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Rockfall Protection Embankment
A rockfall protection embankment is an earthwork built in elevation with respect to the ground to intercept falling rock fragments before elements at risk such as roads and buildings are reached. This term is widely used in the rockfall community but the terms ''bunds'' and ''walls'' are sometimes used as alternatives. Comparison with other passive mitigation structures Rockfall protection embankments belong to the family of passive rockfall protection structures, comprising flexible barriers or galleries in particular. They are intended for rockfalls with kinetic energies up to tens of megajoules and are preferred over flexible barriers when the design impact is higher than 5000 kJ. Their declared advantages over other passive rockfall mitigation structures are low maintenance costs and reduced visual impact. Nevertheless, they are not appropriate on steep slopes and their construction generally requires extensive space and accessibility for heavy vehicles. History The very ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megajoule
The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applied. It is also the energy dissipated as heat when an electric current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second. It is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule (1818–1889). Definition In terms of SI base units and in terms of SI derived units with special names, the joule is defined as One joule can also be defined by any of the following: * The work required to move an electric charge of one coulomb through an electrical potential difference of one volt, or one coulomb-volt (C⋅V). This relationship can be used to define the volt. * The work required to produce one watt of power for one second, or one watt-second (W⋅s) (compare kilowatt-hour, which is 3.6 megajoules). This relationship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geotextile
Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain. Typically made from polypropylene or polyester, geotextile fabrics come in two basic forms: woven (resembling mail bag sacking) and nonwoven (resembling felt). Geotextile composites have been introduced and products such as geogrids and meshes have been developed. Geotextiles are durable and are able to soften a fall. Overall, these materials are referred to as geosynthetics and each configuration—geonets, geosynthetic clay liners, geogrids, geotextile tubes, and others—can yield benefits in geotechnical and environmental engineering design. History Geotextiles were originally intended to be a substitute for granular soil filters. The original, and still sometimes used, term for geotextiles is ''filter fabrics''. Work originally began in the 1950s with R.J. Barrett using geotextiles behind precast concrete seawalls, under precast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geogrid
A geogrid is geosynthetic material used to reinforce soils and similar materials. Soils pull apart under tension. Compared to soil, geogrids are strong in tension. This fact allows them to transfer forces to a larger area of soil than would otherwise be the case. Geogrids are commonly made of polymer materials, such as polyester, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene or polypropylene. They may be woven or knitted from yarns, heat-welded from strips of material, or produced by punching a regular pattern of holes in sheets of material, then stretched into a grid. The development of methods of preparing relatively rigid polymeric materials by tensile drawing, in a sense "cold working," raised the possibility that such materials could be used in the reinforcement of soils for walls, steep slopes, roadway bases and foundation soils. The principal function of geogrids is for reinforcement. This area, as with many other geosynthetics, is very active, with a number of different products, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabion
A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping. For erosion control, caged riprap is used. For dams or in foundation construction, cylindrical metal structures are used. In a military context, earth- or sand-filled gabions are used to protect sappers, infantry, and artillerymen from enemy fire. Leonardo da Vinci designed a type of gabion called a ''Corbeille Leonard'' ("Leonard basket") for the foundations of the San Marco Castle in Milan. Civil engineering The most common civil engineering use of gabions was refined and patented by Gaetano Maccaferri in the late 19th century in Sacerno, Emilia Romagna and used to stabilize shorelines, stream banks or slopes against erosion. Other uses include retaining walls, noise barriers, temporary f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockfall
A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity/sheets of rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of mine or quarry workings. "A rockfall is a fragment of rock (a block) detached by sliding, toppling, or falling, that falls along a vertical or sub-vertical cliff, proceeds down slope by bouncing and flying along ballistic trajectories or by rolling on talus or debris slopes." Alternatively, a "rockfall is the natural downward motion of a detached block or series of blocks with a small volume involving free falling, bouncing, rolling, and sliding". The mode of failure differs from that of a rockslide. Causal mechanisms Favourable geology and climate are the principal causal mechanisms of rockfall, factors that include intact condition of the rock mass, discontinuities within the rockmass, weathering susceptibility, ground and surface water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traffic Barrier
Traffic barriers (sometimes called Armco barriers,AK Steel (formerly Armco) genericized trademark also known in North America as guardrails or guard rails and in Britain as crash barriers) keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent them from colliding with dangerous obstacles such as boulders, sign supports, trees, bridge abutments, buildings, walls, and large storm drains, or from traversing steep (non-recoverable) slopes or entering deep water. They are also installed within medians of divided highways to prevent errant vehicles from entering the opposing carriageway of traffic and help to reduce head-on collisions. Some of these barriers, designed to be struck from either side, are called median barriers. Traffic barriers can also be used to protect vulnerable areas like school yards, pedestrian zones, and fuel tanks from errant vehicles. While barriers are normally designed to minimize injury to vehicle occupants, injuries do occur in collisions with traffic barriers. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Road Infrastructure
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of roads, including parkways, avenues, controlled-access highways (freeways, motorways, and expressways), tollways, interstates, highways, thoroughfares, and local roads. The primary features of roads include lanes, sidewalks (pavement), roadways (carriageways), medians, shoulders, verges, bike paths (cycle paths), and shared-use paths. Definitions Historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or some maintenance. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines a road as "a line of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels", w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protective Barriers
A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recognized border is known as a border barrier. David Henley opines in ''The Guardian'' that separation barriers are being built at a record-rate around the world along borders and do not only surround dictatorships or pariah states. In 2014, The ''Washington Post'' listed notable 14 separation walls as of 2011, indicating that the total concurrent number of walls and barriers which separate countries and territories is 45. The term "separation barrier" has been applied to structures erected in Belfast, Homs, the West Bank, São Paulo, Cyprus, and along the Greece-Turkey border and the Mexico-United States border. In 2016, Julia Sonnevend listed in her book ''Stories Without Borders: The Berlin Wall and the Making of a Global Iconic Event'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
