A general algorithm for plastic flow simulation by finite element limit analysis

Limit analysis has been rendered versatile in many structural and metal forming problems. In metal forming analysis, the slip-line method and the upper bound method have filled the role of limit analysis. As a breakthrough of the previous work, a computational approach to limit solutions is considered as the most challenging area.In the present work, a general algorithm for limit solutions of plastic flow is developed with the use of finite element limit analysis. The algorithm deals with a generalized Hölder inequality, a duality theorem, and combined smoothing and successive approximation in addition to a general procedure for finite element analysis. The algorithm is robust such that from any initial trial solution, the first iteration falls into a convex set which contains the exact solution (s) of the problem. The idea of the algorithm for limit solutions is extended from rigid?perfectly plastic materials to work-hardening materials by the nature of the limit formulation, which is also robust with numerically stable convergence and highly efficient computing time.