A new attempt for early warning of unstable rocks based on vibration parameters

Abstract

Rock collapse is a type of fast-moving mass wasting process common in mountainous areas worldwide, and it is hard to predict when collapse will occur. In the experiment, we monitored vibration parameters to predict the time of rock collapse. The results show that the vibration amplitude and fundamental vibration frequency had obvious variations before rock failure, which was consistent with the predicted results of the theoretical model. As the rock became unstable, the vibration amplitude increased by more than 5 times, and the fundamental vibration frequency decreased to less than 41%. Therefore, the monitoring method based on the vibration parameters can record obvious failure precursors for unstable rocks. Our results further develop and refine ambient vibration methods used for implementing the early warning of rock collapse.