Virtual Displacement based Discontinuity Layout Optimization

TL;DR

This paper introduces VDLO, an enhanced version of DLO that uses virtual displacement to determine optimal failure patterns in structures, expanding DLO's applicability and demonstrating its effectiveness through numerical examples.

Contribution

The paper presents VDLO, a modified DLO algorithm that incorporates virtual displacement, significantly extending DLO's application scope and improving its effectiveness.

Findings

VDLO effectively determines optimal failure patterns.

Numerical examples confirm VDLO's flexibility and effectiveness.

VDLO is a promising tool for numerical structural analysis.

Abstract

Discontinuity layout optimization (DLO) is a relatively new upper bound limit analysis method. Compared to classic topology optimization methods, aimed at obtaining the optimum design of a structure by considering its self-weight, building cost or bearing capacity, DLO optimizes the failure pattern of the structure under specific loading conditions and constraints by minimizing the dissipation energy. In this work, we present a modified DLO algorithm that contains all of the advantages of DLO. It is referred to virtual displacement-based discontinuity layout optimization (VDLO). VDLO takes the stress state of a loaded structure as a snapshot and correspondingly provides the optimum failure pattern, which greatly extends the application potential of DLO. Numerical examples indicate the effectiveness and flexibility of VDLO. It is regarded as a highly promising supplemental tool for other numerical methods in element-/node-based frameworks.