Rockslide run-out prediction from distinct element analysis.

The Checkerboard Creek Rock Slope is located 1.5 km upstream of the Revelstoke Dam, which impounds the Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada. A detailed investigation completed in 2004 indicated that 2 to 3 million m3 of a rock slope was moving toward the reservoir at rate of approximately 10 mm/year. There was concern that, if a portion of the slow-moving rockslide accelerated rapidly into the reservoir, the resultant wave could overtop the dam. Distinct element analyses were carried out using UDEC to assess potential rockslide run-out characteristics (time histories of rock volume, thickness and velocity). A Voronoi tessellation scheme was used to create a rock fabric that allowed the moving rock slope to disaggregate. The range of slide behaviours was investigated by varying the following four factors: (1) type and amount of damping used to simulate the coefficient of restitution and, thus, energy loss during run-out; (2) friction angle of contacts during movement; (3) reservoir effects; and (4) rock fragment sizes. The results from these analyses were used as input to a physical wave model study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]