Numerical simulation of rigid blocks subjected to rocking motion

摘要

This paper addresses the numerical modelling of rigid blocks subjected to rockingmotion. Two different tools are considered. The first tool is analytical and overcomes the usuallimitations of the traditional piecewise equations of motion through Lagrangian formalism. Thesecond tool is based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM), especially effective for the numericalmodelling of rigid blocks. An extensive comparison between numerical and experimentaldata has been carried out to validate and define the limitations of the analytical tools understudy.