Large-scale physical modeling study on the interaction between rockfall and flexible barrier

Flexible barriers have been widely applied in rockfall mitigation in recent years. However, the behavior of flexible barriers under the impact of boulders is still not fully understood. To investigate the interaction between a flexible barrier and a falling boulder, a large-scale physical modeling device has been constructed at a site in Hong Kong. Using this device, large-scale impact tests using boulders with different diameters were conducted. Test results are presented and analyzed in this paper. The motion of the boulder during impact is traced and analyzed. The impact forces on the flexible ring net and the supporting structures are measured and compared. From the comparison, the impact reduction rates (IRR) of boulders with different diameters are calculated. Moreover, a simple approach for estimating the impact loading of a boulder on a flexible barrier is proposed in this study. This approach is calibrated and verified using measured impact forces in the tests.     

Dynamic response of flexible rockfall barriers under different loading geometries

Flexible steel barriers are commonly constructed on steep hillsides to mitigate rockfall. The evaluation of the dynamic response of proprietary flexible barriers is conventionally performed using full-scale field tests by dropping a weight onto the barriers in accordance with the European test standard ETAG 27. The weight typically has a spherical or polyhedral shape and cannot reproduce more complex rockfall scenarios encountered in the field. A rigid slab may load a barrier over a larger area and its effect has not been investigated. In this study, a calibrated three-dimensional finite-element model was developed to study the performance of vertically and horizontally orientated rockfall barriers under concentrated areal impact loads. A new bilinear force-displacement model was incorporated into the model to simulate the behavior of the energy-dissipating devices on the barriers. The effect of different weight geometries was studied by considering impacts by a rigid single spherical boulder and a rigid slab. Results reveal that areal loading induced by a rigid slab increases the loading on the barrier foundation by up to 40 % in both horizontally and vertically positioned barriers when compared to a concentrated load scenario with a single boulder. This indicates that barriers tested under the current test standard does not give the worst-case scenario in terms of foundation loads, and barrier designers should take into account the possible effect of increased foundation loads by reinforcing the barrier posts and/or increasing their spacing.     

Velocity attenuation of debris flows and a new momentum-based load model for rigid barriers

Effective design of mitigation measures against debris flow hazards remains a challenging geotechnical problem. At present, a pseudo-static approach is commonly used for the calculation of impact load acting on a rigid debris-resisting barrier. The impact load is normally calculated based on the maximum velocity observed in the transportation zone under free-field conditions without considering debris-barrier interaction. In reality, the impact load acting on a barrier varies with the change of debris momentum flux but this is seldom considered in barrier design. To provide a scientific basis for assessing debris momentum flux during impact, this paper presents results from a study of debris-barrier interaction using physical flume modelling. This study showed that, following the first stage of impact, the accumulated debris behind a barrier formed a stationary zone and caused the remaining debris to slow down in a run-up process. In the experiments, the peak debris momentum was 30 % lower compared to that observed under free-field conditions. A new momentum-based model was developed to take into account attenuation of momentum flux for predicting debris impact load on rigid barriers. The new rationalised model was assessed using data from the notable Yu Tung Road debris flow in Hong Kong. The assessment showed that the design bending moment at the base of the barrier wall could be reduced more than 30 % using the proposed model, compared with the current design approach. The adoption of the proposed model could offer a new opportunity for practitioners to optimise the design of rigid barriers.     

基于崩塌滚石运动特征的防护网动态响应规律

为获取被动柔性防护网在不同崩塌滚石运动特征下的动态响应规律,以鲁甸803地震震后崩塌滚石造成防护网损坏现场为例,通过无人机倾斜摄影技术实现地质调查,采用Rockyfor3D获取研究区落石的运动特征,并通过被动柔性防护网有限元模型,对不同落石冲击形式下防护网的动态响应规律进行研究.研究显示区内落石弹跳高度普遍在1~2 m,优势路径上的落石会形成稍高速低弹跳的范围冲击.在范围落石冲击下,防护网绳索最大拉力增加可达123.7%;在低弹跳落石冲击下,绳索最大拉力增加可达181.2%.范围落石冲击会导致防护网网面耗能的降低,并导致上拉锚绳拉力的增大.防护网下一级支撑绳对不同落石弹跳高度的响应较为敏感,部分高弹跳落石会对上拉锚绳和上一级支撑绳产生影响.      

A simplified approach for rockfall ground penetration and impact stress calculations

This paper presents a simple procedure for calculating rockfall penetration and ground impact stress for design of pipeline burial depth. Rockfall may damage pipelines by penetrating through cover soils and damaging the pipeline by puncture or excessive impact stress. Design engineers may face a challenging question regarding what burial depth is required for adequate pipe protection. Greater burial depth may provide better protection; however, there are usually site and economic constraints. This paper discusses a simple procedure for calculating the maximum rock penetration and ground impact stress due to rockfall. The procedure may be used to estimate the minimum burial depth required to protect pipelines from rockfall damage. A case study involving a large boulder that fell down a slope and landed on a buried high-pressure gas pipeline is presented to demonstrate and verify the procedure. A calculation was performed before the removal of the boulder to evaluate whether any damage was made to the pipeline. The calculated results agreed well with the actual conditions observed after the boulder was removed.     

Prediction of the Bullet Effect for Rockfall Barriers: a Scaling Approach

The so-called “bullet effect” refers to the perforation of a rockfall protection mesh by impact of a small block, which has a kinetic energy lower than the design value, where the design value is determined through tests with relatively large blocks. Despite playing a key role in the overall performance of a flexible rockfall barrier, this phenomenon is still poorly understood at present. An innovative approach for quantitatively characterizing this effect based on dimensional analysis is proposed in this paper. The analysis rests on a hypothesis that the relevant variables in the impact problem can be combined into three strongly correlated dimensionless parameters. The relationship between these dimensionless parameters (i.e., the scaling relationship) is subsequently investigated and validated by means of data generated with a finite element model. The validation process shows that the dimensionless parameters are apt and that the proposed scaling relationship characterizes the bullet effect with a reasonable level of accuracy. An example from the literature involving numerical simulation of a full rock barrier is considered, and satisfactory agreement between the calculated performance of the barrier and that predicted by the established scaling relationship is observed.     

A Factor Strength Approach for the Design of Rock Fall and Debris Flow Barriers

This paper discusses the applicability and the limitations of an approach to the limit states design of flexible barrier in which the soil/rock strength are factored as required in the European construction code. It shows as this approach has different implications if it is applied to the same kind of structure when loaded by different phenomena (rockfall and debris flow in particular). Flexible barriers are common countermeasures to protect from rockfall hazard and to restrain debris flow events. Even if an intense scientific production has demonstrated the difference between the two phenomena, the protection systems are still often designed in the same way. Additionally, the Eurocode 7 (EC7), which is the European Standard concerning geotechnical design, has not been conformed to these kinds of structures and consequently a relationship between the reliability of the system and the partial factors does not exist. Since most of the parameters that rule these systems are not even considered in the code, the Authors propose the study of two cases, in which rockfall and debris flow occur, respectively, to analyse the applicability and the limitations of EC7 principles to design the suitable kind of structure.     

Perforation of Flexible Rockfall Barriers by Normal Block Impact

Flexible rockfall barriers are a common form of protection against falling blocks of rock and rock fragments (rockfall). These barriers consist of a system of cables, posts, and a mesh, and their capacity is typically quantified in terms of the threshold of impact (kinetic) energy at which the barrier fails. This threshold, referred to here as the “critical energy,” is often regarded as a constant. However, several studies have pointed out that there is no single representative value of critical energy for a given barrier. Instead, the critical energy decreases as the block size decreases, a phenomenon referred to as the “bullet effect.” In this paper, we present a simple analytical model for determining the critical energy of a flexible barrier. The model considers a block that impacts normally and centrally on the wire mesh, and rather than incorporate the structural details of the cables and posts explicitly, the supporting elements are replaced by springs of representative stiffness. The analysis reveals the dependence of the critical energy on the block size, as well as other relevant variables, and it provides physical insight into the impact problem. For example, it is shown that bending of the wire mesh during impact reduces the axial force that can be sustained within the wires, thus reducing the energy that can be absorbed. The formulas derived in the paper are straightforward to use, and the analytical predictions compare favorably with data available in the literature.     

Dynamic response of flexible rockfall barriers with different block shapes

Flexible rockfall barriers are commonly constructed on steep hillsides to mitigate rockfall. The evaluation of the dynamic response of proprietary flexible rockfall barriers is conventionally performed using full-scale field tests by dropping a block onto the barriers in accordance with the European test standard ETAG 027. The block typically has a spherical or polyhedral shape and cannot reproduce more complex rockfall scenarios encountered in the field. Little attention has been paid to the effects of the block shape on the impact force and structural response. This paper aims to quantitatively reveal the influence of the block shape on the dynamic response of flexible rockfall barriers. First, an ellipsoidal model is established to approximately simulate the block, and the sphericity is employed as the representative index of the block’s shape. A full-scale test on a typical flexible barrier system is carried out and then used to calibrate an advanced three-dimensional finite element model. Finally, the dynamic responses of flexible rockfall barriers are analyzed and discussed, focusing on the effects of the block’s shape. The numerical results show that the sphericity will obviously influence the maximum elongation of flexible barriers, the peak impact force, the peak force of the upslope anchor cable, the peak force of the lower main support cable, the axial peak force of the post, and the peak shear force at the post foundation. The assumption of spherical or polyhedral blocks in the test standard could lead to the defensive failure of flexible rockfall barriers in some impact scenarios.

     

Experimental Testing of Rockfall Barriers Designed for the Low Range of Impact Energy

Most of the recent research on rockfall and the development of protective systems, such as flexible rockfall barriers, have been focused on medium to high levels of impacting energy. However, in many regions of the world, the rockfall hazard involves low levels of energy. This is particularly the case in New South Wales, Australia, because of the nature of the geological environments. The state Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) has designed various types of rockfall barriers, including some of low capacity, i.e. 35 kJ. The latter were tested indoors using a pendulum equipped with an automatic block release mechanism triggered by an optical beam. Another three systems were also tested, including two products designed by rockfall specialised companies and one modification of the initial design of the RTA. The research focused on the influence of the system’s stiffness on the transmission of load to components of the barrier such as posts and cables. Not surprisingly, the more compliant the system, the less loaded the cables and posts. It was also found that removing the intermediate cables and placing the mesh downslope could reduce the stiffness of the system designed by the RTA. The paper concludes with some multi-scale considerations on the capacity of a barrier to absorb the energy based on experimental evidence.     

边坡落石运动轨迹计算新方法

考虑落石形状对落石运动轨迹的影响,将落石近似成椭圆形。根据落石运动的5种常见形式,即自由落体运动、斜抛运动、碰撞、滑动和滚动,分别得到了各种运动形式的运动速度计算公式。在碰撞阶段考虑了地面的弹塑性变形,得到了与碰撞前速度、落石形状和地面材料有关的恢复系数计算公式,并根据接触力学的有关理论得到了碰撞冲击力的计算公式,给出了落石连续滚动的判别条件。将理论公式应用于重庆万州首立山落石运动轨迹预测,验证了理论公式的可行性和有效性。     

Rockfall hazard and risk analysis for Monte da Lua,Sintra, Portugal

The prediction of rockfall trajectories below a rock cliff is essential in susceptibility, hazard and risk maps, particularity close to populated areas. The Monte da Lua hill area in Portugal, a tourist destination close to the historic city of Sintra (UNESCO World Heritage), is a typical granite boulder chaos landscape where from time to time rockfalls occur, the last such event having occurred on 29 January 2002. This area is therefore suitable to develop a rockfall study in order to provide hazard and risk maps a basis for mitigation measures. A preliminary investigation of the area leads to the identification of 188 potentially dangerous boulders. Detailed locations and geotechnical characteristics in terms of geometry, strength and context were sampled for each boulder. Digital elevations at 1 × 1 m resolution, known rockfall trajectory and building locations are provided in a GIS project for the study together with the spatial database of boulder characteristics. The modelling approach was conducted in two steps: (1) discrimination of the boulders in terms of static and dynamic mobility behaviour with multivariate analysis; (2) stochastic simulation of rockfall trajectories. The rockfall trajectory algorithm proposed is straightforward and is only dependent on elevation data, initial location of boulders and a friction angle. Due to the slope of the area, it assumes that rockfall is always of the rolling or sliding type. The friction angle was calibrated on the basis of the rockfall travel distance recorded on 29 January 2002 and generates simulated “realistic” trajectories. A smaller friction angle increases all simulated trajectories, leading to more “pessimistic” scenarios. The combined analysis of trajectories and potential damage to buildings and discrimination in terms of static and dynamic behaviour provides a final table in which all 188 sampled boulders are classified in one of the five risk grades.     

Full-Scale Dynamic Analysis of an Innovative Rockfall Fence Under Impact Using the Discrete Element Method: from the Local Scale to the Structure Scale

In order to protect infrastructures against rockfalls, civil-engineered mitigation measures are widely used. Flexible metallic fences are particularly well suited to stop the propagation of blocks of rock whose kinetic energy can reach 5000?kJ before impact. This paper focuses on the design of highly flexible rockfall fences under the new European guideline ETAG027. The experimental testing and the numerical modeling using the discrete element method (DEM) of a new metallic rockfall fence are presented. Several scales of study were considered; the mesh, the net and the entire structure. The calibration of the DEM models is described and a parametrical study is proposed. The latter aims to underline the type of information that can be obtained from numerical simulations of such a system to enhance its design.     

Flood hazard and risk assessment in Russia

The occurrence of rockfall incidents on the transportation network may cause injuries, and even casualties, as well as severe damage to infrastructure such as dwellings, railways, road corridors, etc. Passive protective measures (i.e., rockfall barriers, wire nets, etc.) are mainly deployed by operators of ground transport networks to minimize the impact of detrimental effects on these networks. In conjunction with these passive measures, active rockfall monitoring should ideally include the magnitude of each rockfall, its initial and final position, and the triggering mechanism that might have caused its detachment from the slope. In this work, the operational principle of a low-cost rockfall monitoring and alerting system is being presented. The system integrates measurements from a multi-channel seismograph and commercial cameras as the primary equipment for event detection. A series of algorithms analyze these measurements independently in order to reduce alarms originated by surrounding noise and sources other than rockfall events. The detection methodology employs two different sets of algorithms: Time–frequency analyses of the rockfall event’s seismic signature are performed using moving window pattern recognition algorithms, whereas image processing techniques are utilized to deliver object detection and localization. Training and validation of the proposed approach was performed through field tests that involved manually induced rockfall events and recording of sources (i.e., passing car, walking people) that may cause a false alarm. These validation tests revealed that the seismic monitoring algorithms produce a 4.17 % false alarm rate with an accuracy of 93 %. Finally, the results of a 34-day operational monitoring period are presented and the ability of the imaging system to identify and exclude false alarms is discussed. The entire processing cycle is 10–15 s. Thus, it can be considered as a near real-time system for early warning of rockfall events.     

基于线黏弹性接触的落石冲击地面参量理论研究

落石与坡面或者防护结构接触过程中冲击参量随时间变化特征是描述落石碰撞过程的重要指标,对于揭示落石与坡面相互作用机制以及采取合理的防护措施具有重要的意义。在现有的相关设计规范中,并没有给出关于落石冲击力时程关系的计算方法,仅参照有关规范或经验方法确定一个落石最大冲击力值。为此,首先基于线黏弹性接触理论,建立落石冲击地面力学模型,根据位移-速度组合初始条件以及速度-加速度组合初始条件分别推导得到两种落石冲击特征参量理论解析解;然后基于 ANSYS/LS-DYNA 非线性动力学软件,建立落石冲击地面三维数值模型,研究球体落石冲击地面力学特点;最后将理论结果对比室内试验和已有的研究成果,得出以下结论：（1）Hertz 弹性接触理论结果中各参量变化在加载阶段和恢复阶段均呈现对称的趋势,速度、加速度初始条件下的落石冲击特征参量和动力有限元法非常接近,而位移-速度初始条件组合并不适用于研究落石冲击下的动力特征;（2）不同速度和下落高度下,落石最大冲击力值随落石下落高度和冲击速度的增大而增加,而落石冲击作用时间随下落高度和冲击速度的增加而减小;（3）计算结果得到的落石最大冲击力以及落石冲击作用时间与室内试验结果和已有成果相接近,相比室内试验和有限元结果的震荡性,此结果更能体现落石冲击力变化规律; （4）多种冲击速度下,对比不同方法得到的落石最大冲击力,可知计算结果均在各种冲击力计算结果的范围内,具有很好的可靠性。考虑到现有研究理论的不足,难以求解落石冲击力时程关系,求解结果丰富了落石碰撞理论,可以指导工程有关落石灾害的防护设计。     

落石冲击混凝土棚洞力学特性研究

落石冲击棚洞结构作用过程复杂,缺乏统一的落石冲击力表达式。首先,将落石简化为刚性球体,基于Hertz接触理论,推导得到落石冲击力半正弦算法的理论表达式,考虑落石冲击下棚洞的非弹性特征,根据落石与材料碰撞过程中落石加速度曲线特征,采用函数拟合法推导得到落石法向冲击下其冲击力的理论计算方法;然后,基于ANSYS/LS-DYNA软件建立落石冲击棚洞数值计算模型,研究不同冲击速度下落石冲击棚洞动力特征;最后,与现存常见的多种方法进行对比,得出以下结论：Hertz半正弦法得到的落石冲击力远大于函数拟合法和数值法,而函数拟合法和数值法得到的落石冲击力时程曲线相接近,表明函数拟合法更能反映落石与棚洞接触碰撞动力关系;对比其他计算方法可以得到,Hertz算法适用于分析无能量损失下的弹性碰撞问题,而Logistic算法适用于材料大塑性变形的情况,弹塑性接触理论结果和动力有限元结果存在差异,而采用函数拟合推导的计算方法得到的落石最大冲击力和落石冲击作用时间与动力有限元法更接近,更能反映落石冲击棚洞动力响应特征,推导的落石冲击力计算方法可为工程实践中棚洞防护设计提供理论参考。     

Coastal morphology; Southwest Great Abaco Island, Bahamas

An examination of a portion of Great Abaco Island. Bahamas, reveals that the coastal zone may be subdivided into two morphological units: barrier and lagoon complexes, and rock benches with boulder ramparts. The sand barriers, colonized by multistoried vegetation, are stratigraphically thin and are characterized by narrow coralline beaches and beach rock. The imbricate boulder ramparts adjacent to deeper water, reveal that, on occasion, high wave energy conditions occur. It is apparent that hurricanes and tropical storms are significant in modifying coastal southwest Great Abaco.     

Full-scale Modelling of Falling Rock Protection Barriers

Full-scale impact tests, carried out to evaluate the behaviour of flexible falling rock protection barriers, are described and relevant results presented and discussed. Falling rock protection barriers, which may be numbered among passive measures against rockfall, are designed to intercept and stop falling rocks by dissipation of impact energies through the elasto-plastic deformation of a system made up of metallic nets and supporting and connecting components. The testing programme involved models of barriers subjected to the impact of free-falling blocks of kinetic energy ranging from 500 to 5,000 kJ. The experimental test site, set-up in Fonzaso (Italy), and the experimental procedure were developed according to the new European testing standards (ETAG 027) on falling rock protection kits. The paper is aimed at presenting an extensive and high quality database, which can be extremely useful for a better understanding of the actual response of such structures and for any subsequent analytical and numerical modelling.     

利用废旧轮胎防治滚石的数值模拟分析

为克服传统刚性拦石结构体系,刚性过大,受落石冲击易破坏,场地适应性差等缺点,设想将汽车废旧轮胎堆栈于刚性拦石结构前,形成一种刚柔并重的结构体系。利用废旧轮胎的弹性和韧性缓解落石的冲击力,从而提高传统刚性拦石结构体系防护落石的能力。并通过利用LS-DYNA有限元软件对废旧轮胎在落石冲击作用下的耗能性能进行了分析,计算结果表明废旧轮胎具有较好的吸能效果,对提高刚性拦石结构体系的防护能力有很大的帮助。     

Three-dimensional numerical modelling of falling rock protection barriers

This paper presents a new numerical strategy for the design and verification of flexible falling rock barriers: passive protection measures for risk mitigation of potentially unstable rock slopes. The key point of the proposed approach is that notwithstanding the complexity of the simulated phenomenon, the resulting highly non-linear, dynamic model is simple and produces an accurate prediction of all the relevant parameters for barrier design, such as anchorage forces, net panel elongations and residual heights.The modelling procedure has been assessed using detailed experimental data obtained from a set of full-scale tests on three barrier prototypes with various energy absorption capacities (5000 kJ, 3000 kJ and 500 kJ). By comparison with the experimental results, the numerical model has shown to be reliable in capturing very accurately the barrier response to a block impact. Consequently, this method can be extended to investigate the behaviour of flexible falling rock protection barriers under conditions different from those encountered in full-scale tests. Therefore, the numerical procedure can be regarded as an effective tool used for designing and testing these structures.