Experimental Study on Structural Behaviour of Steel Wire Mesh under Impact Loading

Abstract

In view of application to debris flow/rockfall barrier system, several types of steel wire mesh were selected to verify their basic behaviour under impact load of free fall weight at the controlled testing environment at an in-house testing facility capable of dropping a heavy weight on approximately 1-meter square panel made of such steel wire mesh material. Out of the 3 types of wire mesh tested, high-performance chain link endured the highest impact load energy, while newly developed wire mesh showed a high potential of effectively absorbing the impact energy by its plastic deformation along the total length of wire components. Both of the above two types of wire mesh are expected to be applied in flexible type debris flow catchment system in combination with larger opening mesh such as ring net. The newly developed wire mesh consisting of spirally deformed steel wires behaved as energy-absorbing elements while transmitting the impact load to the supporting ropes by its own plastic deformation along the total wire length.