Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO) is a computational limit analysis procedure which provides visually clear failure mechanisms and accurate predictions of the associated margin of safety and is able to model a wide range of failure criteria relevant to geotechnical problems including Mohr-Coulomb and Tresca.

At the heart of the DLO procedure is a simple yet robust and highly efficient algorithm that can identify the critical failure mechanism from a very large number of possibilities.

The underlying methodology of the DLO procedure is illustrated here. A MATLAB script implementing the core principles of the method is available here.

Other Applications

DLO has also been applied to metal deformation problems and yield line analysis in concrete slabs for which spin-out company LimitState, have produced the LimitState:SLAB commercial software application.

Key Publications

Smith C & Gilbert M (2007) Application of discontinuity layout optimization to plane plasticity problems. Proceedings Royal Society A, 463(2086), 2461-2484. View this article in WRRO

Smith CC & Gilbert M (2013) Identification of rotational failure mechanisms in cohesive media using discontinuity layout optimization. Geotechnique: International Journal of Soil Mechanics, 63(14), 1194-1208. View this article in WRRO

Smith CC & Gilbert M (2015) Modelling rotational failure in confined geometries using DLO. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering and Computational Mechanics, 168(4), 155-168. View this article in WRRO

Smith CC & Cubrinovski M (2011) Pseudo-static limit analysis by discontinuity layout optimization: Application to seismic analysis of retaining walls. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 31(10), 1311-1323. View this article in WRRO