Rockfall protection embankments: insights into impact effects

Rockfall reinforced earth embankments (RPE) are widely adopted defence structures against rockfall, particularly effective for high-energetic or frequent block impacts. Existing design approaches often involve simplifications, as RPE resisting mechanisms during impact has been not yet completely investigated. This study investigates the RPE response at the impact through a series of FEM analyses. Geophysical and plate load tests on an existing RPE are used to calibrate the soil constitutive law of the numerical model. The results of the huge campaign of sensitivity analyses, herein presented, allow to determine the mechanical and geometrical parameters most affecting the structural behaviour.