20-ton concrete block caught in a rockfall protection net

In the test field for rockfall protection nets in Walenstadt, the research institute Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft (WSL) in collaboration with Geobrugg AG set a new world record on the 10 October 2011.

From a height of 42 m, a 20-t concrete test body travelling at 103 kmh impacted into a newly developed high-performance protection net from the company Geobrugg AG, Romanshorn. The impact energy was 8,000 kJ, about 60% more than the previous limit for the performance of high-performance protection nets of 5,000 kJ.