Geobrugg rock-fall protection first to meet ETAG 27

SWISS-based Geobrugg AG say they have produced a world first in the field of rock-fall protection with the introduction of their GBE-500A barrier, which has been designed and tested in compliance with the new ETAG 27 European guidelines – making it the first rock-fall protection barrier in the world to achieve an official ETA (European Technical Approval). This in turn will allow the barrier to receive the appropriate CE marking.

ETAG 27 is the official EU Guideline for European Technical Approval of falling rock protection kits produced by EOTA (European Organisation for Technical Approvals). It was formally published on 1 February 2008 and is the key recognized standard in member states of the EU.

There are three different assessment categories in the Guidelines and the Geobrugg GBE-500A has achieved the most onerous Category A level, whereby the residual height after the initial impact is greater than 50%.

The GBE-500A has an energy-absorption capacity in excess of 500kJ. Other Geobrugg barriers currently being designed and tested in accordance with ETAG 27 include the GBE-1000A, GBE-2000A and GBE-3000A, which will offer energy-absorption capacities of 1,000kJ, 2,000kJ and 3,000kJ respectively.

According to Geobrugg, not only are their GBE barriers specifically designed and tested with ETAG 27 in mind, but they are also notably lighter and significantly quicker and easier to install than the more traditional ring-net-based barriers. A recent demonstration showed that 30m of GBE-500A could be erected in less than 1h using prepared foundations and anchors.

Geobrugg say clients and consultants can now specify and install rock-fall protection barriers which meet current European best practice and provide total confidence that they will protect people and infrastructure as intended.