RockGIS: a GIS-based model for the analysis of fragmentation in rockfalls

Matas, Gerard; Lantada, Nieves; Corominas, Jordi; Gili, Josep A.; Ruiz-Carulla, Roger; Prades, Albert

doi:10.1007/s10346-017-0818-7

Cited by 48 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…The first experiment was conducted at Foj quarry (41.361°N, 1.923°E), and the second at Ponderosa quarry (41.163°N, 0.943°E). Both tests were carried out in the framework of the project RockRisk (Corominas et al, ), an important part of which has been dedicated to determining fragmentation of rock masses and its application in fragmentation and propagation models (Matas et al, , ; Ruiz‐Carulla et al, , ). In this study, we concentrated on the emitted seismic energy values and time ( t )‐frequency ( f ) features of recorded signals and compared them to free‐fall kinetics and fragmentation, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seismic Energy Analysis as Generated by Impact and Fragmentation of Single‐Block Experimental Rockfalls

et al. 2018

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The analysis of seismic signals obtained from near‐source triaxial accelerometer recordings of two sets of single‐block rockfall experiments is presented. The tests were carried out under controlled conditions in two quarries in northeastern Spain; in the first test (Foj limestone quarry, Barcelona), 30 blocks were released with masses ranging between 475 and 11,480 kg. The second test (Ponderosa andesite quarry, Tarragona) consisted of the release of 44 blocks with masses from 466 to 13,581 kg. An accelerometer and three high‐speed video cameras were deployed, so that the trajectories, velocities, and block fragmentation could be tracked precisely. These data were used to explore the relationship between seismic energy and rockfall kinetics (the latter obtained from video analysis). We determined absolute and relative values of seismic energy and used them to estimate rockfall volumes. Finally, the seismic signature of block fragmentation was assessed in both the frequency and time domains. The ratios of seismic energy after impact to kinetic energy before impact ranged between 10−7 and 10−4. These variables were weakly correlated. The use of seismic energy relative to impacting kinetic energy was preferred for the estimation of volumes. Block fragmentation impacts were dominated by higher acceleration spectrum centroid frequencies than those of nonfragmentation impacts: 56.62 ± 2.88 and 48.46 ± 4.39 Hz at Foj and 52.84 ± 12.73 and 38.14 ± 4.73 Hz at Ponderosa.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seismic Energy Analysis as Generated by Impact and Fragmentation of Single‐Block Experimental Rockfalls

et al. 2018

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“…To calculate P (X │ D)i, the probability of the rockfall event reaching the trail section, we used the code RockGIS developed by our research group (Matas et al 2017). It is a GIS-Based model that simulates stochastically the fragmentation of rockfalls.…”

Section: Probability Of Reach P (X │ D)imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All the fragments generated propagate downslope within a cone of trajectories and the process continues iteratively until all fragments stop. The model is calibrated considering the position and volume of the largest blocks generated, the total amount of blocks, their volume distribution and the runout distances (Matas et al 2017).…”

Section: Probability Of Reach P (X │ D)imentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantitative analysis of risk from fragmental rockfalls

2018

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Rockfalls are ubiquitous diffuse hazard in mountain regions, cliffs and cutslopes, with the potential of causing victims and severely damaging buildings and infrastructures. A vast majority of detached rock masses break up when impacting the ground, generating multiple trajectories of rock fragments. In this paper, we present the quantitative risk analysis (QRA) of fragmental rockfalls. Fragmentation in rockfalls requires the redefinition of the probability of reach and the evaluation of the effect of multiple rock blocks trajectories on the exposure. An example of QRA was carried out at the Monasterio de Piedra, Spain using RockGIS, a rockfall propagation model that takes fragmentation into account (Matas et al. 2017). The results show that fragmentation has a significant but contrasting effect in the calculation of risk. The risk is reduced if the slope where blocks propagate is sufficiently long and gentle. The reason for this is that, compared to the unfragmented rock masses, the new fragments generated travel shorter distances with lesser kinetic energy. The effect disappears in case of large rockfalls. Conversely, the risk increases if the rock fragments propagate over steep slopes. The reason is that few blocks stop along the way while the generation of a cone of fragments increases the exposure. Our simulations also show that assuming a continuous flow of visitors or segregating the flow in groups of different number of people, has only a minor influence on the results. Finally, we observed that the capability of the protection barriers to stop rockfalls of up to a few tens of cubic meters increases with fragmentation.

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“…Recognizing this challenge, a number of researchers have performed fragmentation field testing [25,26], evaluation of impact energy thresholds for fragmentation [27], and numerical simulation of fragmentation [28,29]. These have provided valuable insights that allowed the development of rockfall trajectory simulations capable of modeling block fragmentation based on the power-law volume distribution typically observed in rockfall deposits [9,[30][31][32]. However, these models still require validation of the parameters of the power-law distributions of block volumes used for fragmentation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fragmented Rockfall Volume Distribution from Photogrammetry-Based Structural Mapping and Discrete Fracture Networks

Macciotta

Gräpel

Skirrow³

2020

Applied Sciences

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The design of rockfall protection structures requires information about the falling block volumes. Computational tools for rockfall trajectory simulation are now capable of modeling block fragmentation, requiring the fragmented volume-relative frequency distribution of rockfalls as input. This can be challenging at locations with scarce or nonexistent rockfall records and where block surveys are not feasible. The work in this paper shows that simple discrete fracture network realizations from structural mapping based on photogrammetric techniques can be used to reliably estimate rock fall block volumes. These estimates can be used for dimensioning rockfall protection structures in cases where data is scarce or not available. The methodology is tested at two sites in the Canadian Cordillera where limestone outcrops have been the source of recurrent rockfalls. The results suggest that fragmentation will largely tend to occur through weak planes and expansion of non-persistent discontinuities, while other block breakage mechanisms exert less influence in the fragmented volume-relative frequency distribution of rockfalls. Therefore, block volume distribution can be estimated using a simple discrete fracture network (DFN) with fully persistent discontinuities. Limitations of the methods are also discussed, as well as potential future research to address such limitations.

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RockGIS: a GIS-based model for the analysis of fragmentation in rockfalls

Cited by 48 publications

References 30 publications

Seismic Energy Analysis as Generated by Impact and Fragmentation of Single‐Block Experimental Rockfalls

Seismic Energy Analysis as Generated by Impact and Fragmentation of Single‐Block Experimental Rockfalls

Quantitative analysis of risk from fragmental rockfalls

Fragmented Rockfall Volume Distribution from Photogrammetry-Based Structural Mapping and Discrete Fracture Networks

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