Geotechnical Monitoring – "Schwarze Schneid" Gondola

Project: Geotechnical Monitoring – "Schwarze Schneid" Gondola
Location: Rettenbachferner - Sölden, Tirol, Austria

Conceptual formulation
The instructions of the Ötztaler Gletscherbahn for the construction of the new "Schwarze Schneid" gondola were crystal clear: build a glacier cableway, but don't build it on ice! A conventional solution such as constructing cableway supports that float on the ice would have been too expensive because of major movements in the Rettenbach glacier and the associated need to repeatedly adjust the cableway supports.

Implementation
The moveable cutting wedges made of steel are fitted with load cells to record the pressure exerted against the front faces of the foundation. Further critical parameters such as the temperature within the foundation, the inclination of the support and the operational status of the heating system are constantly monitored electronically and transmitted to operations management. From the data thus obtained, operations management and geologists in charge are provided with the information they need to initiate load relief measures and to cope with similar challenges in the future.

[Translate to English:] Ausführung
Die stählernen Schneidekeile sind mit Kraftmessdosen versehen, um eintretenden Druck auf die Stirnflächen des Fundaments zu registrieren. Weitere kritische Parameter wie die Temperatur im Fundament, die Neigung der Stütze und der Betriebszustand des Heizsystems werden ständig elektronisch überwacht und in die Betriebsleitung übermittelt. Die hier gewonnenen Daten liefern Planern und Geologen wertvolle Informationen für ähnliche Herausforderungen in der Zukunft.