SPIDER is a net woven from spiral rope made of high-tensile steel wire: it holds loose blocks, rock outcrops and overhanging masses in place with plates and anchors. The same system logic as TECCO, higher puncture resistance; dimensioned with RUVOLUM.
What it does
SPIDER is a high-tensile net woven from spiral rope instead of wire mesh. The three-wire spiral rope gives a higher puncture resistance than single-wire mesh; that is why it is used on rock faces with loose blocks, on rock outcrops, on overhanging masses and to secure individual large blocks. The net is pressed onto the surface with plates and anchors and pretensioned; it follows the topography closely and does not let material collect behind it.
The member of the same family for soil and weathered rock slopes is the TECCO SYSTEM3 wire mesh; both share the same plates, nails and dimensioning logic. The system is a Geobrugg AG product; Artusa has been Geobrugg's representative in Türkiye since 2009.
Components
| Component | Data (manufacturer's product information) |
|---|---|
| Net | Three-wire spiral rope, wire tensile strength ≥ 1,770 N/mm²; diamond mesh |
| Panel connection | Panels are joined without overlap, laced or clipped together; edges with knotted ends, no exposed cutting wire |
| Plate and anchor | The system plate tightened on the nail or anchor pretensions the net; flexible plate on soil, dimensioned for the geotechnical parameters |
| Corrosion protection | Manufacturer's aluminium-zinc coating; stainless steel option for aggressive environments |
When SPIDER, when TECCO
| Situation | Choice |
|---|---|
| Soil, weathered or finely jointed rock; sliding parallel to the surface | TECCO G45/2, G65/3 or G65/4 |
| Blocky rock, outcrop, overhanging mass, surface with high puncture risk | SPIDER spiral rope net |
| Single large block | SPIDER panel + anchors around the block |
The decision is made by the block size distribution and the discontinuity geometry of the rock mass, measured during the survey.
Dimensioning
The manufacturer's RUVOLUM concept checks sliding parallel to the surface and local breakout between two nails separately; the static verification covers puncturing of the net, combined loads on plate and anchor, shearing of the net by the plate at the upper edge, and the force that can be transferred parallel to the slope from the net to the nail. Earthquake and groundwater pressure can be added as load cases. The nail spacing is the result of the calculation; there is no fixed spacing by product name.
Installation and acceptance
Surface scaling, nail drilling and grouting, unrolling and joining the panels from top to bottom, tightening the plates to pretension the net, edge ropes if needed. At acceptance, plate seating and nut torque, number and length of nails, panel joints and, where the specification requires it, the pull-out test record are checked; the result is entered on the line's barrier tag. Periodic inspection looks for new loosening under the net, loose plates and accumulation at the toe: inspection, maintenance and service life.
Sources: Geobrugg AG product information (SPIDER, TECCO SYSTEM3, RUVOLUM).