Undrained analysis of earth berms as temporary supports for embedded retaining walls

Earth berms can provide an effective and economic means of enhancing the short-term stability of an embedded retaining wall but there is no generally accepted procedure for determining their effectiveness. In this paper, various methods of representing an embedded retaining wall supported by an earth berm in an undrained limit-equilibrium analysis are discussed. Comparison with the results of centrifuge model tests shows that these methods are conservative to a greater or lesser extent and a more rigorous approach is developed. Procedures are then set out that may be used to assess the short-term safety and stability of a stiff, berm-supported embedded retaining wall in overconsolidated clay.