Improved Features for Temporary High Security Fencing

The need for temporary high security fencing is becoming more and more prevalent. Special high security events at local, state, and federal levels are now commonplace, creating a demand for temporary high security fencing for crowd control and to close off restricted areas.

Markus Erbeldinger, Ph.D., product & engineering manager with AMICO Security, explains that most users and government agencies rely on a combination of concrete barriers and traditional security fencing mounted on top of those barriers. Some end users specify barrier fences for other reasons, for example railroad companies specify those fences to protect railroad cars in railroad yards instead of traditional security fences, since barrier fences eliminate the need of digging near railroad tracks which is not desirable due to space constraints and the presence of underground cabling along the tracks.

Erbeldinger describes some common design features of concrete barrier fences:

• Barrier fences work with any DOT approved barrier or non-DOT designs
• 10-feet concrete barriers are typically used with a standalone fence mounted to the top meaning the individual elements can be transported on a flatbed truck
• Fences require at the minimum two posts and a fence mesh
• Fence elements are typically connected barrier to barrier with splices across the fence meshes being optional
• Fence meshes typically overlap the concrete barrier to prevent a stepping onto the concrete barrier
• Some of those design features are described in ASTM F2780-20 Guide for Design and Construction of Expanded Metal Security Fences and Barriers.

AMICO Security’s Chameleon Modular Barrier Fence™ is an expanded metal barrier fence similar to the design described in the ASTM F2780 guide. “However, it incorporates some additional options to add extra security,” explains Erbeldinger. “Besides razor and barbed wire, it includes expanded metal splices from barrier to barrier and a DualGuard™ expanded metal mesh for extra security. This additional mesh significantly increases the time required to breach the fence.”

The ASTM F2781-15 Standard Practice for Testing Forced Entry, Ballistic and Low Impact Resistance of Security Fence Systems defines a successful breach if the attacker manages to cut a 2-feet x 2-feet opening into the fence. While access to the first mesh is straightforward, Erbeldinger says access to the second mesh of the DualGuard™ system is much more difficult, resulting in a significant increase in breach time. “An additional design feature of DualGuard™ is to rotate one mesh by 90 degrees relative to the other mesh, which will make cutting those meshes even more difficult,” he adds. “Tests have shown the time to breach two meshes mounted a few inches parallel will require at least twice the amount of time required to breach the two meshes individually. This is a true occurrence of 1 + 1 > 4.”

The ANC Modular Barrier Fence™ is another example of a temporary barrier fence offered by AMICO. This non-conductive fiberglass reinforced plastics (RFP) fence is used frequently by the electric power and transmission industry. “Considering that it often takes many years to upgrade a working substation, utilities need a non-conductive fence to eliminate the requirement for electrical grounding of their temporary fence,” says Erbeldinger. He says other applications are in highly corrosive environments in coastal areas.

Although the security needs for temporary barrier fences increased substantially in the last few years, no design features have been added to traditional barrier fences to increase security. “Our ANC Modular Barrier Fence™ and the Chameleon Modular Barrier Fence™ include critical new features to significantly enhance security,” adds Erbeldinger. “The barriers are standalone, the fence material can be spliced together, the fence overlaps the edge of the concrete barrier, and an optional cap sheet is available. It’s part of AMICO’s commitment to providing our customers with the security features they need to protect their property.”

Learn more at www.amicosecurity.com.