<s>
Discontinuity	B-Algorithm
layout	I-Algorithm
optimization	I-Algorithm
(	O
DLO	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
engineering	O
analysis	O
procedure	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
directly	O
establish	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
load	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
carried	O
by	O
a	O
solid	O
or	O
structure	O
prior	O
to	O
collapse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
DLO	O
the	O
layout	O
of	O
failure	O
planes	O
,	O
or	O
'	O
discontinuities	O
 '	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
collapsing	O
solid	O
or	O
structure	O
are	O
identified	O
using	O
mathematical	O
optimization	O
methods	O
(	O
hence	O
the	O
name	O
,	O
'	O
discontinuity	B-Algorithm
layout	I-Algorithm
optimization	I-Algorithm
 '	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
solved	O
using	O
efficient	O
linear	B-Algorithm
programming	I-Algorithm
techniques	O
and	O
,	O
when	O
combined	O
with	O
an	O
algorithm	O
originally	O
developed	O
for	O
truss	O
layout	O
optimization	O
problems	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
found	O
that	O
modern	O
computer	O
power	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
directly	O
search	O
through	O
very	O
large	O
numbers	O
of	O
different	O
failure	O
mechanism	O
topologies	O
(	O
up	O
to	O
approx	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
with	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
analysis	I-Application
(	O
FEM	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
widely	O
used	O
alternative	O
engineering	O
analysis	O
procedure	O
,	O
mathematical	O
relations	O
are	O
formed	O
for	O
the	O
underlying	O
continuum	O
mechanics	O
problem	O
,	O
DLO	O
involves	O
analysis	O
of	O
a	O
potentially	O
much	O
simpler	O
discontinuum	O
problem	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
problem	O
being	O
posed	O
entirely	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
individual	O
discontinuities	O
which	O
interconnect	O
nodes	O
laid	O
out	O
across	O
the	O
body	O
under	O
consideration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
when	O
general	O
purpose	O
finite	B-Application
element	I-Application
programs	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
analyse	O
the	O
collapse	O
state	O
often	O
relatively	O
complex	O
non-linear	O
solvers	O
are	O
required	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
simpler	O
linear	B-Algorithm
programming	I-Algorithm
solvers	O
generally	O
required	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
DLO	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
other	O
limit	B-Algorithm
analysis	I-Algorithm
techniques	O
,	O
DLO	O
provides	O
no	O
information	O
about	O
displacements	O
(	O
or	O
stresses	O
)	O
prior	O
to	O
collapse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DLO	O
is	O
fundamentally	O
based	O
in	O
modelling	O
compatible	O
mechanisms	O
for	O
soil	O
collapse	O
and	O
is	O
therefore	O
an	O
upper	B-Algorithm
bound	I-Algorithm
method	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
discontinuity	O
layout	O
generation	O
and	O
linear	B-Algorithm
programming	I-Algorithm
optimization	O
schemes	O
used	O
in	O
DLO	O
will	O
usually	O
ensure	O
that	O
a	O
good	O
approximation	O
of	O
the	O
true	O
collapse	O
mechanism	O
is	O
found	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
way	O
of	O
discerning	O
by	O
how	O
much	O
the	O
predicted	O
collapse	O
load	O
will	O
exceed	O
the	O
true	O
collapse	O
load	O
without	O
comparison	O
to	O
an	O
independent	O
lower	B-Algorithm
bound	I-Algorithm
analysis	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
