Use of Multi-Criteria Model to Compare Devices for the Protection of Roads against Rockfall

Many kilometers of roads in mountainside areas have adjacent rock slopes that are prone to rockfall. The analysis of these instabilities is a complex and multidimensional process that requires engineering judgments regarding the choice of a suitable protection device because different alternatives can be used to solve the same problem, taking into account the costs and impact on the environment. Nevertheless, very few tools are available to help designers and decision makers to manage this problem by comparing the various alternatives and by quantifying the advantages or disadvantages of each. For this reason it is important to highlight that the Multi-Criteria Analysis approach, as applied in the Analytic Hierarchy Process technique, is a suitable tool since it considers the various aspects that are involved in the assessment and design of rockfall protection devices. The model presented in this article considers the five most relevant aspects (economic, environmental, design, transport, and social) considered in the process of decision making concerning the choice of a rockfall protection device. Finally, the developed model is applied to a real case of a mountain road that is prone to rockfall phenomena, and the results are presented and discussed

Protection of a tunnel entrance from rockfall risk

In mountainous areas, tunnel portals and job sites for tunnel construction are often located in areas prone to rockfall events. Providing the safety of roads close to tunnel portals, subjected to rockfall risk, is an unavoidable issue that should be taken into account. In this paper, a risk management approach has been introduced to evaluate rockfall risk on the road stretch at the entrance and exit of tunnels. The event tree method is improved to achieve a flexible solution to calculate the rockfall risk for tunnels. Furthermore, some design abacuses are developed to provide the input parameters related to the event tree. Afterwards, a parametrical analysis is presented to explain the methodology. The elaborated approach can be useful to choose best technical solutions and design protection devices against rockfall

Procedura sperimentale per la valutazione dell'effetto del condizionamento del terreno sull'abrasione degli utensili nello scavo con EPB

Una nuova procedura ed attezzatura di laboratrio per lo studio dell'usura degli utensili nella macchina di scavo EPB, è stata progettata, e sviluppata presso il laboratorio "Tunnelling and Undergrouns space" del Politecnico di Torino con il supporto finanziario di UTT Mapei SpA. Il lavoro descrive la nuova apparecchiatura sperimentale in grado di eseguire prove di usura in terreni condizionati e i risultati di prove di taratura eseguite