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31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

GUARD installed at Sassella for Rhaetian Railway (RhB)

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

Rockfall protection above a tunnel portal at Magnacun (RhB), also remotely monitored by a GUARD

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

The GUARD is suitable for rockfall, avalanche and debris flow barriers; here at Magnacun

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

The GUARD is compatible with protection systems of various manufacturers

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

Information about the state of the barrier is continously delivered and visible on the dashboard (barrier at La Livera)

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

South of Poschiavo town, impact in January 2023: A block of 0,82 m³ hit the barrier. The GUARD triggered an alarm - as defined for impacts of this size.

Monitoring - 31 GUARDs for the Southern Canton of Grisons 2022

Inspection of the impacted barrier, protected railway line underneath

 
 

Year of installation

2022

Initial situation

Graubünden is the largest canton in Switzerland in terms of area. For infrastructure operators, it was time-consuming to monitor the condition of protective structures such as rockfall barriers, debris flow barriers or avalanche protection fences.

The Rhaetian Railway RhB and those responsible in the Canton of the Grisons have identical needs: To know their installations’ state and safety status.

Within the framework of an Innosuisse research project, the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden. the Office for Forests and Natural Hazards of the Grisons and the Rhaetian Railway RhB are working together: To use remote monitoring to efficiently and reliably assess the condition of flexible protective structures.

Description

Together with the company Geobrugg, 31 GUARD devices were installed: in the Upper and Lower Engadine and Poschiavo (Puschlav). The actual installation time is a few minutes in each case. The journey time is significantly longer. In the future, however, it is precisely here that facilitations are expected.

The devices were attached to rockfall barriers, debris flow barriers and avalanche barriers from different manufacturers. Via the cellular network, the devices send decades of environmental and physical data, for example, on corrosion, load or impacts. The data is collected and processed on an online platform; it can also be accessed via cell phone. The responsible parties are alerted in some instances, such as load increases or impacts.

Country/Region

Switzerland

Customer

Rhätische Bahn / Amt für Wald und Naturgefahren Graubünden / Fachhochschule Graubünden

Protected object

Road, Railway, Touristic infrastructure

Your local contact

Kevin Coyle
 

Kevin Coyle

Regional Manager Northeast

Natural Hazards
Hydraulic Engineering
Geobrugg North America, LLC,3 Beaudet Terr,CT 06237 Columbia / United States Regional Manager Northeast

E-Mail

Saleh Feidi
 

Saleh Feidi

Natural Hazards
Hydraulic Engineering
Geobrugg North America, LLC,8921 Emperor Ave.,91775 San Gabriel, California / United States

E-Mail

John Kalejta
 

John Kalejta

Natural Hazards
Hydraulic Engineering
Geobrugg North America, LLC,KS 67226 Wichita / United States

E-Mail

Bob Lyne
 

Bob Lyne

Natural Hazards
Hydraulic Engineering
Geobrugg North America, LLC,8004 Windspray Drive,NC 27358 Summerfield / United States

E-Mail

Pierce Runnels, Civil Engineer
   

Pierce Runnels

General Manager Geobrugg North America

Natural Hazards
Geobrugg North America, LLC,22 Centro Algodones , Civil Engineer General Manager Geobrugg North America

E-Mail

Tim Shevlin
 

Tim Shevlin

Natural Hazards
Geobrugg North America, LLC,OR 97302 Salem / United States

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