16th International Conference of the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, IACMAG 2021, Turin, Italy, 5 - 08 May 2021, vol.126, pp.482-490
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.Rock fall is one of the instability forms of rock slopes. It may resulted in loss of life and property, closing main transportation roads and railways and major economic losses. It is important to estimate the rockfalls and their trajectories in order to protect structures and facilities from rockfall events. This paper presents a study on model experiments and numerical simulations on determining the rockfall travel distances for slopes with different slope angles and to investigate the rockfall hazard problem in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Miyagi Island, Okinawa (Japan). The results from the laboratory tests show that the travel distance of rock falls depend upon slope angle, properties of rock block and also the surface morphology and frictional characteristics besides some dynamic properties such as restitution coefficient. The rockfall hazard is an important issue in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Miyagi Island, Okinawa (Japan) and the rockfalls may be severe problem in both regions.