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Introduction
This tutorial will demonstrate the Crest Loss option in RocFall. Crest loss allows you to
account for the loss of bench width which occurs when material is lost at the crest of slope
benches due to localized failure. Statistical input allows you to account for the random
nature of the bench failure.
Model
From the RocFall main menu, select File > Recent Folders > Tutorials Folder and open the
Tutorial 06 Initial file. You should see the following model. This model already has all slope
properties defined except for the crest loss.
NOTE:
There is one point seeder defined at the top crest of the slope.
We are using Rigid Body analysis with rounded rock shapes.
250 rocks will be thrown.
Results
Let’s run the analysis. Select Results. For this model, the rocks travel down the first bench
face, and all rocks come to rest on the first bench below the seeder. Zoom in to better view
the rock paths.
Select Graph > Graph Endpoints and tile the views. As you can see all rocks stop on the first
bench.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
Endpoint graph and rock paths for model with no crest loss
Crest Loss
Now we will apply the Crest Loss option and re‐run the analysis. Note: the finished tutorial
can be found in the Tutorial 06 Crest Loss file.
First close the endpoint graph and maximize the slope view.
Select Design Mode.
Select Slope > Crest Loss.
You will be prompted to select vertices. Crest loss is applied to crest vertices of a slope. Use
the mouse to select the FIVE crest vertices of the benched slope as shown below.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
Right‐click and select Done Selection. You will see the Crest Loss dialog.
As illustrated in the dialog, notice how crest loss is defined in RocFall – by defining a length
loss on the bench (upslope) and on the bench face (downslope). Statistics can be applied to
both length variables.
You can define crest loss independently for each selected vertex. However for this tutorial
we will apply the same statistical input for all selected vertices. In order to do this you must
first select the Apply to All checkbox at the lower left corner of the dialog.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
For the upslope segment length loss (d1) enter 5 for the mean value. Then select the
statistical distribution button beside the edit box. Select the Uniform distribution, and enter
Relative Min = 5 and Relative Max = 5.
For the downslope segment length loss (d2) enter 10 for the mean value. Select the
Uniform distribution, and enter Relative Min = 10 and Relative Max = 10.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
Select OK in the dialog. Save the file with a new name.
Crest Loss Display Options
When you define Crest Loss, the input is automatically displayed on the model, by
highlighting the crest loss using colour and/or hatch patterns. You can customize the crest
loss display in the Display Options dialog.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
Right‐click and select Display Options and make sure that the Crest Loss Display option is set
to Max. This will display the maximum possible extent of the Crest Loss according to the
maximum values you have defined for your statistical distributions.
In this case the Maximum crest loss corresponds to 5+5=10 meters on the bench and
10+10= 20 meters on the bench face. The Crest Loss display (red highlights) should appear
as follows.
Results
Select Results to run the analysis.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
Notice that the rocks now travel much further down the slope, because of the loss of bench
width created by the Crest Loss option. Also notice that the crest loss slope segments are
drawn for all rock paths, and show you the actual crest losses generated by your input data.
For each rock thrown down the slope, the slope geometry is re‐generated using the
randomly generated crest loss at each selected vertex.
Animate Paths
Now select the Animate Paths option.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
In the Animate dialog, click through each rock path using the forward arrow beside the rock
id number. Notice that each time you view a new rock path, you can see the actual crest
loss generated for each rock throw. The crest loss is randomly generated according to your
mean values and statistical distribution and parameters.
Close the Animate dialog.
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RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 6: Crest Loss
Endpoint Graph
Select Graphs > Graph Endpoints.
120
90 100
80
80
60
70
40
60
Number of Rocks
Slope Y Location
20
50 0
40 -20
-40
30
-60
20
-80
10
-100
0
0 100 200
Location [m]
With the crest loss we have defined, most rocks still stop on the first bench. However, a
significant number of rocks now travel farther down the slope, with some coming to rest on
each of the downslope benches. As you can see the effect of the crest loss is significant
compared to the model with no crest loss, for this example file.
Additional Exercise
As an additional exercise, it is recommended that you experiment with different statistical
distributions and input values of crest loss, to see the effect on the generated crest loss.
Since the upslope and downslope segment lengths are not correlated during the statistical
sampling, you may wish to define larger values for the downslope crest loss compared to
the upslope, in order to generate more realistic crest loss geometry (i.e. steeper wedge
failures at the crest).
Also try viewing the mean crest loss display (in Display Options) and compare with the
maximum display. This will give a better idea of the range of values you have defined.
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