GEOROCK 2D

GeoStru
Computation example using the software GEOROCK 2D for
analyzing the trajectories of boulders in free fall from a rocky
ridge.

GEOSTRU srl
Via C. Colombo, 89
89032 BIANCO (RC)
+390964 911624
+390984 1800443
07/11/2013

GEOROCK 2D 2013
Computation example software GEOROCK 2D
GeoStru Software
Introduction
GeoRock 2D is the software developed by GeoStru for determining the trajectories of a boulder in
free fall from a rocky ridge.
The falling motion of a boulder along a rocky slope depends on many factors that are not easy to
express numerically. The trajectories of the boulders depend on the geometry of the slope, on the
shape of the falling boulder and on its initial velocity at the moment of detachment from the slope,
and also on the entity of the energy dissipated due to the impacts during the fall. The falling
boulders can slide, roll or bounce downstream depending on their shape, flattened or rounded,
and on the gradient of the slope.
The energy dissipated due to impacts is generally different and varies with the characteristics of the
motion and depends on the mechanical characteristics of the boulder and on the materials present
along the slope (rock, soil, vegetation) that oppose in a different manner to the motion of the
boulder.
In reality, however, it is practically impossible to determine precisely the contour of a slope and
detect the shape of the different boulders that may detach.
In addition, the geometry of the slope and the nature of the outcropping materials undergo
changes over time, sometimes sensitive, as a result of the alteration of the rock, of the
accumulation of debris in the less steep areas and of the development of the vegetation.
It is practically impossible to model the motion of boulder falls in cases in which these shatter due
to impacts, nor is it possible to identify the areas of the slopes where shatter occurs.
For the analysis of the falling trajectories we need to refer to very simplified models: the
geotechnical design of the protection interventions must be, therefore, developed on the basis of a
large numerical experimentation, making it possible to explore the different aspects of the
phenomenon and recognize the main factors that affect the motion of fall in the particular situation
in question.
In more complex cases it might be necessary to calibrate the model on the basis of an analysis of
trajectories detected by in situ cinematography following the collapse of the boulders.
There are two analytical models, Lumped-Mass and Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program
(CRSP), used mainly to study the phenomenon of rock fall in an analytical way. In the LumpedMass model the falling boulder is considered as a simple point having a mass and velocity, and the
impact on the ground is affected by the normal and tangential restitution coefficients. A more
rigorous model is, however, the CRSP, as it takes into account the shape and size of the boulder.

GEOROCK 2D 2013
DATA INPUT
Topographic profile
For the analysis of the boulders trajectories it is first of all necessary to define the topographic
profile of the slope and the characteristics of the boulder. It should be remembered that the
program analyzes the problem in the X,Y plane and therefore any calculation performed is reported
to a 2D section defined in the Cartesian system (X,Y) with a thickness equal to 1 m.
Having an active Internet connection, it is possible to locate the area of interest by entering the
latitude and longitude coordinates and locate the site through the free service GeoStru MAPS. The
commands that allow such identification are shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
To assign the profile of the section the user has different input possibilities:

Import form other GeoStru software (*.edp)

Import from Excel

Import from DXF

Numerical table input

The first three options can be selected only from the quick access ribbon indicated by the software
icon, Fig. 2.

GEOROCK 2D 2013

Fig. 2
The files with the extension *.EDP are generated by other GeoStru applications:

TRISPACE, software for the generation of spot height plans, level curves and sections from a
DTM in X, Y, Z coordinates;

GEOSTRU MAPS, free web service available in the Services section of the site
www.geostru.com

The ones in *.DXF format are files generated by whatever cad: the file DXF generated in the CAD
must comply with the convention that the profile is defined by an open polyline assigned from left
to right (looking at the screen) and it is known the name of the layer containing the polyline.

Fig. 3

Note from Fig. 3 that the imported profile do not conform to the convention used
by GeoRock for the calculations: the profile must be increasing from left to right
(looking at the screen); however it is available the command <Mirror slope> that
allows the user to bring the imported section in the proper configuration for the
start of the calculation.

GEOROCK 2D 2013
To import from EXCEL file is enough for the X, Y coordinates that define the profile to be reported
on two separate columns, preceded by a column indicating the order number of each point, Fig 4.

Fig. 4
For the numeric input in tabular form, the user must assign the coordinates that define the profile
by selecting the <Insert vertices> command: is valid, even in this case, the input mode specified for
the DXF file, namely the elevations (Y) have to decrease to the right looking at the screen, Fig 5.

Fig. 5

GEOROCK 2D 2013
At the same time, to each section of the topographic profile can be attributed a specific material
with characteristics that will be discussed later. The command <Assign material to groups> speeds
up the assignment phase of the material type of which consists of the rocky ridge. In fact, it is
possible to choose the starting and end vertices of the profile to which assign the same type of
material, Fig 5. Any change to be made on the topographic profile can be done through the
available commands on the toolbar, Fig 6. Each change must be confirmed with the right mouse
button.

Fig. 6
Materials
The program has a database of materials that can be used to characterize each section of the slope.
For each material are defined two restitution coefficients (normal and tangential), the roughness,
the frequency and the color.
The tangential coefficient determines the reduction of the velocity component parallel to the
profile section during the impact. The normal coefficient is a measure of the velocity change,
normal to the profile before and after the impact.

Fig. 7

GEOROCK 2D 2013
For the coefficients of normal and tangential restitution is possible to
assign a minimum and maximum value defining a range of variability of
each coefficient.

Obviously, while the vegetation influences the tangential coefficient, the stiffness of the material
influences the normal coefficient.
The presence of vegetation with a height exceeding 1 m makes it difficult to determine the
coefficients as its presence for the boulders that collapse for first can produce a behavior very close
to that of a not very rigid material, but the boulders already collapsed alter the behavior of the
boulders that come off after the first ones.
The values suggested by the literature are not very uniform, so their validity should always be
confirmed by practical applications on real cases.
The Materials table is user-editable, so the user can assign any value to the normal and tangential
restitution coefficients (Rn, Rt), to the roughness and also the user can associate a color to the
material.
The user can customize the database by adding other materials to those already present or edit
existing ones. In the table of profile vertices are visible all the materials defined and therefore the
corresponding material can be assigned to every part of the slope.
The roughness of the surface (in m) is the maximum roughness/asperity of the section
perpendicular to the slope in a range equal to the radius of the boulder. The roughness defines, in
essence, the actual inclination of the slope in the point where impacts the boulder.
For each impact, the angle of the slope is varied randomly in a range of values between 0 and max.
The value of max depends on the roughness of the slope and on the size of the boulder and is
determined by in situ measurements.
Being R the radius of the boulder under consideration we have:

For each impact, the slope angle is made to vary randomly in a range of values between 0 and a
value function of the roughness of the slope and on the block size.

GEOROCK 2D 2013

Fig. 8
Boulder data
The falling boulder can be spherical, cylindrical or disc, the choice of one of these options enables
the corresponding geometric data to be entered. The size of the boulder is a very important
parameter in the result of the analysis, therefore, must correspond to the modal dimension
obtained from a statistical analysis based on the detection of the boulders that have fallen or from
the crack resulting from the geomechanical relief. Finally, it is also useful to detect the size of the
blocks that have already fallen and reached the maximum distance along the route.
The assignment of the boulders data must be carried out by selecting the command <Boulder
data>. Apart from the obvious geometric characteristics and the weight of the boulder, in this
stage it is important to assign the starting velocity of the boulder and the stop velocity. The stop
velocity sets out when the rock can be considered stationary, ie, when it reaches a velocity equal to
the stop limit value; the trajectories are interrupted because the boulder is considered stationary.
For initial velocity, for the two components along X and Y, we can start from equilibrium
considerations in the condition of incipient fall in the void of a spherical boulder of radius R placed
on an plane inclined of that travels an initial rolling path equal to l. In this case the expression
that defines the initial velocity of the boulder is:

v 2 v02

10
g sin l
7

[1]

(from G. P. Giani Caduta di massi)

In the example we have assumed an initial velocity v0 equal to zero, inclination of the detachment
segment approximately equal to 24 and an initial path of about 6m equal to the length of the
considered detachment zone (between the vertex 12 and the vertex 15).

GEOROCK 2D 2013

Fig. 9
Replacing the values in the expression [1], we obtain:

v2

10
9,81 sin 24 6 34,2m / s
7

We decompose the velocity vector according to the two components along X and Y, considering an
inclination of 24. We get vx = 31.24 m/s and vy = 19.9 m/s, to be considered with the negative sign
to the sign convention adopted by the program that defines the positive Y upwards.

Fig. 10
For a successful analysis it is necessary to define the number of launches that can simulate the
more likely cases of detachment: if there are special provisions by authorities, then it can be
entered the number of launches dictated by the standard.

GEOROCK 2D 2013
In addition to the number of launches must be assigned the step with which are spaced the
possible detachments: as a function of the length of the detachment zone and according to the
number of launches to be analyzed, the step is defined by the ratio L(length detachment zone)/ Nlaunches. In
this case we have considered 100 launches with a step equal to 0.95 m in order to concentrate the
detachments in the zone of the rocky ridge composed of weathered rock (material in red), Fig 10.

Fig. 11
In the same dialog box <Boulder data> you can choose between "Statistical analysis" and
"Deterministic analysis": the choice in question changes the result of the analysis as in the first case
the program varies the roughness parameter at each impact according to the indications
mentioned above (Fig. 8), while in the second case it uses the value assigned for that zone.

COMPUTATION
Computation method
There are two analytical models, Lumped-Mass and Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program
(CRSP), used mainly to study the phenomenon of rock fall in an analytical way. In the model
Lumped-Mass the falling block is considered as a simple point having mass and velocity, and the
impact on the ground is affected by the coefficients of normal and tangential restitution.
A more rigorous model is the CRSP, as it takes into account the shape and size of the boulder:
boulders having the shape of spheres, cylinders or discs, with circular cross section in the vertical
plane of the movement. The impact phenomenon is modeled using as additional parameters,
compared with Lumped mass method, the roughness of the slope and the size of the boulder. The
model considers the combinations of the movements of the free fall, bouncing, rolling and sliding,
which may vary depending on the size of the boulders and the roughness of the slope. The
reliability of the model was verified by comparisons between numerical results and those obtained
from in situ tests.

GEOROCK 2D 2013
The computation method is chosen from the <Computation> menu by selecting the
corresponding command (Fig. 12).

Fig. 12
During the computation the individual trajectories of the boulder are drawn for each point of
detachment displayed. At the end of the calculation the user has the full picture of all the
trajectories and can therefore draw useful considerations about the insertion of protection barriers
and/or various other intervention works.

Fig. 13

On completion of the analysis, in the <Computation> menu are turned on all commands related to
the graphical display and information about the individual trajectories.
For each trajectory are available all the results of the analysis:
impact points
flight times between two subsequent impacts
maximum height of the trajectory between two impacts
flight velocity on the segment
impact energy

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
The information shown is obtained by choosing the commend <Info on single trajectories> and
the trajectory of interest from the table on the right side of the work area, Fig 14.

Fig. 14
Scrolling with the mouse the path of the boulder in question is displayed an informative label
which shows, in the point indicated by the mouse, the height, the velocity, the flight time from the
previous impact and the energy of the boulder.
For each trajectory is also possible to obtain a graphic on the heights, the velocities or the
energy along the path. In Fig. 14, for example, we have chosen the trajectory no. 2: we viewed the
graphic that plots the heights reached by the block along its path in the fall and, in particular, we
have focused on the point identified by the label on the drawing.
Turning to the view of all the trajectories with the command <Report % stopped boulders > the
user can see on the horizontal axis, with a user-chosen step, the percentage of boulders that have
stopped at every X of the path, Fig 15.
The report in numerical form will then be part of the final computation report.
In this case the mesh was set to a step of 5 m and it can be noted that 70% of the boulders will
stop before the inserted barrier. In detail of Fig. 16 it is evident that the boulders lose energy when
impacting on the small sand embankment and on the segment of fine detritus.

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GEOROCK 2D 2013

Fig. 15

Fig. 16
The graphics available are:

Energy histogram

Energy distribution

Trajectory graphic

Velocity

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
Energy histogram
This graphic shows, for a given abscissa X, the distribution of energies of all trajectories. For a fixed
x-axis, selected on the basis of an alleged inclusion of a work that can intercept the boulders, the
graphic returns, in the form of a histogram, the energies that fall within the assigned ranges. In the
case in example, we chose as abscissa X = 150 m (Fig. 17) and obtained the histogram shown in
Fig. 18. The position X = 150 m was chosen by virtue of the trajectories before impact in
correspondence with the embankment.

Fig. 17

Fig. 18

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
From the analysis of the histogram is shown that from the 100 trajectories analyzed, 31 have a
kinetic energy between 3200-3300 [KJ] and 25 trajectories have energy greater than this range.
Reconstructing the histogram at the abscissa X = 186 m, which is on the crest of the sand
embankment, we can see that the trajectories that have an energy greater than the range 32003300 [KJ] decreased (Fig. 19): in fact, the small embankment has intercepted many boulders
blocking the path or reducing their energy.

Fig. 19
From the histogram in Fig. 19 we observe that only 14 trajectories have energy greater than 4600
[KJ], therefore it is necessary to intervene downstream of the embankment that can significantly
reduce the impact energy of the remaining blocks. For example, the paving material consisting of
fine detritus can help to significantly reduce the energy of these boulders, as this type of material is
characterized by a low coefficient of normal restitution.
Energy distribution
This graphic shows, for each trajectory, the energy of the falling block along its entire path. On the
graphic you can see the energy of the single trajectory or the envelope of all trajectories. The
graphic is displayed by selecting the command <Energy distribution> in the Computation menu,
Fig. 20.

Fig. 20

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
As already stated, the energy diagram can be obtained for individual trajectories or for all
trajectories determined by the program for launches defined by the user: the display option can be
chosen with a right click on the graphic in question, Fig 21.

Fig. 21

In Fig. 22 is the example with all the trajectories.

Fig. 22

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
Trajectory graphic
The indications given for the energy graphic also apply to the <Trajectory graphic>, except that, in
this case, are plotted the heights reached by the boulder in fall along its path. An example of this
graphic is shown in Fig 23.

Fig. 23
Velocity
For the velocity diagram you can also refer to the description of the energy graphic. Fig. 24 shows
the velocity of all the trajectories of this example case.

Fig. 24

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
To conclude the discussion on the graphics of GeoRock 2D, we have to add that any graphic can be
exported as an image to be included in the computation report or other reports and printed
directly using the command <Graphic preview> from the drop-down menu that appears when
right-clicking on the graphic.

ROCKFALL BARRIERS
Among the rockfall containment works the software provides rockfall barriers. Rockfall barriers are
typically made with mesh rope or rings panels supported by uprights, bracing ropes and
foundation anchors. The barriers must be certified and able to stop boulders with energy levels
arising from the analysis. The certification must be performed on the test fields in accordance with
the procedures ETAG 027:2008 "Guideline for technical approval of Rockfall protection kits" in
terms of deformation and ability to withstand impacts. They are generally found on the market
having different classes of energy absorption and heights: are supplied pre-sized in all components
and must have the CE mark.
In GeoRock the types must be defined by assigning both the geometrical and energetic data, Fig
25.

Fig. 25
No: indicates the order number in the table.
Height: indicates the height of the barrier, it is an indispensable data that ensures the interception
of blocks based on the height of the trajectory in the insertion point.
Thickness: data used for the graphical representation of the barrier.

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
Inclination: inclination of the barrier to the horizontal; of course, is a detail that can determine the
interception of the blocks.
Energy: is the energy absorption of the barrier provided by the manufacturer. The energy value is
important because, when the boulder impacts against the barrier, if the barrier has a potential
absorption energy higher than the boulders energy, then the boulder is blocked, otherwise the
boulder continues its trajectory with the initial pre-impact energy, Fig 26.
In this case the inserted barrier can absorb up to 2000 [KJ], and therefore is blocking all boulders
having the trajectory height less than the barriers height and energy less than 2000 [KJ].

Fig. 26
If the work had not been inserted some boulders would have continued their motion in free fall, as
shown in Fig. 27, coming to a stop probably well beyond the geometric limit of the section.

Fig. 27

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
In fact, the boulders that exceed the abscissa X = 213 m (barrier position) are stopped not because
they have reached the stop limit velocity, but because they have met the geometric limit of the
section end, Fig 28.
If the geometric section of the example had been prolonged beyond 260 m, we probably would
have had boulders stopping over this limit.

Fig. 28
In the <Barriers> menu are available all the commands needed for barrier management: types,
placement, dimensioning, etc..
It should be emphasized that it is possible to define several types of barrier that can be installed
along the profile. The elevation of the barriers indicates the height and the maximum energy
absorption.

OUTPUT
In the <Output> menu are managed the commands for graphical reports and text report. With the
command <Create report> the program prints the input data and the computation results for each
trajectory in tabular form. The commands <Export in DXF format> and <Export image> save
respectively .DXF file and .BMP of the current display in the work area. So the section and the
calculated trajectories, with eventual intervention works, can be saved in the indicated formats or
printed using the command <Graphic preview>.
Please remember that all graphics described in detail previously are printable directly through
<Graphic preview> or exported in image format from the drop-down menu that appears at the
right click.

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GEOROCK 2D 2013
The report in text format (Fig. 29) shows the theoretical content of the models used in the
calculation, equations and detailed images, as well as all the information about the individual
trajectories: velocity, time of flight, impact, energy, etc..

Fig. 29

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