Study on the combination measurement of rockfall embankments and rock shed on steep slopes

With the widespread construction of railways, many mountainous single-line railway yards need to be expanded, and existing protection measures against rockfall are inadequate to protect stations and other infrastructure following expansion. Based on the actual engineering background, in this paper the movement trajectory of falling rocks on a high and steep slope is simulated using RocFall software, and the bouncing height, movement speed and impact energy of falling rocks are derived. According to the numerical simulation results, the rockfall protection measure of rockfall drapery systems plus the combination of rockfall embankments and rock sheds is proposed. The structure of a rockfall embankment–rock shed is a new type of combined protection measure, in which the rockfall embankments are built on top, with the existing rock shed or new portal foundation and top plate working as the lower foundation. This study shows that this new combination structure can resist the impact of falling rocks with a high factor of safety; the effective interception height of rockfall embankments is increased and the problem of rockfall crossing is solved with the construction of rockfall embankments on top of a rock shed or portal foundation.