ABSTRACT
Figure 8.1 shows a rock fall that has broken through the roof of a reinforced concrete shed; this impact energy has clearly exceeded the design capacity of the shed.
8.1 IMPACT ENERGY-DETERMINISTIC AND PROBABILISTIC DESIGN VALUES
A primary design parameter required for rock fall protection structures is the impact energy that the structure is required to withstand. The design energy is the total of the kinetic and rotational energies, for which the components are the mass and shape of the rock fall, and the translational and rotational velocities; the rotational energy is usually a small portion (about 10% to 20%) of the total energy.
