pressures that load gradually, while rockfalls impact punctually with high velocities. We discuss the findings of number of full scale experiments investigating different load case; a finite element simulation software FARO used in the design of flexible wire protection systems will be presented.
