The 6th China Railway Development Forum, jointly hosted by the China Railway Society and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd., was recently held in Chengdu under the theme “Enhancing Railway Resilience and Sustainable Development through Digital Intelligence.” The event brought together leading enterprises, industry experts, and scholars from renowned research institutions across the railway sector. OST was invited to participate. Ms. Lv Wenjing, Deputy General Manager of OST, delivered a technical presentation titled “Response and Failure Mechanisms of Flexible Protection Systems” at the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation sub-forum, earning strong interest and recognition from attendees.

　　As a pioneer in China’s rockfall protection industry, OST has witnessed and driven the evolution of this technology—from initial introduction to full-scale independent innovation. Since rockfall protection technology was introduced into China in 1995, it has been widely applied to rockfall mitigation across various sectors, with industry standards gradually improving over time. In 2011, OST collaborated with Southwest Jiaotong University to establish China’s first full-scale rockfall impact testing platform. Test results revealed limitations in the 2004 standard product, encouraging a strategic shift in the industry from a “component-based qualification” to a “system-based qualification” approach.

　　During her presentation, Ms. Lv elaborated on the mechanical response and failure modes of rockfall protection systems. She highlighted that barriers dissipate energy and reduce impact forces through large deformation and displacement. Rockfall impact occurs in multiple stages, where both the performance of energy dissipators and the mechanical behavior of the mesh play crucial roles in the system’s protective capability. System failure typically arises from four primary causes: deformation incompatibility, component mismatch, substandard installation, and improper maintenance.

　　Ms. Lv also shared OST’s intelligent monitoring system. Built on more than a decade of full-scale testing data, the system provides a multi-dimensional, lightweight monitoring framework capable of differentiated response monitoring across various rockfall energy levels. With integrated machine vision for real-time field verification, it evaluates impact energy and system conditions while triggering tiered alerts. The system also delivers precise assessments of structural forces under different impact levels, offering comprehensive outputs on interception performance, structural integrity, and trend analysis.

　　OST’s participation in this forum demonstrates not only the company’s strong technical foundation in rockfall protection, but also its commitment to advancing railway disaster prevention and contributing to the industry’s high-quality development. As a professional enterprise dedicated to slope protection engineering, OST continues to champion innovation, actively participate in standard development, and uphold the principle of “knowledge proven through testing.” Looking ahead, OST will further strengthen collaboration with academic and research institutions, continuously refine rockfall protection technologies, and provide more reliable safety solutions for railways and other critical infrastructure projects.