A new site in the French Alps for full-scale tests on rock fall protection devices : project and realization

The construction of a device intended for full-scale tests on rock fall protection structures is the achievement of a project driven by the French Ministry in charge of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Planning (MEEDDM) since 1988. This site is the only one of this type in France. It started working in 2009 and is available for companies, design offices, research departments and universities wishing for tests about high stakes issues: technical approval of falling rock protection kits, research ngineering on innovative rock fall protection devices, improvement of knowledge on dynamic behavior of materials, etc.