Program Assumptions

RocTopple assumes the following:

• The analysis is two-dimensional and is based on a unit width of slope in the out-of-plane direction (i.e., block weights are calculated assuming a unit thickness of 1 meter or 1 foot according to the unit system chosen, and all applied forces are normalized per unit out-of-plane dimension, such as bolt support forces, line loads, and distributed loads).
• The toppling blocks are automatically generated based on the slope geometry, and it is assumed that the discontinuities are equally spaced.
• The base of each toppling block is assumed to be perpendicular to the dip angle of the block (i.e., all blocks are rectangular).
• The three-dimensional view in is for visualization purposes, but keep in mind that the analysis is two-dimensional.
• Although the program considers toppling, sliding, and flexure toppling failure modes of individual blocks during the limit equilibrium calculations, keep in mind that the overall analysis is designed for toppling stability of rock slopes. If the primary failure mode of your slope is Sliding, you should be using a program specifically designed to analyze sliding failure, such as Slide2 or RocPlane rather than RocTopple.