Review of Approval of Flexible Rockfall Protection Systems According to ETAG 027

Abstract

In 2009, the European Guideline for Flexible Rockfall Protection Kits European Technical Approval Guideline 027 (ETAG 027) became valid. The aim of the guideline was to approve and certify steel barriers available on the market according to a common standard. In 2018, ETAG 027 was replaced by a so-called European Assessment Document (EAD). This contribution summarizes results and experiences that were obtained through the type testing, approval and assessment procedures of 66 protection systems evaluated between 2009 and 2018. Apart from the common main task of the barriers to stop falling blocks successfully, the different test conditions and constructions of barriers result in different performance characteristics. Some of these characteristics follow certain trends, whereas others show a wide range without any trend. In such a case, this contribution helps to classify a single system compared to the others.