报告题目：Advanced Rockfall Protection Systems: Flexible Barriers and Embankments
报告嘉宾：DR. Maddalena MARCHELLI, Politecnico di Torino (都灵理工大学), Italy 主 持 人：Federico ACCORNERO
报告时间：2025年11月26日 15：00
报告地点：土木系会议室 (工东301)
报告摘要 (Report Abstract)：
First Section: Rockfall flexible barriers and drapery meshes: European design standards, practical approaches and long-term performance
Rockfall events can cause severe damage to infrastructure and pose significant safety risks, making effective mitigation strategies essential. This seminar provides an overview of the most commonly adopted preventive and protective techniques in Europe. This talk further details the construction, the characteristics and the working principles of drapery meshes and net fences, examining the technologies in use and the European and Italian standards and regulations governing their design and installation. Based on the recent results achieved at Politecnico di Torino, practical design approaches are illustrated and advanced methods are proposed.
In addition to design aspects, the seminar will address critical issues related to installation and maintenance, which are fundamental for guaranteeing long-term effectiveness and safety. A semi-quantitative inspection approach will be introduced to support systematic monitoring and timely interventions, reducing the likelihood of structural failure and optimizing lifecycle performance.
By combining regulatory frameworks, practical design strategies, and maintenance considerations, this seminar offers a comprehensive perspective on two of the most adopted rockfall protection systems, highlighting both current practices and innovative solutions for sustainable risk mitigation.
Second Section: Rockfall embankments: design principles, advanced methodologies, and performance under static and dynamic loads
Rockfall embankments represent one of the most effective solutions for protecting infrastructure from high-energy or repeated impacts. This seminar builds on the previous discussion of rockfall protection techniques but focuses specifically on reinforced earth embankments, highlighting their design principles, performance requirements, and long-term reliability.
An overview of the technologies currently adopted in Europe and the Alpine region will be provided, together with the regulatory framework guiding their implementation. The core of the presentation refers to an advanced methodology for embankment design, recently developed at Politecnico di Torino. This approach integrates analytical and numerical tools and is derived from an in-depth study of the resisting mechanisms of mitigation systems subjected to both static and dynamic loads. The methodology is supported by experimental evidence from reduced-scale impact tests, which provide valuable insights into energy dissipation, deformation patterns, and failure modes.
By combining theoretical foundations, experimental validation, and practical guidelines, this seminar offers a comprehensive perspective on rockfall embankments, emphasizing innovative solutions for sustainable and resilient risk mitigation.
报告人简介 (Personal Biography)：
Maddalena Marchelli is a researcher in civil and environmental engineering, specializing in natural hazards, risk analysis, and mitigation, with a focus on rockfall. She is a recipient of the highly competitive European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01) and currently a Marie Curie Researcher at Politecnico di Torino on the project RIDETHERISK (GA 101103401), investigating fragmentation processes in rockfall propagation and risk analysis in mountain and mining contexts. As part of this project, she spent 1.5 years conducting research at the Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, University of Newcastle, Australia.
Previously a fixed-term Assistant Professor and postdoctoral fellow at Politecnico di Torino, she has focused for over eight years on risk analysis and the design of structural mitigation measures. After earning her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering on debris flow, her research shifted to rock slope instability phenomena. She is co-responsible for the Rockfall Protection Engineering Research Center and an active member of the Multidisciplinary Interdepartmental Center SISCON at POLITO.
She has authored 65 publications (36 in international peer-reviewed journals and 29 in conference proceedings) and contributed to 28 research projects funded by the EU, national and local governments, and industry. She serves on the editorial boards of two peer-reviewed journals, Environmental and Mining Geoengineering and Geosciences, and reviews for several international journals. She has participated in scientific and/or organizing committees for 10 conferences (3 national, 7 international).
She holds the Italian scientific qualification for Associate Professor in both “Excavation Engineering” and “Geotechnics.” Since 2018, she has been an adjunct professor at Politecnico di Torino, supervising 14 master’s theses and co-supervising 2 doctoral students.。
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工学院
2025年11月19日
