Tutorial 9 Polygonal Rock Shapes
• Polygonal rock shapes • Smooth versus polygon comparison • Endpoint graph RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Introduction In the previous version of RocFall (5.0) we introduced rigid body rock shapes, which were modeled by smooth rounded shapes (e.g. ovals, ellipses, etc). In RocFall 6.0 you can now also define polygonal rock shapes with sharp corners. This tutorial will demonstrate how to define polygonal rock shapes and compare the results with that of smooth rock shapes. Model From the RocFall main menu, select File > Recent Folders > Tutorials Folder and open the Tutorial 09 Polygonal Shapes file. You should see the following model. Rock Shapes Select Rock Type Library from the toolbar or the Seeder menu. 9 ‐ 2 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Notice that there are now separate options for selecting Smooth Shapes or Polygons. 
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The Smooth Shapes option is exactly equivalent to the rigid body shapes available in RocFall version 5.0. These are also referred to as Fourier Shapes due to their mathematical formulation. The Polygons option is new in RocFall version 6.0 and allows you to choose from pre‐defined regular polygons (triangle to octagon) or to define custom shapes. In this example file, we have created two groups, one for smooth shapes and one for polygons. This was done for the purpose of comparing results with the filter options. However in general, you may combine smooth shapes and polygons in the same “group”, you do not have to assign them to separate groups. Select the Smooth Shapes group and select the Smooth Shapes button, you will see that we have selected all available smooth shapes. 9 ‐ 3 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes If you select the Polygons group and select the Polygons button, you will see that we have selected all available pre‐defined polygons. Since the seeder is set to throw 100 rocks, this should generate about 50 smooth shapes and 50 polygons. Select Results. You should see the following rock paths. 9 ‐ 4 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Rock paths for smooth and polygonal shapes Select Graphs > Graph Endpoints. This shows the endpoint locations for all rocks, smooth and polygons combined. Distribution of Rock Path End Locations
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18
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9
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12
7
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Slope Y Location
Number of Rocks
8
Rocks
Slope
8
7
3
6
2
5
1
0
4
3
0
10
20
Location [m]
Total number of rock paths: 100
Endpoint locations for all 100 rocks (smooth and polygons) Now let’s use the filter options to see the effect of rock shape. 1. Select Results > Filter Options 2. In the Filter Options dialog, select Rock Types > Smooth Shapes > Set 3. Select OK. The endpoint graph should now look as follows. 9 ‐ 5 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Distribution of Rock Path End Locations
18
9
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8
15
14
7
12
11
5
10
4
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Slope Y Location
Number of Rocks
13
6
Rocks
Slope
8
3
7
6
2
5
1
0
4
3
0
10
20
Location [m]
Total number of filtered paths: 50 of 50
Current Filter: Rock Type [smooth shapes]
Endpoint locations for smooth rock shapes (50 rocks) Now let’s filter the results to view only the polygon endpoints. 1. Select Results > Filter Options > Clear Filter 2. In the Filter Options dialog, select Rock Types > Polygons > Set 3. Select OK. The endpoint graph is as follows. 9 ‐ 6 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Distribution of Rock Path End Locations
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6
17
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15
5
14
12
11
10
3
9
Slope Y Location
Number of Rocks
13
4
Rocks
Slope
8
2
7
6
1
5
4
0
3
0
10
20
Location [m]
Total number of filtered paths: 50 of 50
Current Filter: NOT Rock Type [smooth shapes]
Endpoint locations for polygon rock shapes (50 rocks) If you compare the endpoint graphs for smooth shapes and polygons, you can see that the distributions are different. The polygons have a more dispersed distribution, and some of them come to rest on the upper slope. In comparison, all of the smooth shapes have come to rest on the bottom sections of the slope model. This is just a simple quick demonstration of how to assign rock shapes and compare results. You are encouraged to experiment further with different types of shapes (smooth and polygon) to see the effect on results for various types of slope models and input parameters. Custom Polygons In addition to the pre‐defined polygons, you can also define custom polygonal rock shapes. 1. Select Design. 2. Select Rock Type Library > Polygons > Custom Polygons 3. In the Custom Polygons dialog, click the mouse in the drawing area to graphically define a rock shape. For example, as shown below. 4. Select OK in both dialogs. 9 ‐ 7 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Custom polygons dialog Now in the Rock Type Library dialog, create a new group called Custom Polygon. Select the Smooth Shapes button and clear all checkboxes. Select the Polygons button, and select only the Custom Polygon checkbox. Select OK in all dialogs. 9 ‐ 8 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Right click on the seeder, select Seeder Properties. Change the Number of Rocks to 150, and select the custom polygon checkbox from the list of rock types. Select OK. 9 ‐ 9 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Select Results. The rock paths appear as follows. Rock paths for smooth shapes, polygons and custom polygon (150 rocks) If you use the Filter option to view only the custom polygon paths, and endpoints, they appear as follows. Rock paths for custom polygon (50 rocks) 9 ‐ 10 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes Distribution of Rock Path End Locations
18
5
17
16
15
4
14
12
3
11
10
9
Slope Y Location
Number of Rocks
13
Rocks
Slope
2
8
7
6
1
5
4
0
3
0
10
20
Location [m]
Total number of filtered paths: 50 of 50
Current Filter: Rock Type [Custom Polygon]
Endpoint graph for custom polygon Compare the endpoint distributions for the custom polygon versus the smooth shapes and regular polygons. Use Exact Size In the Custom Polygon dialog, you will notice a checkbox for Use Exact Size. This option allows you to define the actual size and shape of a rock, using real coordinates (e.g. obtained from laser scanning). In conjunction with the rock weight, this allows you to 9 ‐ 11 RocFall v.6.0 Tutorial Manual Tutorial 9: Polygon Rock Shapes define rocks of a specific shape and weight corresponding to actual rocks observed on a slope. NOTE: if you do NOT use the Use Exact Size option, then the rock size is automatically scaled according to the rock weight, so the shape is preserved but the actual size is determined by the program. The scaling is done in such a way as to obtain a rock with approximately the same in‐plane and out‐of‐plane dimensions. This is left as an optional exercise to experiment with. 9 ‐ 12