A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model for Rockfall and Its Application

A small-scale laboratory test was conducted to get a better understanding on coefficients of restitution and rotational motion of rockfall impact. The tangential component R_t shows a dependency on the incoming direction, where the coefficient increases slightly with the increase in the angle. The two types of physical modeling for the falling sphere are introduced; mass point and rigid sphere. The both models with the contact system well explain the increase of the coefficient restitution R_t with increase of the incoming angle. The change in the rotational energy is only explained with the rigid body modeling. This paper provides very important data for the coefficient of restitution and a possible numerical method which can capture the behavior of boulder during the impact. An alternative fully three-dimensional numerical procedure for single block dynamics is presented, incorporating the contact model. This model applies to rockfall simulation to delimit the area where possible falling rock may exist.