Lower Bound Limit State Analysis using the Interior-Point Method with Spatial Varying Barrier Function

A method of conducting lower bound Limit State analysis is to apply the interior-point method. The aim of the paper is to refine the method by reducing the number of optimization variables considerably by eliminating the equilibrium equations a priori. Another new idea is to adapt a spatially varying barrier function. Significant gains are made regarding computational speed and robustness of the algorithm. A method of conducting lower bound Limit State analysis is to apply the interior-point method. The aim of the paper is to refine the method by reducing the number of optimization variables considerably by eliminating the equilibrium equations a priori. Another new idea is to adapt a spatially varying barrier function. Significant gains are made regarding computational speed and robustness of the algorithm