Table of Contents i

Table of Contents

Getting Started 1

Introduction 3
About this Manual ....................................................................................... 3

Quick Start Tutorial 5

Analysis Overview....................................................................................... 5
Defining the Slope ....................................................................................... 6
Limits ....................................................................................................... 6
Define Slope ............................................................................................ 7
Defining Materials........................................................................................ 9
Assigning Materials................................................................................... 11
Graphical Method of Assignment........................................................... 12
Data Tips ............................................................................................... 13
Defining Rock Seeders ............................................................................. 15
Throwing the Rocks .................................................................................. 17
Graphing the Results ................................................................................ 18
Chart Properties..................................................................................... 19
Statistics ................................................................................................ 19
Copy Raw Data...................................................................................... 20
Envelope Graphs ................................................................................... 21
Distribution Graphs ................................................................................ 22
Adjusting the Sampling Locations ................................................. 23
Tiling the Views...................................................................................... 24
Re-running the Analysis ........................................................................... 25
Clearing the Rock Paths ........................................................................ 25
Simulation Parameters .......................................................................... 26
Exporting Images ...................................................................................... 27
ii Table of Contents

Export Image File................................................................................... 27

Copy to Clipboard .................................................................................. 27
Black and White Images (Grayscale) .................................................... 27
Info Viewer ................................................................................................. 28

Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 31

Barrier Overview........................................................................................ 32
Adding a Barrier ........................................................................................ 32
Default Barrier Properties ...................................................................... 34
Throwing the Rocks .................................................................................. 34
Changing the Barrier Properties .............................................................. 36
Barrier Capacity ..................................................................................... 37
Graphing Barrier Results.......................................................................... 38
Data Collectors Overview ......................................................................... 41
Adding a Data Collector............................................................................ 41
Throwing the Rocks .................................................................................. 43
Graphing Data Collector Results ............................................................. 44
Statistics ................................................................................................ 45
Distribution Graphs vs. Collector Graphs............................................... 46

Vertex Variation Tutorial 47

Edit Seeder................................................................................................. 48
New Material............................................................................................... 48
Assign Material ...................................................................................... 50
Verify Changes .......................................................................................... 50
Vertex Variation ......................................................................................... 51
Throwing the Rocks .................................................................................. 53
Sensitivity Analysis ................................................................................ 55
Table of Contents iii
 Getting Started 1

Getting Started
ROCFALL is designed to work on Windows 95, 98 and
Windows NT 4.0 operating systems.

To install ROCFALL on your computer:

1. Insert the CD-ROM.

2. Setup should begin automatically displaying the main

Rocscience Installation window.

3. If not, select Add / Remove Programs from the Control

Panel and click on the Install button. Follow the
directions until the main Rocscience Installation
window is displayed.

4. Click on the ROCFALL button.

5. Click on the INSTALL FULL VERSION button.

6. Follow the installation instructions. During

installation you will be asked to enter your seventeen
character alphanumeric serial number. Enter the
serial number located on the outside of the CD case to
install the program. Proceed until the installation is
complete and you are back to the Rocscience
Installation window.

7. Click on the RETURN button.

8. If you have NOT previously installed the hardlock

driver software for any other Rocscience program
proceed with step 9. Otherwise go to step 13.

9. Click on the HARDLOCK button.

10. Click on the INSTALL DRIVER FOR 95,98,NT

button.
2 ROCFALL User’s Guide

11. Proceed until the hardlock driver installation is

complete and you are back to the Rocscience
Installation window.

12. Click on the RETURN button.

13. Click on the EXIT button.

14. To run ROCFALL, you will also need the hardlock

supplied with the program. The hardlock must be
attached to the parallel port on your computer during
execution of the program. Attach the ROCFALL
hardlock to the parallel port of your computer.

15. The installation process creates a ROCSCIENCE

menu in your START…PROGRAMS menu. In the
ROCSCIENCE menu there will be a ROCFALL menu
containing the ROCFALL application. Run the
ROCFALL application.

16. If you are a first time user, follow the “Quick Start
Tutorial” presented in this manual, to get acquainted
with the basic features of ROCFALL.
 Introduction 3

Introduction
ROCFALL is a statistical analysis program designed to
assist with a risk assessment of slopes at risk of rockfalls.
Energy, velocity and "bounce height" envelopes for the
entire slope are determined by the program as is the
location of rock endpoints.

ROCFALL can also assist in determining remedial

measures: the material properties of each slope segment
can be changed and the analysis re-run, comparing the
results. Information about the kinetic energy and location
of impact on a barrier can help determine the capacity,
size and location of barriers.

ROCFALL provides various ways of interacting with other

Windows programs. All input and output data (formatted
in tabular form) and screen captures, can be "pasted" into
a word processor for speedy report writing. ROCFALL
also allows "raw" data (e.g. the impact location on a
barrier) to be "pasted" into a spreadsheet for more
detailed analysis. (e.g. determining what fraction of the
impact locations were above a certain height; or fitting a
probability distribution to the data).

About this Manual

This manual consists of the following tutorials:

1. A Quick Start tutorial, to get new users acquainted

with the basic features of ROCFALL.

2. A Barriers and Collectors tutorial.

3. A Vertex Variation tutorial.

4 ROCFALL User’s Guide

This manual is intended as a hands-on, getting started

user’s guide. For more information on any ROCFALL
options that are not discussed in these pages, consult the
ROCFALL Help system.

In this manual, instructions such as:

Select: Slope → Define Slope

are used to navigate the menu selections.

When a toolbar button is displayed in the margin, as

shown above, this indicates that the option is available in
a ROCFALL toolbar. This is always the recommended and
quickest way to use the option.
 Quick Start Tutorial 5

Quick Start Tutorial

This “quick start” tutorial will demonstrate the basic

features of the program, and show you how to perform a
basic RocFall.

If you have not already done so, run ROCFALL by double-

clicking on the ROCFALL icon in your installation folder.
Or from the Start menu, select Programs → Rocscience →
RocFall → RocFall.

If the ROCFALL application window is not already

maximized, maximize it now, so that the full screen is
available for viewing the model.

Analysis Overview

A typical ROCFALL analysis can be performed in a few

minutes, and will consist of the following steps:
6 ROCFALL User’s Guide

1. Define the slope.

2. Define the slope materials.

3. Assign the materials to the slope segments.

4. Define the rock starting locations (seeders).

5. Throw the rocks down the slope.

6. Graph the results.

In addition, Barriers and Data Collectors can be defined,

as discussed in Tutorial 2. This Quick Start Tutorial will
take you through the basic steps 1 – 6 outlined above, to
perform a simple ROCFALL analysis. Note: the model
created in this tutorial can also be found in the
SIMPLE.FAL file in the EXAMPLES folder in your
ROCFALL installation folder.

Defining the Slope

Before we start, note that when the ROCFALL program is

started, a new blank document is already opened,
allowing you to begin creating a model immediately.

The user can create a new document at any time, by

selecting the New option from the File menu or the
Standard toolbar.

Limits
Before we define the slope, let’s set the limits of the
drawing region, so that we can see the slope being created
as we enter the geometry.

Select: View → Limits

Enter the following minimum and maximum x-y

coordinates in the Set Limits dialog:
 Quick Start Tutorial 7

Figure 1-1: Set Limits dialog.

These limits will more or less center the slope in the

drawing region, when you enter it as described below.

Define Slope
To create the slope, select Define Slope from the Slope
menu or the Slope toolbar.

Select: Slope → Define Slope

Enter the following coordinates in the prompt line at the

bottom right of the screen.

Enter vertex [enter=done]: 0 0

Enter vertex [enter=done]: 3.1 –12.2
Enter vertex [enter=done]: 6.7 –12.2
Enter vertex [enter=done]: 9.8 –24.4
Enter vertex [enter=done]: 13.4 -25
Enter vertex [enter=done]: 21.3 –23.5
Enter vertex [enter=done]: press Enter

Note that pressing the Enter key enters each coordinate

pair. When the last vertex has been entered, pressing the
Enter key again adds the slope to screen, and exits the
Define Slope option.
8 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Note that the slope can also be created graphically in

ROCFALL, by simply clicking the left mouse button at the
desired coordinates while using Define Slope. (The Grid
and Grid Snap options are helpful for entering exact
coordinates graphically.)

Your screen should now look as follows:

Figure 1-2: Slope geometry defined.

 Quick Start Tutorial 9

Defining Materials

To define the slope material properties, select Material

Editor from the Slope toolbar or the Slope menu.

Select: Slope → Material Editor

Figure 1-3: Material Editor dialog.

In the Material Editor dialog, you will notice that a

number of default materials have been pre-defined for
your convenience. However, for this tutorial, we will
define three new materials, as described below.

1. Select the Add button in the Material Editor dialog,

and notice that “New Material” appears in the
Existing Materials list.

2. Change the name of this new material to Type One,

and enter the properties given in Table 1-1.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to define two more new

materials named Type Two and Type Three. See Table
1-1 for properties.
10 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Rn Rt Phi Rough-
Name (mean | (mean | (mean | ness (sd) Color
sd) sd) sd)

Type One 0.8 | 0.03 0.8 | 0.03 30 | 0 0 Black

Type Two 0.7 | 0.03 0.8 | 0.03 30 | 0 0 Green

Type Three 0.5 | 0.03 0.5 | 0.03 30 | 0 0 Pink

Table 1-1: New material properties.

4. When you are finished entering all of the properties,

select the Done button in the Material Editor dialog.

You are now ready to assign the material properties to the

slope.

NOTE:

• Standard deviations are NOT mandatory. If you

would like a property specified “exactly” by it’s mean
value, then simply enter a standard deviation of 0.0
(zero) for that property.

• Note that the slope colours have no bearing on the

analysis, and are simply used for identification
purposes.
 Quick Start Tutorial 11

Assigning Materials

Material properties are assigned to the slope segments

with the Slope Editor dialog, available in the Slope menu
or the Slope toolbar. (Materials can also be assigned
graphically with the mouse. This is described in the next
section).

Select: Slope → Slope Editor

Let’s assign our newly defined materials (Type One, Type

Two and Type Three) as follows:

1. In the Slope Editor dialog, click the mouse in the

SECOND row of the Material column, and select Type
One from the drop-down list of available materials.
This will assign the material Type One to the
SEGMENT between vertices 1 and 2.

2. Click the mouse in the THIRD row of the Material

column, and select Type Two. This will assign the
material Type Two to the SEGMENT between vertices
2 and 3.

3. Proceed in this manner, until the materials are

assigned as shown in Figure 1-4.

Figure 1-4: Slope Editor dialog.

12 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Graphical Method of Assignment

Although we illustrated the slope material assignment
using the Slope Editor dialog, material assignment can
also be done graphically with the mouse, using:

• The “Assign” toolbar button (the “paintbrush” button)

in the Slope toolbar, in conjunction with the pull-down
list of material names.

In most cases you will find it easier to graphically assign

materials, rather than use the Slope Editor dialog. To
assign materials graphically, simply:

1. Select the Assign toolbar button.

2. Select a material from the list in the Slope toolbar.

3. Select slope segments with the left mouse button.

(Multiple segments can be selected with a selection
window. Click AND HOLD the left mouse button and
drag to create a window).

4. When finished, press the Enter key or right-click the

mouse and select Done.

Tip:

If you right-click the mouse on a slope segment and select

Assign Material, this will display the Slope Editor dialog,
with the current material for the clicked-on segment
already highlighted. Use the Slope Editor dialog as
described previously, to assign a different material.
 Quick Start Tutorial 13

Data Tips
A useful feature of ROCFALL are the “data tips” which
appear when you place the cursor for a few moments, over
entities of the model.

For example, if you place the cursor over a segment of the

slope, the material properties of the slope segment will be
displayed, as illustrated below.

Figure 1-5: Data tip for slope properties.

If you place the cursor directly over a vertex of the slope,

the data tip will display the x-y coordinates of the vertex
(and the standard deviations used, if any).
14 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Figure 1-6: Data tip for vertex coordinates.

Data tips allow you to quickly check on model properties

onscreen while viewing the model, without having to
return to the data input dialogs, etc.

Data tips are available for all ROCFALL model entities,

also including seeders, barriers and data collectors.
 Quick Start Tutorial 15

Defining Rock Seeders

The final mandatory step to complete a ROCFALL model

is to define the initial conditions for the rocks (location,
mass and velocity).

Rock starting locations can be defined as either:

• POINTS (Add Point Seeder option) or

• LINES (Add Line Seeder option).

For this tutorial, we will simply add a single point seeder

(ie. All rocks will originate from one location). Select Add
Point Seeder from the Rocks toolbar or the Rocks menu.

Select: Rocks → Add Point Seeder

1. Right-click the mouse and select Vertex Snap from the

popup menu.

2. Move the cursor near the first slope vertex (ie. The
vertex at 0 , 0). When the cursor is close to the vertex,
it will “snap” to the exact location of the vertex (since
we turned Vertex Snap on in step 1).

3. When the cursor (blue cross) is snapped to the vertex,

click the left mouse button, and the Define Initial
Conditions dialog will appear.
16 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Figure 1-7: Define Intial Conditions dialog.

Enter a Mean Horizontal velocity = 1.5 and a standard

deviation = 0.15. Leave all other parameters as shown in
Figure 1-7. Select OK.

This completes the modeling. You are now ready to run

the simulation (ie. Throw the rocks down the slope).

Note that rock seeder “data tips” are also available. Hover
the mouse over the point seeder at (0 , 0) and you should
see the initial conditions we just defined.

Figure 1-8: Data tip for seeder properties.

 Quick Start Tutorial 17

Throwing the Rocks

To run the ROCFALL analysis, select the Throw Rocks

option from the Rocks menu or the Graph toolbar.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

The calculation should only take a few seconds or less,

and your screen should look similar to Figure 1-9.

Figure 1-9: Results of ROCFALL analysis (50 rocks).

Remember that since the program is sampling probability

distributions, the results will be different each time the
analysis is run with the same input data. Therefore, if
your results appear slightly different from those in Figure
1-9, don’t worry, this is to be expected.

For this analysis, the default number of 50 rocks was

used. This number is entered in the Simulation
Parameters dialog, discussed at the end of this tutorial.
However, let’s graph some results first!
18 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Graphing the Results

One of the most common and easily understood results

from a ROCFALL analysis, is the horizontal location of
endpoints.

Select: Graph → Endpoints

Your screen should look similar to Figure 1-10.

Figure 1-10: Endpoints graph (split-screen view).

By default, when a graph is first generated in ROCFALL,

it is presented in a Split View format, with the slope
shown in the lower half of the screen as a visual reference.
(NOTE that the slope is vertically compressed in this
view, ie. the X and Y axes are not to the same scale).

The Split View mode can be toggled on or off at any time,

by selecting the Split View option from the Graph toolbar
or the Graph menu.

Select: Graph → Split View

 Quick Start Tutorial 19

The graph is now maximized in the view.

Chart Properties
Right-click on the graph and select Chart Properties.

Figure 1-11: Chart Properties dialog.

The Chart Properties dialog allows the user to customize

the vertical and / or horizontal ranges, as well as axis and
graph titles. This is left as an optional exercise. Select OK
or Cancel.

Statistics
Right-click on the graph and select Statistics. A dialog
displaying graph statistics will be displayed, as shown in
Figure 1-12.

Scroll down to view the information in the Statistics

dialog.
20 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Notice the Copy button in the Statistics dialog. Selecting

this button allows you to copy the information in the
Statistics dialog, to the Windows clipboard. From the
clipboard, it can be pasted into wordprocessing or
spreadsheet programs, for further analysis, or report
writing.

Select OK to close the Statistics dialog.

Figure 1-12: Distribution Statistics dialog.

Copy Raw Data

In the Graph toolbar and the Edit menu, you will notice a
Copy Raw Data option. This allows the user to copy the
raw data used to generate graphs, to the Windows
clipboard. From the clipboard, the raw data can be pasted
into wordprocessing or spreadsheet programs, for further
analysis, or report writing. This allows you, for example,
to perform “custom” analyses that are not available with
ROCFALL. For instance you could copy the “raw” data
associated with the rock endpoints into your spreadsheet,
sort the data and fit an unusual probability distribution to
the data.
 Quick Start Tutorial 21

Envelope Graphs
Kinetic Energy, Velocity and Bounce Height envelopes
can also be generated. Select each of these options from
the Graph toolbar or the Graph menu, and view the
results.

Figure 1-13: Kinetic Energy Envelope (Split View toggled OFF).

Note:

• Each graph is initially generated with the Split View

option toggled ON. This can be toggled ON or OFF at
any time, as described earlier for the Endpoints
graph.

• When the Kinetic Energy, Velocity or Bounce Height

options are initially selected, a new view is generated.
Only one view of each graph type can exist. If these
options are re-selected AFTER a graph has been
initially generated, the active view will simply revert
to the selected graph. A new view will NOT be
generated in this case.
22 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Distribution Graphs
Kinetic Energy, Velocity and Bounce Height distribution
graphs can be generated by selecting these options from
the Graph toolbar or the Graph menu.

The distribution graphs show the distribution of results at

X locations along the slope. For example:

Select: Graph → Kinetic Energy Distribution

Your screen should look similar to Figure 1-14.

Figure 1-14: Kinetic Energy Distribution at x = 10.67.

Note the following properties of the distribution graphs:

• A thick vertical line on the slope marks the X location

of the data sampling. To sample data at other
locations, simply click the left mouse button anywhere
on the slope. The vertical line will indicate the
selected position, and the graph will immediately be
updated.
 Quick Start Tutorial 23

• If you click AND HOLD the left mouse button on the

slope, you can drag the vertical line marker along the
slope, and the graph will be updated as the line is
moved.

• The sampling location can also be moved with the left

/ right arrow keys or the mouse wheel (if your mouse
has a mouse wheel).

Adjusting the Sampling Locations

The X locations of the data sampling are determined by
the horizontal extent of the slope divided by the Number
of Sampling Intervals in the Simulation Parameters
dialog. In general, these X locations will not be round
numbers.

To obtain round numbers for the X locations of the data

sampling on the distribution graphs, you can:

• adjust the Number of Sampling Intervals in the

Simulation Parameters dialog, and / or

• modify the total X extent of the slope (eg. Extend or

shorten the first or last segment so that the total
horizontal extent of the slope is a round number.)

EXAMPLE: if the total X extent of the slope is 50 meters,

and the Number of Sampling Intervals is 100, this will
provide sampling at 0.5 meter intervals along the slope).

Distributions at exact X locations can also be obtained by

defining Data Collectors at the desired locations, and
graphing the results for the collector(s). See the Barriers
and Collectors tutorial for details.
24 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Tiling the Views

If you wish, you can now tile the views.

Select: Window → Tile Vertically

Depending on how many graphs you have generated, and

whether or not you have the Split View option toggled on
or off on each view, your screen may look something like
Figure 1-15.

Figure 1-15: Tiled views.

 Quick Start Tutorial 25

Re-running the Analysis

You can re-run the analysis by re-selecting the Throw

Rocks option as many times as desired.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

All views and graphs will be updated with the cumulative

results of all rocks thrown. Note that the total number of
rocks thrown is displayed in the status bar. (For example,
if you selected Throw Rocks five more times, the status
bar would indicate 300 rocks thrown).

Clearing the Rock Paths

To start a new ROCFALL analysis with a clean slate,
select the Clear Rock Paths option from the Graph toolbar
or the Rocks menu.

Select: Rocks → Clear Rock Paths

This will erase all existing rock paths on the slope, and
erase all previously collected data. Any graph views that
may have been open will indicate “No Data Available”.

Note that ROCFALL automatically clears the rock paths

any time that changes are made to the model which would
invalidate the currently displayed results. For example, if
a new material is assigned to a slope segment, ROCFALL
will automatically reset the rock paths.
26 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Simulation Parameters
For this Quick Start tutorial, we used the default
Simulation Parameters. Let’s take a quick look at the
Simulation Parameters dialog, and make a couple of
changes, and re-run the analysis.

Select: Rocks → Simulation Parameters

Figure 1-16: Simulation Parameters dialog.

Change the Number of Rocks to Throw to 500, and change

the Number of Sampling Intervals to 100. Select OK.

Re-run the analysis again (select Throw Rocks), and plot

graphs as before.

Note the speed of the analysis (500 rocks should still only
take a few seconds to compute). It is important to note
that the Number of Sampling Intervals is used during the
ROCFALL calculations, and determines the frequency of
data collection along the rock paths, and also affects the
speed of the analysis. Any time the Number of Sampling
Intervals is changed, a new ROCFALL analysis must be
performed (previous results will automatically be erased).
 Quick Start Tutorial 27

Exporting Images

In ROCFALL, various options are available for exporting

image files.

Export Image File

The Export Image File option in the File menu or the
right-click menu, allows the user to save the current view
directly to one of four image file formats:

• JPEG (*.jpg)
• Windows Bitmap (*.bmp)
• Windows Enhanced Metafile (*.emf)
• Windows Metafile (*.wmf)

Copy to Clipboard
The current view can also be copied to the Windows
clipboard using the Copy option in the Standard toolbar or
the Edit menu. This will place a bitmap image on the
clipboard which can be pasted directly into word or image
processing applications.

Black and White Images (Grayscale)

A very useful option in ROCFALL is the Grayscale option,
available in the Tools toolbar, the right-click menu or the
View menu. This will automatically convert the current
view to Grayscale, suitable for black and white image
requirements. This is very useful when sending images to
a black and white printer, or for capturing black and
white image files.

The Grayscale option works as a toggle, and all previous

colour settings of the current view will be restored when
Grayscale is toggled off
28 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Info Viewer

The Info Viewer option in the File menu (and the

Standard toolbar) displays a summary of all ROCFALL
model parameters in its own view. This includes:

• Slope geometry
• Slope materials
• Seeder properties
• Simulation parameters
• Barrier and collector properties

Select: File → Info Viewer

Figure 1-17: ROCFALL Info Viewer listing.

The Info Viewer information can be copied to the

clipboard using the Copy option in the Standard toolbar or
the Edit menu, or by right-clicking in the view and
selecting Copy to Clipboard. From the clipboard, the
 Quick Start Tutorial 29

information can be pasted into word processing programs

for report writing.

The Info Viewer information can also be sent directly to

your printer using the Print option in the File menu.

NOTE that analysis results are NOT recorded in the Info

Viewer. However, as discussed earlier in this tutorial:

• Graph results can be copied to the clipboard with the

Copy Raw Data option in the Edit menu.

• Graph statistics are available with the Statistics

option in the Graph menu.

That concludes this Quick Start Tutorial. To exit the

program:

Select: File → Exit

30 ROCFALL User’s Guide
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 31

Barriers and Collectors Tutorial

This tutorial will demonstrate how to add Barriers and

Collectors to a ROCFALL model, and interpret the
results.

If you have not already done so, run ROCFALL by double-

clicking on the ROCFALL icon in your installation folder.
Or from the Start menu, select Programs → Rocscience →
RocFall → RocFall. If the ROCFALL application window
is not already maximized, maximize it now, so that the
full screen is available for viewing the model.

We will start with the same model we created in the

previous “quick start” tutorial. This file is available in the
SIMPLE.FAL file in the EXAMPLES folder in your
ROCFALL installation folder.

Select: File → Open

32 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Navigate to the EXAMPLES folder in your ROCFALL

installation folder, and open the SIMPLE.FAL file.

Barrier Overview

A Barrier in ROCFALL is a line segment with one end on

the slope surface, which can be placed anywhere along the
slope in order to alter the paths of the rocks as they travel
down the slope.

Barrier properties may be defined as:

• Perfectly Inelastic (Rn=Rt=0)

• Perfectly Elastic (Rn=Rt=1)
• Custom (any intermediate coefficients of restitution
between 0 and 1).
• In addition, barriers can be assigned a breaking
capacity in terms of the maximum energy before rocks
break through.

Any number of barriers can be added to the slope.

However, barriers cannot cross other barriers and cannot
cross slope segments.

Adding a Barrier

To add a barrier to the slope, select the Add Barrier

option from the Barriers menu or the Rocks toolbar.

Select: Barriers → Add Barrier

Since the first point of a barrier line segment must always

be on an existing slope segment, you will notice a cross
marker move along the slope as you move the cursor. This
marker indicates the point on the slope nearest to the
cursor location, and is an aid for graphically adding the
first barrier vertex to the slope by clicking the left mouse
button.
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 33

However, for this example, we will enter exact coordinates

in the prompt line, since it is difficult to enter exact
coordinates graphically.

Select location for the first endpoint

[esc=cancel]: 17.35 –24.25
Select location for the second endpoint
[esc=cancel]: 17.35 –17

Your model should now look like Figure 2-1:

Figure 2-1: Barrier added to slope.

As you can see, we have added a vertical barrier at the

midpoint of the last segment of the slope.

You will also notice that the existing rock paths, which
were present when we loaded the file, were reset when
the barrier was added. This is done automatically by
ROCFALL, since a new analysis is required whenever a
barrier (or a data collector) is added to the model.
34 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Default Barrier Properties

When a barrier is first added in ROCFALL, the default
properties of the barrier are Perfectly Inelastic (Rn = Rt =
0.0).

Barrier properties can be changed in the Barrier Editor

dialog. This will be discussed shortly. However, let’s first
run the analysis using the default properties.

Throwing the Rocks

Run the analysis by selecting the Throw Rocks option

from the Rocks menu or the Graph toolbar.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

The calculation should only take a few seconds, and your

screen should look similar to Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2: ROCFALL analysis with barrier.

 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 35

Since the barrier is “perfectly inelastic” all rock paths

which intersect the barrier come to a complete stop and do
NOT rebound, but simply fall straight down to the bottom
of the barrier and come to rest.

As an optional exercise, you can verify this by:

• Zooming in to the barrier (use the Zoom Window

option) and observing the rock path intersections with
the barrier.

• Plot an Endpoints Graph (select Graph→ Endpoints)

and observe that nearly all rock paths terminate at
the barrier (a few bounce short and fall back down the
slope). See Figure 2-3.

Figure 2-3: Endpoints Graph (Perfectly Inelastic barrier).

If you performed the above optional steps, close the

Endpoints Graph, and reset the slope view by selecting
Zoom All from the Zoom toolbar (or you can press the F2
function key to Zoom All).
36 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Changing the Barrier Properties

Barrier properties can be modified with the Barrier Editor

dialog. This is available through the Barriers menu,
however, a convenient shortcut is to right-click on a
barrier, and select Edit Barrier from the popup menu. Do
this now.

Change the barrier from Perfectly Inelastic (Rn = Rt = 0)

to Perfectly Elastic (Rn = Rt = 1). Select the Perfectly
Elastic checkbox, and select Done.

Figure 2-4: Barrier Editor dialog.

Now re-run the analysis.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

As described in the previous section, use Zoom Window to

zoom in to the barrier and observe the rock paths. Since
the barrier is Perfectly Elastic, all rocks now bounce off
the barrier, and no longer “stick” to the barrier, as they
did when the properties were Perfectly Inelastic.

This will be evident if you view the Endpoints Graph.

Select: Graph → Endpoints

Compare Figures 2-3 and 2-5. As you can see, the rocks
now bounce off the barrier and come to rest at various
locations to the left of the barrier.
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 37

Figure 2-5: Endpoints Graph (Perfectly Elastic barrier).

Close the Endpoints Graph, and if you zoomed in to the

barrier as suggested earlier, press F2 to Zoom All.

Of course, real barriers are not Perfectly Elastic or

Perfectly Inelastic.

As an optional exercise, select the Custom checkbox in the

Barrier Editor dialog, and enter values between 0 and 1
for the Normal and Tangential Coefficients of Restitution,
and re-run the analysis.

Barrier Capacity
Barriers in ROCFALL can be assigned a capacity in terms
of the energy required to break through the barrier. Any
rocks that contact the barrier with a kinetic energy
exceeding the barrier capacity will pass through the
barrier, with a reduced velocity. Let’s demonstrate this.

1. Right click on the barrier, and select Edit Barrier.

38 ROCFALL User’s Guide

2. In the Barrier Editor dialog, de-select the Infinite

Capacity checkbox, enter a capacity = 100 Joules, and
select Done.
3. Re-run the analysis (select Throw Rocks), and observe
that some rock paths now pass through the barrier.
Use Zoom Window to zoom in to the barrier, as shown
in Figure 2-6.

Figure 2-6: Rocks passing through barrier with finite capacity.

Before we continue, reset the barrier capacity to Infinite

in the Barrier Editor dialog. Press F2 to Zoom All. Select
Throw Rocks to re-run the analysis.

Graphing Barrier Results

For each barrier, the following results can be graphed:

• X or Y (horizontal or vertical) impact locations on the

barrier

• Impact Velocity
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 39

• Impact Energy

Select the Barrier and Collector Graphs option from the

Graph menu or the Graph toolbar.

Select: Graph → Barrier and Collector Graphs

In the Graph dialog, select all three checkboxes and select

Done.

Figure 2-7: Graph dialog for Barriers and Collectors.

• Note – the Horizontal Impact Location graph is not

available, since the barrier in this case is vertical.

You have now generated three graphs for the barrier. Tile
the views so that you can view all graphs at once.

Select: Window → Tile Vertically

Your screen should look similar to Figure 2-8.

40 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Figure 2-8: Barrier graph results.

Note that an alternative shortcut for generating Barrier

Graphs, is to right-click on a barrier, and select the
desired graph.

As an optional exercise, select Throw Rocks several times,

and observe that all graphs are immediately updated to
reflect the cumulative results of all rocks thrown.

When you are finished examining the graphs, close the

three graph views, and maximize the Slope view.

That concludes this introduction to barriers in ROCFALL,

we will now move on to our discussion of Data Collectors.
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 41

Data Collectors Overview

A “data collector” in ROCFALL is simply a line segment

that gathers information about the rocks that pass
through the data collector while the rocks are being
thrown down the slope. “Data collectors” record the
velocity, kinetic energy, vertical location, and horizontal
location of all rocks that pass through the data collector as
they travel down the slope.

• Unlike barriers, data collectors do not affect the

movement of the rocks in any way.

• Data collectors do not have any properties associated

with them (other than the endpoints defining their
location), and do not have any directionality (i.e. it
doesn’t matter which end is the starting point and
which end is the ending point).

• There is no restriction on the number of data

collectors or where they can be placed. They may
intersect or cross the slope, barriers, or other data
collectors at any location.

Adding a Data Collector

To add a data collector to the model, select the Add Data

Collector option from the Collectors menu or the Rocks
toolbar.

Select: Collectors → Add Data Collector

1. Right-click the mouse and select Vertex Snap from the

popup menu.

2. Move the cursor near the lowermost slope vertex at

(13.4, –25). The cursor should snap to the exact
location of the vertex.
42 ROCFALL User’s Guide

3. Click the left mouse button to enter this as the first

point of the data collector.

4. Now let’s enter the second point through the prompt

line.

Select location for the second endpoint

[esc=cancel]: 13.4 –17

Your model should look like Figure 2-9. (The text and
arrows were added with the Add Text and Add Arrow
options in the Tools menu. This is left as an optional
exercise).

Figure 2-9: Data Collector added to model.

As you can see, we have added a vertical data collector to

the left of the existing barrier.

Notice that the existing rock paths were reset when the
data collector was added. This is done automatically by
ROCFALL, since a new analysis is required whenever a
barrier or a data collector is added to the model.
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 43

Throwing the Rocks

Run the analysis by selecting the Throw Rocks option

from the Rocks menu or the Graph toolbar.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

The calculation should only take a few seconds, and your

screen should look similar to Figure 2-10.

Figure 2-10: ROCFALL analysis with barrier and collector.

As you can see, the data collector has no effect on the rock
paths.

We can now graph results for the data collector in exactly

the same way that barrier results were graphed.
44 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Graphing Data Collector Results

Graphs for Barriers and Collectors can be generated using

the Barrier and Collector Graphs dialog, available in the
Graph menu and the Graph toolbar. This was
demonstrated earlier for the barrier graphs.

An alternative to using this dialog, is to simply right-click

on a barrier or collector, and select the desired graph.
Let’s demonstrate this now.

Right click on the collector, and select Graph Y-Impact

Location from the popup menu. Your screen should look
similar to Figure 2-11.

Figure 2-11: Vertical Impact Location for Collector.

Note that the impact locations are in terms of the absolute

coordinates of your model, rather than relative
coordinates (ie. measured from one end of the collector).
 Barriers and Collectors Tutorial 45

Statistics
To view statistics for this graph, right click on the graph
and select Statistics from the popup menu. You will see
the following dialog.

Figure 2-12: Collector statistics (Y-Impact location).

Notice that the number of data points is 81, but we only

threw 50 rocks.

This is because collectors record data each time that a

rock path crosses the collector. In this case, many of the
rocks crossed the collector a second time, after bouncing
off of the barrier.

In general, the number of data points recorded on a

barrier or collector graph will not necessarily be equal to
the number of rocks thrown, and will depend on how many
times each rock path actually intersected the barrier or
collector.
46 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Distribution Graphs vs. Collector Graphs

To wrap up this tutorial, we will make an important point

concerning Distribution Graphs and Collector Graphs in
ROCFALL.

In most cases, data collection is required along vertical

lines at given X locations along the slope. For this
purpose, the Distribution Graph options in the Graph
menu are provided, ie.

• Kinetic Energy Distribution

• Height Distribution
• Velocity Distribution

These graphs allow the user to quickly view distributions

along the entire extent of the slope (see the Quick Start
tutorial for details).

Distribution Graphs are actually derived from a series of

equally spaced “invisible” vertical data collectors
automatically generated by ROCFALL when the analysis
is run. The spacing of these collectors is determined by
the Number of Sampling Intervals in the Simulation
Parameters dialog, and the total X extent of the slope.

In most cases, the Distribution Graphs will provide the

user with the desired data. The Data Collectors option
described in this tutorial should only be necessary in the
following cases:

• If data collection along a non-vertical line is required,

then Data Collectors must be used.

• If data collection at exact X locations is required, then

it may be necessary to define Data Collectors, since
the Distribution Graphs only provide results at the
intervals determined by the Number of Sampling
Intervals and the X extent of the slope.
 Vertex Variation Tutorial 47

Vertex Variation Tutorial

In ROCFALL, standard deviations can be applied to the

coordinates of any or all slope vertices. This allows the
user to account for uncertainty in measurements, or to
simulate a pseudo 3-D rockfall analysis (ie. to simulate
minor variations in a slope profile).

If you have not already done so, run ROCFALL by double-

clicking on the ROCFALL icon in your installation folder.
Or from the Start menu, select Programs → Rocscience →
RocFall → RocFall. If the ROCFALL application window
is not already maximized, maximize it now, so that the
full screen is available for viewing the model.

This tutorial will also be based on the SIMPLE.FAL file,

which you should find in the EXAMPLES folder in your
ROCFALL installation folder.

Select: File → Open

48 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Navigate to the EXAMPLES folder in your ROCFALL

installation folder, and open the SIMPLE.FAL file.

We will now modify the SIMPLE.FAL file as follows.

Edit Seeder

First let’s change the properties of the existing seeder.

Right click the mouse on the existing point seeder (the
blue cross at vertex (0 , 0) at the top of the slope), and
select Edit Seeder from the popup menu.

Change the Horizontal Velocity (Mean) to 3.5 and

Horizontal Velocity (Std. Dev.) to 0. Leave all other
properties as shown in Figure 3-1. Select OK.

Figure 3-1: Changing the rock initial conditions.

Notice that all standard deviations for the rock initial

conditions are now zero.

New Material

Now let’s create a new material with no deviation in

material properties, and apply this material to the entire
slope.
 Vertex Variation Tutorial 49

Select Material Editor from the Slope toolbar or the Slope

menu.

Select: Slope → Material Editor

Figure 3-2: New material added in Material Editor dialog.

Define a new material called No Deviation as follows:

1. Select the Add button in the Material Editor dialog,

and notice that “New Material” appears in the
Existing Materials list.

2. Change the name of this new material to “No

Deviation” and enter the properties shown below.

Rn Rt Phi Rough-
Name (mean | (mean | (mean | ness (sd) Color
sd) sd) sd)

No Deviation 0.4 | 0 0.8 | 0 30 | 0 0 Black

Table 3-1: New material properties.

3. When you are finished entering the properties, select

the Done button in the Material Editor dialog.
50 ROCFALL User’s Guide

You are now ready to assign the new material to the

slope.

Assign Material
We will assign the new material to the entire slope,
graphically using the mouse, as follows:

1. Select the Assign toolbar button (the “paintbrush”

button).

2. Select the No Deviation material from the pull-down

list of material names in the Slope toolbar.

3. Select the entire slope with a selection window (Click

AND HOLD the left mouse button and drag to create
a window that encloses the entire slope. When you
release the mouse button, the material assignment
will be made).

4. Press the Enter key or right-click the mouse and

select Done.

Verify Changes

Let’s quickly verify that we have correctly entered the

new properties. Select Throw Rocks, and you should see
only a single rock path travel down the slope.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

Since we have removed all statistical variation (standard

deviation = 0) for the rock (seeder) initial conditions, and
the slope material properties, all rocks thrown should
take the same path. If this is the case, select Clear Rock
Paths from the Rocks menu, and continue with the
tutorial. If this is NOT the case (ie. Multiple rock paths
are displayed), then go back and check that you have
entered the correct seeder and material properties.
 Vertex Variation Tutorial 51

Vertex Variation

We are now ready to apply standard deviations to the

slope vertices. Select Slope Editor from the Slope toolbar
or the Slope menu.

Select: Slope → Slope Editor

1. In the Slope Editor dialog, select the “Use standard

deviations when generating slope vertices” checkbox.
This will allow you to enter standard deviations for
the vertex coordinates.

2. For Vertex 3 ( mean coordinates = 6.7, –12.2) enter an

X standard deviation = 0.05 and a Y standard
deviation = 0.10.

3. Select OK.

Figure 3-3: Standard Deviation added to Vertex 3 in Slope Editor

dialog.

To keep things simple, we have only added standard

deviation to a single vertex. This will make it easier to
illustrate the effect of vertex variation in ROCFALL.

Vertices with standard deviations are drawn with a

yellow ellipse centered around the vertex, indicating the
variability of the vertex location.
52 ROCFALL User’s Guide

The ellipse indicates the range where approximately 95%

of the sampled vertices will be generated, since the ellipse
extends from the mean vertex location TWO standard
deviations in both the positive and negative directions.
(eg. a vertex at (0 , 0) with a standard deviation of 1 in the
X direction and 2 in the Y direction, would be surrounded
by an ellipse extending from X = – 2 to X = 2 , and Y = – 4
to Y = 4 ).

For this example, the ellipse is too small to be visible with

the model at full scale, so let’s zoom in to get a closer look.
Use the Zoom Window option to zoom in on vertex 3, until
your screen looks approximately like Figure 3-4.

Figure 3-4: Ellipse indicating variability of vertex location.

(If you place the cursor directly over vertex 3 you will see
the vertex “data tip”. Note the mean and standard
deviations of the vertex coordinates are displayed.)

Select Zoom All to bring the model back to full view.

 Vertex Variation Tutorial 53

Throwing the Rocks

Now select Throw Rocks to run the analysis.

Select: Rocks → Throw Rocks

Your screen should look similar to Figure 3-5.

Figure 3-5: ROCFALL analysis with vertex variation.

As you can see, all rocks follow the same initial path, since
there is zero variation in the seeder initial conditions.

However, when they reach the second segment of the

slope, many diverging paths are created, due to the
variation we applied to vertex 3.

Let’s zoom in again to see what is going on. Use Zoom

Window (you may also find Zoom Mouse and Pan useful)
to zoom in to the first bounce location to the left of vertex
3, until your screen looks similar to Figure 3-6.
54 ROCFALL User’s Guide

Figure 3-6: Zoom in on bounce location beside vertex 3.

Figure 3-6 illustrates how the rocks can now bounce off of
points above and below the mean slope segment
orientation.

Although only the mean slope segments are drawn, the

rock paths indicate the range of actual slope segments
generated by the statistical variation we applied to vertex
3. Effectively, a new slope is generated before each rock is
thrown.

Note that the range of impact locations corresponds

approximately to the extents of the ellipse (ie. If you
visualize a segment joining vertex 2 to the ellipse extents
around vertex 3, you can see that the upper and lower
bounds of this segment would produce the impact
locations we see after the analysis).
 Vertex Variation Tutorial 55

Sensitivity Analysis
When using vertex variation in ROCFALL, you will
probably find it most useful to change the standard
deviation of only one vertex at a time (leaving all other
vertices with a standard deviation of 0). This will allow
you to determine the sensitivity of the simulation to the
location of that particular vertex. If you change the
standard deviation of many vertices at once it may be
difficult to determine which vertex has the most effect on
the results and which have very little effect.