Development and calibration of an improved model for analysis of rock fall hazards on highways and railways

岩石坠落运动的动力学分析（“岩石坠落弹道”）在实践中被用于获得保护道路和铁路等交通路线的结构或建筑物免受悬崖上的岩石坠落损伤的设计参数。所需的主要设计参数是：1)岩石坠落轨迹离地面的高度（以确定所需的防护围栏或类似物的尺寸）和2)岩石碎片对结构产生的潜在冲击力。尽管有几个基于计算机的模型声称能够预测这些参数，但这些预测是非常不可靠的。这是由于对下落碎片和斜坡之间相互作用的物理表征过于简化和校准不当造成的。基于我们在这一领域的长期经验，我们建议开展重点研究，以提高此类模型的预测性能。这将提高公路和铁路的可靠性，降低修复结构的费用。

Dynamic analysis of rock fall motion ("rock fall ballistics") is used in practice to obtain design paramaters for structures protecting transportation routes such as road and railways, or buildings from damage due to rocks falling from cliffs. The main design parameters required are: 1) the height of fock fall trajectories above ground (to determine the required size of the protective fence or similar) and 2) the potential impact forces excerted by rock fragments on the structure. Although there are several computer-based models available that claim to be able to predict these parameters, the predictions are known to be highly unreliable. This is due to overly-simplified and poorly-calibrated physical representation of interactions between the falling fragment and the slope. Based on our long experience in this field, we propose to conduct a focussed research with the purpose of improving the predictive performance of such models. Increased reliability and reduced cost of remedial structures on roads and railways will result.