Analysis of stability for an underwater retaining bund formed on soft marine mud

This paper presents the analysis of short and long term stability of a submarine retaining bund using finite element modeling techniques taking into consideration of the effect of excess pore-water pressure dissipation history and the displacement patterns both in the bund and in the underlying soft marine mud. The finite element model showed the likely movement mechanism of the bund and the founding material under gravity loading. The dissipation of pore water pressure in the soft mud is discussed in relation to its effect on the bund stability. In the numerical analysis, an advanced soft-soil-creep constitutive material model was employed and results were compared with the observations on a trial bund constructed on site. Some of the in-situ testing results on the trial bund are briefly discussed in the context of the numerical analysis input and some observations and conclusions regarding the bund stability performance and the long term settlement were discussed.