ABSTRACT
Rockeries (or rockery walls) consist of large individual rock blocks which are stacked to form a retaining structure similar to a retaining wall. They are used in connection with oversteepened cut slopes, rock fill embankments and bridge abutments. Design of rockeries is most often based on local experience or simplified limit equilibrium analyses. This paper presents a more rigorous procedure based on the distinct element method implemented in the micro-computer-based code ESAC (Explicit Stability Analysis Code). Although the code can be used to study the two-dimensional quasi-static behavior of a wide range of engineered surface facilities, attention in this paper is focused on application of the code to analysis of an idealized rockery wall.
