Open Access

ARTICLE

An Approach to Uncertainty Analysis of Rockfall Simulation

S. Turrin¹, M. Hanss¹, A.P.S. Selvadurai²

1 Institut für Angewandte und Experimentelle Mechanik, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
2 Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2009, 52(3), 237-258. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmes.2009.052.237

Abstract

Despite the continuing advances in rockfall analysis, the mathematical modeling and simulation of rockfall phenomena continues to be significantly influenced by a large amount of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty on significant number of model parameters. This paper focuses on the representation and quantification of epistemic uncertainties in rockfall modeling and simulation by fuzzy numbers. The propagation of the epistemic uncertainties considered is then calculated by the transformation method as a practical implementation of fuzzy arithmetic. Epistemic uncertainties on the material properties, on the boulder geometry and dimensions, on the kinematics of the impact and on the contact response between boulder and slope are considered. The propagation and the influence of the uncertainties are then investigated with respect to the determination of the coefficients of restitution.

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Keywords

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