FR3032463A1 - PROTECTIVE BARRIER AGAINST THE FALL OF DEVALEMENT MATERIALS, IN PARTICULAR STONES AND ROCKY BLOCKS - Google Patents

Abstract

Barrier (1) for protection against falling materials, in particular stones, comprising: - several posts (2) guyed in different directions, upstream, downstream and laterally, by means of stay cables (30 , 31, 40, 41, 42, 43) attached to downstream (50), upstream (51) and lateral (52, 53) anchor points; - a mesh (7) mesh suspended in the upper part of at least one upper edge cable (70), held in the lower part at least one lower edge cable (71) and maintained laterally to side edge cables (72) wherein the or each top edge cable is attached to the pole heads (21), and each side edge cable extends between the lower and upper edge cables; - side-connecting cables (81, 82) attached on the one side to the side edge cables at a distance from the lower and upper side cables and on the other side to lateral anchor points (52) to ensure lateral tensioning of the net.

Description

The present invention relates to a barrier for protecting against falling materials, particularly stones and boulders. More particularly, it relates to a barrier for braking and stopping the downing, or dropping, of loose materials along a slope for the purpose of protecting people and / or buildings below. Such barriers are, on a non-exclusive basis, used in mountainous, steep or ravineous areas to protect roads, paths, dwellings, railways, bridges or other structures threatened by falling rock or rock scree from slopes or overhanging cliffs. It is known, particularly from patent applications FR 2 629 492 and FR 2 669 047, to provide a barrier incorporating guyed posts (or masts) supporting a mesh retaining net; such a barrier, sometimes referred to as a net screen, a block fillet or a rockfill net, having the advantage of offering a lightweight implantable structure in areas that are difficult to access. Conventionally, such a barrier comprises several guyed posts in different directions, upstream, downstream and laterally, by means of foot and head struts respectively connecting the feet and the heads of the poles to points. anchoring to the ground; these posts may possibly be inclined relative to the slope of the ground. It is also known that the barrier comprises a generally metallic mesh net, suspended in the upper part from an upper curb wire, held in the lower part to a lower curb wire and held laterally to side cords where the cog bottom edge is attached to anchor points, the top edge cable is attached to the column heads, and each side edge cable has an upper end 30 attached to a head of a pole or a top edge cable and a lower end attached to a lower edge cable. The meshes of the net are more or less extensible to absorb a portion, or even the essential, of the impact energy of the material or materials in the course of intercepting the net. However, the Applicant has sometimes observed, in particular because of the accumulation of small stones on the net, a sliding phenomenon of the net towards its center along its upper edge cable and / or its shore cable. lower, also called "curtain effect". This leads to a reduction in the lateral span of the net, thus limiting the surface of interception of the materials in the process of falling down and thus increasing the risk of seeing materials bypass the net. The object of the present invention is to solve this problem by proposing a barrier which limits or even avoids this sliding phenomenon of the net. For this purpose, it proposes a protection barrier against the fall 10 of materials downhill, including stones and boulders, said barrier comprising: - several posts guyed in different directions, upstream, downstream and laterally by means of stays attached to anchor points on the ground, said anchor points comprising downstream anchor points, upstream anchor points and lateral anchor points; - a mesh net suspended in the upper part of at least one upper edge cable, maintained in the lower part at least one lower edge cable and maintained laterally to side edge cables, where the or each upper edge cable is attached to column heads, and each side edge cable 20 extends between the lower and upper edge cables; this barrier being remarkable in that it furthermore comprises lateral connecting cables fixed, on the one hand, on the side edge cables at a distance from the lower and upper edge cables, and, on the other hand, on points respective lateral anchoring, in order to ensure lateral tensioning of the net, where on each lateral side cable is fixed at least one lateral connecting cable. Thus, these lateral connecting cables, preferably stretched between the lateral anchoring points and the side edge cables concerned, will retain laterally, on the right and on the left, the net, preventing the latter from sliding towards the center. Side-to-side cables are attached to the side edge cables away from the lower and upper edge cables, in the sense that these side-to-side cables are not attached to these lower and upper edge cables in order to be able to pull side edge ropes that will deform between the lower and upper rim wires. Within the meaning of the invention, it is understood by "downstream" a position downstream of the net in the direction of the slope on which the barrier is located, by "upstream" a position upstream of the net in the direction of the "Lateral" a position on the sides, on the right and on the left, of the net, by "upper part 5" a position closer to the upper edge wire than the lower side wire, and by "lower part" a position closer to the lower edge wire than the upper edge wire. Within the meaning of the invention it is stated that on each side edge cable is attached at least one lateral connecting cable, which means that each side edge cable can be tensioned by one or more lateral connecting cables which are attached to him. According to one characteristic, the or each lower edge cable is docked substantially at ground level (so that the net does not let objects pass underneath), and to do this the or each bottom edge cable 15 is fixed for example at anchor points, particularly upstream anchor points, or at the foot of the posts. Advantageously, considering that each side edge cable has a given length between the lower and upper edge cables, each side connecting cable is attached to a point of the corresponding side edge cable located at a distance from the upper side cable which is equal to or greater than one quarter of the said length and at a distance from the lower edge cable that is equal to or greater than one quarter of the said length. Such a configuration ensures a good lateral tensioning of the net. According to one characteristic, for each side edge cable, at least a first lateral connection cable and a second lateral connection cable are respectively fixed in the upper part and in the lower part of said side edge cable. Thus, each side edge cable is doubly retained laterally by the first and second side seam cables, to further prevent slippage of the net towards its center. It is of course conceivable to have only one lateral cable for side-side cable connection, or even to have three or more lateral junction cables 35 per side-side cable. According to another characteristic, the first lateral connecting cable is fixed on a high point of the side edge cable located at a distance from the upper edge cable of between a quarter and a half of the said length, and the second connecting cable The sidewall cable is attached to a low point of the side edge cable located at a distance from the bottom edge cable of between one quarter and one half of said length. In a particular embodiment, for each side edge cable, the first and second side-connecting cables are attached to a common lateral anchor point.

In a particular embodiment, for each side edge cable, the first and second side connecting cables are formed of a single common connecting cable which has a loop fastened to the common lateral anchor point and from which two strands forming said first and second lateral connecting cables.

Advantageously, the lateral junction cables are attached to their respective lateral anchor points via energy dissipating devices. An energy dissipating device constitutes a device for a cable stressed in tension, which is able to absorb all or part of the traction energy experienced by the cable and to release the length of cable beyond a certain threshold traction; such an energy dissipating device being in particular known from documents EP 1 302 595, FR 2 736 638 and FR 2 959 288, we will usefully refer to these documents for more details on such energy dissipating devices. Thus, during interception of down-stream materials, a portion of the impact energy is absorbed by these energy dissipating devices connected to the side-junction cables. According to a possibility of the invention, for each common junction cable, its loop is fixed to the corresponding common lateral anchoring point via the energy dissipating device. According to another possibility of the invention, the stay cables comprise side head stays which are, on the one hand, connected to the heads of the two end posts placed on the sides and, on the other hand, fixed on the same Lateral anchorage points as side junction cables. According to another characteristic of the invention, the stay cables comprise other lateral head stays which are, on the one hand, connected to the heads of the two end posts placed on the sides and, on the other hand, , attached to other lateral anchorage points, separate from the lateral anchorage points to which the lateral connecting cables are attached. The present invention also relates to the feature that the or each lower rudder wire is attached to upstream anchor points or pole legs, and the stays include downstream head stays and upstream head stays connecting the uprights. heads of the columns at respectively downstream anchor points and upstream anchor points. Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following detailed description of two nonlimiting exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended figures, in which: FIG. 1 is a view in schematic perspective of a first barrier according to the invention, with a partial representation of the mesh of the net to simplify the reading; FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a second barrier according to the invention, without representation of the meshes of the net to simplify the reading; FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of part of the first barrier of FIG. 1; Figures 4 to 7 are zoomed views of respective areas IV, V, VI and VII of Figure 3; FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of part of the second barrier of FIG. 2; FIG. 9 is a zoomed view of the zone IX of FIG. 8.

In each of the two embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, the barrier 1 comprises several posts 2 aligned, with two end posts 2 placed on the sides, on the right and on the left, and one or more central posts 2 framed by the 2 end posts. The posts 2 are all identical, arranged at regular intervals, inclined with respect to the direction of the slope and articulated multi-directionally with respect to the ground. Each post 2 comprises a foot 20 at its lower end and a head 21 at its upper end. Each post 2 is composed of a hollow tube, in particular of cylindrical section, and is made of metal. The posts 2 are guyed in different directions, upstream, downstream and laterally, by means of foot struts 30, 31 and 3032463 6 head struts 40, 41 respectively connecting the feet 20 and the heads 21 of posts 2 at ground anchor points 50, 51, and more specifically at downstream anchor points 50 and at upstream anchor points 51. Each post 2 comprises at its foot 20 two transverse fingers 5 22 lower opposing, and comprises at its head 21 two pairs of upper transverse fingers 23 opposite two by two. The foot 20 of each post 2 is held by a downstream foot strut 30 and two upstream foot struts 31, respectively fixed to a downstream anchor point 50 and two upstream anchor points 51. These foot struts 30 , 31 form loops engaged around the foot 20, passing under the lower transverse fingers 22, and provide a sufficiently flexible support of the post 2 to allow a multi-directional articulation of the latter relative to the ground, around a rod (no visible) planted in the ground in the extension of the post 2. The head 21 of each post 2 is further maintained by a downstream head stay 40 and two upstream head stays 41 fixed respectively at their lower ends to a point downstream anchor 50 and two upstream anchor points 51. These head stays 40, 41 form, at their upper ends, loops engaged around the head 21, passing between the upper transverse fingers 23. As visible on 4, the upstream head stays 41 are fixed at their upper ends to the heads 21 of the posts via respective energy dissipating devices 6. In other words, the upstream head stays 41 comprise, at their upper or upper portions, respective energy dissipating devices 6. On the other hand, the downstream head stays 40 are devoid of energy dissipating devices. Furthermore, the head 21 of each end post 2, on the right and on the left, is also maintained by a first lateral head stay 42 and a second lateral head stay 43 fixed respectively at their lower ends to a first lateral attachment point 52 and a second lateral attachment point 53. The two lateral attachment points 52, 53 are offset in the direction of the slope, with the first lateral attachment point 52 located closer to upstream than the second lateral attachment point 53.

In the embodiment of Figures 1, 3 and 4, the side head stays 42, 43 are formed of a common cable which has a loop 30 engaged around the head 21, passing between the upper transverse fingers 23, and from which two strands form these two side head stays 42, 43. In this embodiment, these side head stays 42, 43 are devoid of energy dissipating device. Although not illustrated, it is conceivable for the loop 44 to be fixed to the head 21 of the concerned pole 2 via an energy dissipating device. In the embodiment of Figures 2 and 8, the side head stays 42, 43 are formed of two separate cables and their upper ends are fixed to the heads 21 of the relevant posts 2 via respective energy dissipating devices 6. In other words, the side head stays 42, 43 comprise, at their upper or upper portions, respective energy dissipating devices 6. The number of upstream anchor points 51 is equal to the number of posts 2 plus one, the length intervals between these upstream anchor points 51 are equal to the length intervals between the posts 2, and the upstream anchor points. 51 are offset with respect to the posts 2 by a half-interval in length. The downstream anchoring points 50 are, for their part, located substantially in front of the posts 2. The lateral attachment points 52, 53 are arranged substantially on either side of the line of alignment of the posts 2. The barrier 1 further comprises an elongate thread 7, the meshes of which are extensible. These meshes can be formed of interleaved metal rings, more or less deformable, or by knitting of metal cables as described in particular in the patent application FR 2 839 322. The net 7 25 is suspended in the upper part at least one cable of upper bank 70, maintained in the lower part at least one lower bank cable 71 and maintained laterally, on the right and left, side bank cables 72. These bank cables 70, 71, 72 are engaged in the meshes of the 7. The upper edge cable 70 is attached to the heads 21 of the posts 2 30 and extends from the post 2 end right to the end post 2 left. The upper edge cable 70 forms at its two ends loops engaged around the heads 21 of the end posts 2 and passing between the upper transverse fingers 23. This upper edge cable 70 may consist of a single cable , or several sections of cables 35 extending between neighboring posts 2. If this upper edge cable 70 is composed of several cable sections, then these sections have at their two ends, loops engaged around the heads 21 of the posts 2, and passing between the upper transverse fingers 23. In the illustrated examples the barrier 1 comprises a plurality of lower rim cables 71, where each lower rim wire 71 is attached at both ends to upstream anchor points 51, both ends being each equipped with an energy dissipating device 6 More specifically, each lower edge cable 71 has an end attached to a first upstream anchor point 51, extends and passes next to a second upstream anchor point 51 adjacent to the first anchor point 51, 10 without being attached to the second upstream anchor point 51, and has another end attached to a third upstream anchor point 51 next. Each lower edge cable 71 may be attached to the upstream anchoring points 51 via energy dissipating devices 6. Thus, each lower edge cable 71 has a length substantially equivalent to twice the gap between two points of the earth. Upright anchoring 51. The lower rim cables 71 are identical, and are laterally offset by a gap corresponding to the spacing between two upstream anchor points 51. Thus, the number of lower rim cables 71 is equal to the number of posts 2 minus one.

Barrier 1 includes a side edge cable 72 on the right and a side edge cable 72 on the left. Each side edge cable 72 extends between the lower edge 71 and upper 70 cables and has an upper end attached to the head 21 of the end post 2 concerned, in particular by forming a loop engaged around the corresponding head 21. . Each side edge cable 72 passes inside a ring 73 tightened around a lower edge cable 71, and positioned to the right of the corresponding end post 2. This ring 73 forms a deflection towards the rightmost (or left) upstream anchoring point 51, and the side edge cable 72 has a lower end attached to this upstream anchor point 51. lower end of each side edge cable 72 is equipped with a power dissipating device 6; this energy dissipating device 6 may be specific to the side edge cable 72 or may be shared with the lower edge cable 71 provided with the ring 73 return. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the lower curb cable 71 provided with the ring 73 and the side curb cable 72 are connected to a common energy dissipating device.

The barrier 1 also comprises central cables 74 extending between the lower rim 71 and upper 70 cables, substantially parallel to the two side rim cables 72, where these central cables 74 are engaged in the mesh of the net These central cables 74 have the main function of sewing between two adjacent net portions, intertwining between the meshes of the net portions. Each central cable 74 may be positioned in line with a corresponding central post 2, at the right of an upstream anchoring point 51 or at any position along the barrier 1.

The barrier 1 also includes lateral connecting cables 81, 82 fixed on the one hand to the side edge cables 72 and, on the other hand, to the respective first lateral attachment points 52. More specifically, the barrier 1 comprises four lateral connecting cables 81, 82 with two connecting cables 81, 82 on each side.

For each side edge cable 72, a first lateral connecting cable 81 and a second lateral connecting cable 82 are fixed, at their upper ends, respectively in the upper part and in the lower part of the side edge cable 72, and are fixed at their lower ends respectively on the same first lateral attachment point 52.

Considering that each side edge cable 72 has a given length between the lower and upper edge cables 71, 70 (this length substantially corresponding to the width or height of the thread 7), whether to the right or to the left: the first lateral connecting cable 81 is attached to a high point 810 of the side edge cable 72 located at a distance D1 from the upper edge cable 70 of between a quarter and a half of this length, and - the second connecting cable lateral 82 is fixed at a low point 820 of the side edge cable 72 located at a distance D2 from the lower edge cable 71 of between a quarter and a half of this length.

In the examples of FIGS. 3, 6, 8 and 9, whether to the right or to the left, the first and second lateral connecting cables 81, 82 are formed of a single common junction cable 8 which has, in part low, a loop 83 fixed on the first common lateral anchor point 52, and from which two strands forming these first and second lateral junction cables 81, 82.

In the example of FIGS. 1, 3 and 6, the loop 83 of the common junction cable 8 is fixed directly to the first common lateral anchor point 52, without any energy dissipating device. On the other hand, in the example of FIGS. 2, 8 and 9, the loop 83 of the common junction cable 8 is fixed to the first common lateral anchor point 52 via an energy dissipating device 6. The first and second cables lateral junctions 81, 82 are tensioned between the side edge cables 72 and the respective first lateral anchor points 52, thus ensuring lateral tensioning of the thread 7, thus eliminating any "curtain effect" for the thread 7. Of course the implementation example mentioned above is not limiting and other improvements and details can be made to the barrier according to the invention, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the lower edge cables may be referred to downstream anchor points and / or the side edge cables may be referred to lateral anchor points, such as this is described in the patent application FR 2 736 368. It is also conceivable, in a variant not shown, that the lower edge cable or cables are fixed on the feet of the posts, instead of being fixed on the points upstream anchor as described above with reference to the figures.

Claims (12)

REVENDICATIONS1. Barrier (1) for protection against falling materials, including stones and boulders, said barrier (1) comprising: - several posts (2) guyed in different directions, upstream, downstream and laterally, by means of stays (30, 31, 40, 41, 42, 43) attached to anchor points on the ground, said anchor points comprising downstream anchor points (50), dots upstream anchoring (51) and lateral anchoring points (52, 53); - a mesh (7) mesh suspended in the upper part of at least one upper edge cable (70), held in the lower part at least one lower edge cable (71) and maintained laterally to side edge cables (72) wherein the or each upper rim wire (70) is attached to the pole heads (21), and each ridge wire (72) extends between the lower and upper rim wire (71, 70). ; said barrier (1) being characterized in that it further comprises lateral connecting cables (81, 82) fixed on the one hand on the side edge cables (72) away from the upper and lower edge cables (71, 70) and, on the other hand, at respective lateral anchor points (52), to provide lateral tensioning of the net (7), where on each side edge cable (72) is fixed at least one lateral connecting cable (81; 82). 2. A barrier (1) according to claim 1, wherein, considering that each side edge cable (72) has a given length between the lower and upper edge cables (71, 70), each lateral connecting cable (81 82) is attached to a point (810; 820) of the corresponding side rake wire (72) at a distance from the upper rim wire (70) that is equal to or greater than one quarter of the said length and at a distance of lower edge cable (71) that is equal to or greater than one quarter of said length. A barrier (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein for each side edge cable (72) at least one first side-connecting cable (81) and a second side-connecting cable (82) are fixed 3032 463 12 respectively in the upper part and in the lower part of said side edge cable (72). A barrier (1) according to claims 2 and 3, wherein the first lateral connecting cable (81) is attached to a high point (810) of the side edge cable (72) located at a distance (D1) of the upper edge cable (70) between one-quarter and one-half of said length, and the second side-connecting cable (82) is attached to a low point (820) of the side-edge cable (72) at a distance ( D2) of the lower edge cable (71) between a quarter and a half of said length. Barrier (1) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein, for each side edge cable (72), the first and second lateral connecting cables (81, 82) are fixed on a lateral anchoring point (52). ) common. 15 Barrier (1) according to claim 5, wherein, for each side edge cable (72), the first and second lateral connecting cables (81, 82) are formed of a single common connecting cable (8). which has a loop (83) attached to the common lateral anchor point (52) and from which two strands forming said first and second side-connecting cables (81, 82). A barrier (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lateral connecting cables (81, 82) are attached to their respective lateral anchoring points (52) via energy dissipating devices (6). ). 8. Barrier (1) according to claims 6 and 7, wherein for each common cable junction (8), its loop (83) is fixed to the corresponding lateral anchoring point (52) via the dissipating device 30 d energy (6). 9. Barrier (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the stays (30, 31, 40, 41, 42, 43) comprise side head struts (42) which are, on the one hand, connected to the heads (21) of two end posts (2) placed on the sides and, on the other hand, fixed on the same lateral anchoring points (52) as the lateral joining cables (81, 82 ). Barrier (1) according to claim 9, in which the stays 5 comprise other lateral head stays (43) which are, on the one hand, connected to the heads (21) of the two end posts (2). placed on the sides and, on the other hand, fixed on other lateral anchoring points (53), distinct from the lateral anchoring points (52) on which the lateral connecting cables (81, 82) are fixed. 10 A barrier (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each lower rim wire (71) is attached to upstream anchor points (51) or feet (20) of the posts (2). ), and the stays (30, 31, 40, 41, 42, 43) comprise downstream head stays (40) and upstream head stays (41) connecting the heads (21) of the posts (2) to respectively downstream anchor points (50) and upstream anchor points (51). 12. A barrier (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the stays (30, 31, 40, 41, 42, 43) comprise downstream foot struts (30) and upstream foot struts (31). ) connecting the legs (20) of the posts (2) to respectively downstream anchor points (50) and upstream anchor points (51).