Comparison of two 3D rockfall codes on behalf of a case study in the Bavarian Alps

Abstract

Rockfall events along main traffic routes in alpine regions emphasize the necessity of enhancing hazard assessment, especially in terms of rockfalls. In the field of regional rockfall modelling it becomes more and more important to work with 3D rockfall codes to account for morphological structures. Due to the general scale of regional rockfall modelling it is in most cases not possible to collect quantitative field data. Thus the input parameters are determined according to disposition models like in the Bavarian hazard map. The current paper deals with a detailed rockfall study which was accomplished during rockslope scaling works in the Bavarian Alps. The rock slope consisting of the Hauptdolomite‐Formation extends along the federal road B 305 north of the village of Schneitzlreuth in Bavaria. Due to attending rockslope scaling works in cooperation with the State Agency for Construction in Traunstein, a quantification of block dimensions according to real rockfall field tests was possible. After having determined the three main block axes for over 300 rocks, rockfall modelling were accomplished applying the 3D rockfall codes Rockyfor3D and Ramms::Rockfall. One part of the parameter studies covers the main proportion of the detected block sizes using Rockyfor3D. The second part of the study presents a comparison of the Rockyfor3D and Ramms::Rockfall outcomes, taking the same block class for both codes into account. This paper demonstrates the limits and possibilities of using different 3D rockfall codes taking detailed field data into account.