ROCKFALL EVALUATION BY COMPUTER SIMULATION

A 4-mi section of Interstate 40 in the western part of North Carolina is undergoing a major improvement to reduce the risk of damage caused by landslides and rockfall. A major concern is the effectiveness of measures taken to keep rockfall material out of the way of travel. By using a probabilistic approach, a model was developed for predicting the distance that bouncing rocks will travel down a slope. Field data on rock bounce characteristics were used to compute the coefficient of restitution. A computer program called "ROCKSIM" was produced to predict rockfall impact areas by using the coefficient of restitution and kinematics of free-fall and rolling motion. The ROCKSIM predictions were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed remedial measure to mitigate the hazard. This preliminary application indicated that ROCKSIM may be a useful tool for evaluating the rockfall process in other areas. Additional data will be collected for model calibration.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1985/1031/1031-001.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ROCKFALL+EVALUATION+BY+COMPUTER+SIMULATION&author=S.+Wu&publication_year=1985
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309039223
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Wu, Shie-Shin
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1-5
• Monograph Title: Geotechnical engineering research
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1031
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Computer programs; Countermeasures; Landslides; Measures of effectiveness; Rockfalls; Simulation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I43: Rock Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00455834
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309039223
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1988 12:00AM