Geotechnical considerations for pipeline stabilization design using rock berms

© 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, London. Rock berms are often used in the offshore industry primarily to provide secondary stabilisation for pipelines, which may otherwise be unstable under external loading. Significant cost savings may be achieved through reduced material usage and construction costs by using intermittent (‘spot’) rock berms instead of continuous berms. Robust berm geotechnical design is necessary to ensure stabilisation that is fit for purpose and economical for the project. Key aspects for assessing the geotechnical capacity of rock berms are described in this paper respectively for ‘absolute’ and ‘dynamic’ pipeline stability design. It is demonstrated that close interaction between geotechnical and pipeline designers is required to reliably quantify the geotechnical berm response and consequently the overall system performance of berm-stabilised pipelines.