Degradation of rockfall barriers

Rockfall protection barriers play a crucial role in mitigating the risk associated with rockfall events in mountainous areas. However, their long-term performance can be significantly affected by material degradation due to environmental exposure, mechanical stress, and corrosion processes. This thesis investigates the degradation mechanisms that compromise the structural integrity and efficiency of rockfall barriers over time. A comprehensive review of existing studies and degradation models is provided, highlighting current limitations in predicting long-term behavior, in addition an overview on the principal's protection solution, zinc coatings, is presented. To support the analysis, a series of photografic real-world case study of safety devices are presented, aimed at illustrating the visible manifestations of material degradation. For each site, the environmental corrosivity class was identified in accordance with ISO 9223:2012 "Corrosion of metals and alloys - Corrosivity of atmospheres - Classification, determination and estimation". Based on this classification, the corrosion rate of the zinc coating was estimated to assess the expected material loss over time. The analysis provides valuable insight into the correlation between environmental exposure and the observed deterioration patterns, emphasizing the importance of considering site-specific atmospheric conditions in the durability assessment and maintenance planning of rockfall protection system.