LISA - a European project for FEM-based limit and shakedown analysis

The load-carrying capacity or the safety against plastic limit states are t he central questions in the design of structures and passive components in the apparatus engineering. A precise answer is most simply given by limit a nd shakedown analysis. These methods can be based on static and kinematic t heorems for lower and upper bound analysis. Both may be formulated as optim ization problems for finite element discretizations of structures. The prob lems of large-scale analysis and the extension towards realistic material m odelling will be solved in a European research project. Limit and shakedown analyses are briefly demonstrated with illustrative examples. (C) 2001 Els evier Science B.V. All rights reserved.