Rockfalls are caused by weathering of natural slopes, mining activities, seismic events, etc. When they occur near human activities or infrastructure, the consequences can be costly and lethal. When a slope in question is at risk for rockfall, Rocscience’s 2D statistical analysis program RocFall can assist with their assessment. It performs numerical simulations that predict falling rocks’ trajectories so that the risk areas can be identified and proper remedial measures put in place.

Energy, velocity and “bounce height” envelopes for the entire slope are determined by the program, as is the location of rock endpoints. Distributions of energy, velocity, and bounce height are also calculated along the slope profile. Distributions can be graphed, and comprehensive statistics are automatically calculated. RocFall allows the user to perform both lumped mass and rigid body rockfall analyses. Remedial measures such as flexible barriers and berms can also be modeled. Information about the kinetic energy and location of impact on a barrier or a berm can help determine the capacity, size, and location of barriers/berms. RocFall also incorporates commercial flexible barrier information. Users can define a custom barrier or select one of the predefined barriers. Barrier sensitivity analysis allows the user to automatically vary the location, height, angle, or capacity of barriers.

This webinar will first present several popular impact theories and then introduce you to the latest RocFall software.  Then the participants will be shown how to build a RocFall model and view the results with a focus on barrier/berm analysis, barrier sensitivity analysis, and the barrier design reports.