Brifen

BRIFEN^TM was developed by the UK Department of Transport and the Transport and Road Research Laboratories in the mid 1980s. British Ropes Limited (BRIDON) paid for the costs of the development and as a result were able to patent the product.

Brifen was developed from a technical base to meet an engineering need.

Brifen was tested over 626 metres with post spacing of 2.4m. A total of 13 consecutive tests were carried out with a 1500 kg vehicle.

The first two tests with 4 parallel ropes gave deflections of 3.1m and 4.9m. The rope was then woven through every second post, and the deflection was reduced to 2.4m. The rope was then woven through every post, and the deflection was reduced to 1.7m. A further nine tests were then carried out, which verified the result.

Length of fence	Post spacing	Type of system	Deflection
626m	2.4m	4 parallel ropes	3.1m
626m	2.4m	2 woven every 2nd post and 2 parallel	2.4m
626m	2.4m	2 woven every post and 2 parallel	1.7m

Why the Brifen system works so well

The original 4 in slot / parallel system worked on a simple linear mechanism using only the rope's strength and elastic properties.

The effectiveness of the Brifen system is based on the fact that the lower ropes are woven on either side of the posts thereby creating large frictional forces between the ropes and the posts.

This friction enables the posts and the ropes to act as an integral system, keeping the rope stresses localized and significantly reducing deflection.

Brifen Website: www.brifen.com