Meshes — R1 drape and R2 cable panel¶
Two mesh families are supported.
R1 — Drape rock-fall mesh (adhering)¶
Wire mesh held against the slope face by a regular grid of short nails. The mesh exerts an equivalent uniform normal pressure q on the wedge.
Capacity¶
where Tnail is the single nail capacity and spacing_O × spacing_V is the nail grid (typical 3×3 m).
Input fields¶
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Wire φ [mm] | wire mesh diameter (typical 3 mm) |
| Mesh H/V [mm] | wire mesh opening (typical 80×80 mm) |
| Spacing H/V [m] | nail grid (typical 3×3 m) |
| T nail [kN] | single nail capacity (declared by the supplier) |
The card shows the computed q in kN/m². Toggle off "Compute q from parameters" to enter q manually.
Where it enters the analysis¶
R1 contributes a normal force on the slope face. The components R1x, R1y are added to the global Fx, Fy together with the other actions.
Short fixing nails vs structural nails¶
A common question: should the nails fixing the R1 mesh also be modelled as separate passive nails in the Reinforcement section?
- Case A — short fixing nails (do not cross the failure plane): they only hold the mesh. Already represented by
T_nail / mesh_area = q. Do NOT add them as separate reinforcement. - Case B — long structural nails (cross the failure plane, anchor in intact rock): they contribute directly to wedge stability (force K + Clouterre shear). Model both the R1 mesh and the long nails.
Rule of thumb: if the nail length is ≥ 1.5× the depth of the failure plane, it is structural (Case B).
R2 — Cable panel (high-resistance caging)¶
A grid of high-strength steel cables, mobilising a shear capacity τ per metre of section that adds directly to the resisting shear on the failure plane.
Capacity¶
where Tcable is the single cable capacity, n is the number of parallel cables and spacing is the cable spacing in millimetres.
Input fields¶
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Spacing [mm] | cable spacing (typical 600 mm) |
| n cables | number of cables (typical 1) |
| T cable [kN] | single cable capacity (typical 60 kN for φ8) |
Where it enters the analysis¶
R2 adds directly to the resisting τ on the failure plane:
What RockPlane does NOT verify¶
- Punching of the single mesh-nail node (Rpunz) — typically certified by the supplier
- Global tension of the mesh panel (Rtr,mesh) — same
These are internal structural checks of the mesh product, not stability checks of the wedge. RockPlane uses the declared capacity and inserts it as an action / resistance in the planar stability analysis.