Tinkering with numerical simulations: my attempt at an explicit solver for rockfall barrier analysis

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Figure 1: Rockfall barrier in RBA during impact.

As part of my work at BFH, we inspect rockfall barriers sold in Switzerland to check their eligibility for federal subsidies and issue quality certifications. Rockfall barriers are mechanically complex systems due to the extreme dynamics of the processes involved and can behave unpredictably. To better understand the behavior of these systems, numerical simulations can be a powerful tool. However, existing commercial software solutions often come with limitations, such as high costs or lack of modeling flexibility.

Rockfall-Barrier on Ivo Gasparini

Tinkering with numerical simulations: my attempt at an explicit solver for rockfall barrier analysis