Mathematical programming application to limit analysis of three dimensional masonry structures

The paper deals with the limit analysis of structures made of rigid blocks interacting through no-tension and frictional contact surfaces performed using mathematical performed using mathematical programming methods. The presence of friction makes the problem non-linear and non-convex. It is shown that a proper choice of the initial guess for the variables of the non-linear program enables the convergence to the optimal solution. The initial variables are evaluated as the outputs of a linear program performing the limit analysis of the same assembly of blocks with dilatancy along the joints, instead of friction.