Integrated assessment of rock scour by means of BLOCKinPCD and the Block Scour Spectrum: application to TLS-based block arrays of Ricobayo Dam, Zamora, Spain

BLOCKinPCD (bock in point cloud data) is a processing procedure for quantifying block-forming discontinuity arrays. . This study introduces the procedure by illustrating its application to hydraulic scour. BLOCKinPCD involves: (1) computing point normals; (2) coloring points according the normal orientation; (3) identifying and extracting the discontinuity sets; (4) computing the set-based orientation parameters and visualizing the spatial distribution of the sets; (5) measuring the set-based discontinuity spacing and persistence; and (6) identifying and computing 3D block arrays with specification of block geometry and failure mode. BLOCKinPCD has been applied to evaluate block scour potential for the Ricobayo Dam spillway in Zamora, Spain. The combined results of BlockinPCD and Block Scour Spectrum analyses indicate the profound scour relates to a particularly prone block structure.