Abstract
This paper develops a numerical procedure to provide an appropriate lower-bound solution for the wide range of problems of stability analysis. To represent the equation of equilibrium, the stress field is discretized in the similar manner as in FEM. To isolate a particular stress distribution, the problem to find the lower-bound solution is formulated as an optimization problem. When optimizing the bearing capacity, for instance, the problem is to find the stress distribution which maximizes the footing pressure within the limitations of satisfying the equations of equilibrium and of no-yield condition. The formulated optimization problem is solved numerically by a nonlinear programming technique. This procedure furnishes a reasonable solution for the problems not only of the bearing capacity analysis but also of the slope stability analysis. The results of several case studies by using the procedure are also reported.
