Coefficient of Restitution The coefficient of restitution for a material is defined as the ratio of outgoing velocity to the incoming velocity.

R = | Voutgoing / Vincoming | A perfectly elastic material will have a coefficient of restitution of 1. An object striking this material will rebound with the same speed. A perfectly inelastic material will have a coefficient of restitution of 0. This means that an object striking this material will rebound with zero velocity, i.e. it will come to a halt. All real materials have coefficients of restitution between 0 and 1. A material coefficient of restitution can be separated into two components: a tangential coefficient of restitution (Rt) a normal coefficient of restitution (Rn)

The tangential coefficient defines the ratio of the outgoing velocity (tangential to the surface) to the incoming velocity (tangential to the surface). The normal coefficient defines the ratio of the outgoing velocity (normal to the surface) to the incoming velocity (normal to the surface). The tangential coefficient of restitution is generally equal to or larger than the normal coefficient of restitution. In RocFall, only materials and barriers have coefficients of restitution. Rocscience Coefficients of Restitution Table The "Rocscience Coefficient of Restitution Table" is available by pressing the RN/RT Table button in the Material Editor dialog, or by clicking the following link: Coefficient of Restitution Table This table is the extent of the data that is available from Rocscience. Unfortunately, we do not have a more comprehensive list than this one. For further information, you can review the References listed at the end of this help system. Or search the internet for more values, but values are generally difficult to find. Unfortunately coefficients of restitution are not always easy to determine, and the analysis can be sensitive to the values you choose. Origin of Coefficients of Restitution listed in RocFall The default materials that are listed in RocFall (including the description "Bedrock outcrops"), were taken from a paper by Dr. Evert Hoek. The table of coefficients of restitution was generated by looking through the RocFall references, and from responses from other users of RocFall. The description listed for the materials, is the only description that is available. In many cases, it would be much better to have more detailed descriptions (even photographs) but, unfortunately, that is not typically available. Back Calculation of Coefficients of Restitution Coefficients of restitution are often determined from back calculation of known rock paths and rock endpoints. If you have observations of past rockfall events (knowing the starting point, the endpoint, and the path of the rock) you can use these to help calibrate your model.

Once you have these "known" rock paths and endpoints, you can pick a value from the coefficient of restitution table (pick the value that best describes your site so you have a decent starting point), and then adjust the coefficients of restitution in the program until the rock paths in the program are similar to the observed rock paths. Depending on your situation, you may also be able to go out to your site and send some rocks down the slope, and use these to further calibrate your model. Possible Trends in the Coefficient of Restitution Data As a general rule: harder materials will have higher coefficients of restitution than softer materials, and if the normal coefficient of restitution increases so will the tangential coefficient of restitution.

Understanding the coefficient of restitution (COR) using mass/spring systems The coefficient of restitution (COR) for a solid object such as a baseball, colliding with a perfectly rigid wall can be defined as the ratio of the outgoing speed to the incoming speed. When a hardened steel ball bearing collides with a large hardened steel plate, the collision has a COR close to one. On the other extreme, when a foam (Nerft) ball collides with the same plate, the collision has a COR of nearly zero. It seems to be generally (though not always) true that flexible objects more often suffer low COR collisions, while rigid objects are more likely to undergo higher COR collisions. The intent here is to explain this behavior in solids by studying mass/spring systems. COR and Elastic Collisions The COR is related to the conversion of the initial kinetic energy into internal energy during the collision. For the baseball collision described above, the COR would be one if all the initial kinetic energy were conserved by appearing as the kinetic energy of the outgoing ball. You could imagine the COR dropping as some property of the ball is varied and the collision repeated1. As the COR decreases toward zero, a greater and greater fraction of the initial kinetic energy is converted to internal energy in the ball. So, the COR is one for elastic collisions and less than one for inelastic collisions. Websters defines the word elastic to mean, easily stretched or expanded, while synonyms such as inflexible and unyielding are given for inelastic. It is quite ironic that elastic objects tend to experience inelastic collisions and inelastic objects are more likely to undergo elastic collisions. In fact, it is possible that this disparity between common language and technical jargon is a source of confusion for our students. The coefficient of restitution (COR) of two colliding objects is a fractional value representing the ratio of speeds after and before an impact, taken along the line of the impact. Pairs of objects with COR = 1 collide elastically, while objects with COR < 1 collideinelastically. For a COR = 0, the objects effectively "stop" at the collision, not bouncing at all. An object (singular) is often described as having a coefficient of restitution as if it were an intrinsic property without reference to a second object; in this case the definition is assumed to be with respect to collisions with a perfectly rigid and elastic object. The Coefficient of Restitution is equal to the Relative Speed After Collision divided by the Relative Speed Before Collision.

The mathematics were developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1687

A COR greater than one is theoretically possible, representing a collision that generates kinetic energy. For example, some recent studies have clarified that COR can take a value greater than one in a special case of oblique [3][4][5] collisions. These phenomena are due to the change of rebound trajectory of a ball caused by a soft target wall. A COR less than zero would represent a collision in which the separation velocity of the objects has the same direction (sign) as the closing velocity, implying the objects passed through one another without fully engaging. This may also be thought of as an incomplete transfer of momentum. An example of this might be a small, dense object passing through a large, less dense one e.g., a bullet passing through a target, or a motorcycle passing through a motor home or a wave tearing through a dam. The COR is a property of a collision, not a single object. If a given object collides with two different objects, each collision would have its own COR. Generally, the COR is thought to be independent of collision speed. However, in a series of experiments performed at Florida State University in 1955, it was shown that the COR varies as the collision speed approaches zero, first rising significantly as the speed drops, then dropping significantly as the speed drops to about 1 cm/s and again as the collision speed approaches zero. This effect was observed in slow speed collisions involving a number of different metals.

The coefficient of restitution is given by

for two colliding objects, where is the final velocity of the first object after impact is the final velocity of the second object after impact is the initial velocity of the first object before impact is the initial velocity of the second object before impact Even though the equation does not reference mass, it is important to note that it still relates to momentum since the final velocities are dependent on mass. It is one dimensional unitless parameter defined only along line of impact. For an object bouncing off a stationary object, such as a floor:

, where is the scalar velocity of the object after impact is the scalar velocity of the object before impact Coefficient of restitution is defined as negative of ratio of relative velocity of separation and relative velocity of approach along line of impact. It is never negative(could be negative for irregular shapes). The coefficient can also be found with:

for an object bouncing off a stationary object, such as a floor, where is the bounce height is the drop height

This is because energy is conserved,

, and so:

When the ball hits the floor, its gravitational potential energy (=mgh) is at a minimum, as h, height, cannot be any lower (i.e. the ball can't go through the floor), so all its energy is Kinetic. When kinetic energy=0 (i.e. at the peak of its motion when it momentarily stops), all the energy is potential. Thus the ratio of heights (maximum potential energy) is also a square-root ratio one:

For two- and three-dimensional collisions of rigid bodies, the velocities used are the components perpendicular to the tangent line/plane at the point of contact i.e. along line of impact. Speeds after impact The equations for collisions between elastic particles can be modified to use the COR, thus becoming applicable to inelastic collisions as well, and every possibility in between.

and

where is the final velocity of the first object after impact is the final velocity of the second object after impact is the initial velocity of the first object before impact is the initial velocity of the second object before impact is the mass of the first object is the mass of the second object

II. A Very Simple Model of a Solid Modeling a solid as a collection of masses and springs can have pedagogic benefits because students have a sense, perhaps from chemical models, that solids are composed of atoms (masses) held in place by electromagnetic forces (springs). Ganiel3describes a lecture demonstration using a cart carrying masses and springs that illustrates where the missing kinetic energy goes in an inelastic collision. Zou4 improved the design of the cart and shared a series of guided inquiry learning activities for their use.

Other authors have attempted to understand the transfer of mechanical energy into internal energy using mass and spring models5,6,7 Reducing the mass and spring model as far as possible while still allowing for internal energy, leaves two masses, m, connected by a spring of spring constant, k, as Derivation The above equations can be derived from the analytical solution to the system of equations formed by the definition of the COR and the law of the conservation of momentum (which holds for all collisions). Using the notation from above where represents the velocity before the collision and after, we get:

Solving the momentum conservation equation for

and the definition of the coefficient of restitution for

yields:

Next, substitution into the first equation for

and then re-solving for

gives:

A similar derivation yields the formula for