Conic Programming Approach to Limit Analysis of Plane Rigid-Plastic Problems

This paper presents the application of conic programming methods to the limit analysis of plane rigid-plastic problems in structural and geotechnical engineering. The approach is based on the formulation of yield criteria as second-order cone constraints and on the dual optimization problem, which directly provides collapse mechanisms and limit loads. Two benchmark examples are investigated. The first concerns a deep beam under uniform top pressure, analyzed with linear and quadratic finite elements. The results confirm the ability of the method to reproduce realistic collapse mechanisms and demonstrate the effect of mesh refinement and element type on convergence. The second example addresses the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip footing on cohesive-frictional soil. The numerical implementation was carried out in MATLAB using CVX with MOSEK as the solver, which ensures practical applicability and efficient computations. Different soil models are considered, including Mohr–Coulomb and two Drucker–Prager variants, and the results are compared with the classical Terzaghi solution. Additional elastoplastic FEM simulations carried out in a commercial program are also presented. The comparison highlights the differences between rigid-plastic optimization and incremental elastoplastic analyses, showing that both conservative and liberal estimates of bearing capacity can be obtained. The study shows that conic programming is an efficient and flexible framework for limit analysis of plane rigid-plastic problems, providing engineers with complementary tools for assessing ultimate loads, while also ensuring good computational efficiency.