Abstract
The rock instability of granodiorite mountain rock located within a key route for the Mecca city (Al Haram) and Al-Taif (tourist place) was investigated. In this study eight, highly susceptible sites from 22 km road selected for kinematic and rockfall analysis to avoid rockfall consequences. Based on the field investigation, this mountain road is characterized by nearly vertical cut slopes with highly fractured and jointed rocks leading to the occurrences of rock instability. The kinematic results indicated that planar, wedge and toppling failure is the main reason for rock block instability. Furthermore, the rockfall movement trajectory and bounce height were modeled with their corresponding translational velocity and kinetic energy for delineating the dynamics of a falling rock block. The bounce height ranged from approximately 1.3 m to > 8 m. The energies ranged from low (< 30 kJ) to high-intensity zones (> 300 kJ) capable of causing mortality and damaging infrastructure. The present study indicates the study area is at risk of rockfalls and preventive measures are required to minimize the rockfall hazard. Study results can serve as a reference for predicting rockfall areas under similar conditions.
Highlights
Rock slope instability is major geohazards problems for both global and local
Lack of continuous monitoring and investigations of rock slope throughout the year especially before and after the rainy season. These types of geohazards have been experienced throughout history when human or nature has disturbed the delicate balance of natural rock slopes [6,7,8]
The rocks along the study area on the NH-15 (Al-Hada road) are highly jointed with variable joint spacing, which leads to the formation of variable block sizes
Summary
Rock slope instability is major geohazards problems for both global and local. Geohazards phenomenon is the downward movement of rock blocks, debris or/and soil in response to gravitational stresses. The failures have classified according to the type of downslope movement either slides, rotational or flow [1]. One of the major causes of rock slope failure is the construction of the transportation system without a proper understanding of geological and geotechnical consideration of natural rock slopes [2,3,4,5]. Lack of continuous monitoring and investigations of rock slope throughout the year especially before and after the rainy season. In results, these types of geohazards have been experienced throughout history when human or nature has disturbed the delicate balance of natural rock slopes [6,7,8]
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