Impacts on Protective Structures against Gravitational Mass Movements—Scaling from Model Tests to Real Events

Gravitational mass movements such as rockfalls, landslides, rock avalanches, or debris flows are increasingly endangering settlement areas and infrastructure facilities in the Alpine region a result of climate change. An essential component counteracting dangers events is construction suitable protective structures. However, dimensioning these structures requires in-depth knowledge impact process on structure. Measurements real large avalanches fail due to forces involved. For this reason, model tests have been carried out by different institutions countries recent decades. aspect study gravitational using experiments scaling experimental results events. Therefore, study, experiment at University Innsbruck was recalculated first step discrete element method (DEM). Subsequently, numerical DEM were scaled event scale factors then compared again. The aim show how well can be describe avalanches.