New analysis method for personal protection equipment for use on via ferrata

Climbing on fixed—rope routes (via ferrata) in alpine mountains has become a very popular sport in the last decade. Special safety equipment is mandatory for this activity and numerous shock-absorbing devices are available on the market.

To date no deep understanding of the functioning principles and therefore on the influences of external factors on the performance of the devices is known for any of the shock absorbers sold on the European and international markets.

This investigation presents a systematic test programme in order to evaluate the influence of the major parameters on the performance of these safety systems. These are the type of the braking system, the fall height, and the mass of the climber.

A calculation method is presented which allows the user to predetermine the performance that is to be expected of a specific shock-absorbing device in a particular situation. The analytical findings are validated by a systematic test series. Drop tests have been performed with different braking systems (multi-hole brake plate and V-notch brake plate), test masses (55 kg, 80 kg, and 100 kg), and fall heights (2.0 m, 3.5 m, and 5.0 m). The influences of these parameters on the braking process, peak force, and braking length are shown; the validation showed a deviation between model and experiment of 1.9 per cent.