Berm Width

Screen catch-berm width against caller-calibrated height/intercept relation; rockfall trajectories, retained debris and legal criteria are not inferred.

Description

A catch berm reserves width for falling material between benches.

A catch berm reserves width for falling material between benches. A calibrated height-based relation supplies a screening target against which an available width can be compared.^[1]

The tool returns calibratedCatchWidthM, widthMarginM, meetsCalibratedWidth. The computation uses supplied observations and parameters rather than acquiring measurements.

When to use Berm Width

Use this for the following task: Screen catch-berm width against caller-calibrated height/intercept relation; rockfall trajectories, retained debris and legal criteria are not inferred. Prepare observations and calibration parameters on the same unit and reporting basis.

How to use Berm Width and understand its results

Prepare the measured quantities and supplied model parameters. Match the units and align paired lists before calculating.
Enter benchHeightM, heightCoefficient, baseAllowanceM, availableCatchWidthM according to the field table, then run the tool.
Read calibratedCatchWidthM, widthMarginM, meetsCalibratedWidth. Use the calculation below to interpret the selected mean or the model’s signs, units and comparison flags.
Review the supplied assumptions and calibration before comparing or reporting the result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type and bounds	Requirement
benchHeightM	Bench height m	number	Required
heightCoefficient	Height coefficient	number	Required
baseAllowanceM	Base allowance m	number	Required
availableCatchWidthM	Available catch width m	number	Required

Use positive bench height and nonnegative coefficient, allowance and available width. Equality meets the supplied calibrated width.

target width = heightCoefficient×benchHeight+baseAllowance; margin = available−target

The symbols and boundary conditions refer to the supplied fields and the implementation described above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
calibratedCatchWidthM	Calibrated catch width m	number
widthMarginM	Width margin m	number
meetsCalibratedWidth	Meets calibrated width	boolean

json

{
  "input": {
    "benchHeightM": 10,
    "heightCoefficient": 0.2,
    "baseAllowanceM": 4,
    "availableCatchWidthM": 5
  },
  "output": {
    "calibratedCatchWidthM": 6,
    "widthMarginM": -1,
    "meetsCalibratedWidth": false
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

The relation is a caller-defined calibration, not a legal criterion. Rockfall trajectories, debris accumulation and site-specific slope design remain outside the screen.

Numerical inputs must be finite. Input-shape and calculation checks do not establish measurement quality or the validity of a supplied calibration.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Choose Bench Width when you need its operation: Assemble nonoverlapping caller working-bench equipment, lane, stand-off and rockfall allocations; not a traffic or geotechnical safety standard. Choose Pit Slope Angle for the complementary operation: Calculate geometric overall pit slope across faces and interior berms; no rock-mass stability or geotechnical acceptance is inferred.

Background reference: Designing a rockfall testing program for open-pit mines to investigate runout and bench catchment.

References

Designing a rockfall testing program for open-pit mines to investigate runout and bench catchment — Bourgeois and Warren; NIOSH

Similar or alternative tools

Bench Width
Assemble nonoverlapping caller working-bench equipment, lane, stand-off and rockfall allocations; not a traffic or geotechnical safety standard.
Pit Slope Angle
Calculate geometric overall pit slope across faces and interior berms; no rock-mass stability or geotechnical acceptance is inferred.