Engineering Measures Using Explosives for the Prevention of Avalanches

Abstract

The writers have previously reported on artificially induced avalanche release to protect roads from avalanche damage. The removal of deposited snow on slope was carried out by using explosives packed in a vinyle chloride pipe and the blasting was done at certain time intervals. The deposited snow on slopes could be removed at will without injuring the slope surfaces by this method, but installations such as rock fences and guard rails along the road were damaged by the impact of falling snow masses or by road crews working to remove the released snow from the roads. At the same time traffic was blocked or restricted.
In order to circumvent the above problems, a compression method (Avalanche prevention engineering) by which the snow cover on the slope is accumulated and blast melted was studied. This avalanche release protection work is applicable to slopes with a gradient of 30-40 degrees. The operation is carried out during the snow fall period to the height of winter when the snow cover is stable. The operation is most effective during this period and the period is safest for the handling of explosives.