Evaluation of impact force of rock landslides acting on structures using discontinuous deformation analysis

Impact force evaluation of rock landslides acted on structures is important to the hazard prevention. This paper presents a numerical method to estimate the impact force on structures. An impact force model for the contact force on the given boundary, rather than the resultant force at the center of gravity is presented and incorporated into Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA). The accuracy is verified by comparing simulation results with both analytical and experimental results. A case is then carried out to study the impact force of sliding mass acting on structures, showing the applicability and capability of the presented method.