LAUSR

Abstract Flexible catch fences are widely used to protect infrastructure like railways, roads and buildings from rockfall damage. The wire meshes are the most critical components for catch fences as they dissipate most of the impact energy. Understanding their mechanical response is crucial for a catch fence design. This paper presents a new method for testing the wire meshes under rock impact. Wire meshes with different lengths can be used and the supporting cables can be readily installed in the tests. It is found that a smaller boulder causes more deformation localisation in the mesh. Longer mesh length makes the fence more flexible. Under the same impact condition, the longer mesh deforms more along the impact direction and shrinks more laterally. Supporting cables can reduce the lateral shrinkage of the mesh effectively. Most of the impact energy is dissipated by stretching of the wires. Wire breakage has not been observed.