Quadratic velocity-linear stress interpolations in limit analysis

We compare a family of mixed interpolations on triangles with straight edges as applied to limit analysis. The aim of this paper is to prove theoretically that the approximate collapse factors obtained with these finite elements always comply with certain inequalities that exist among them. Two of these interpolations are used in limit analysis for the first time in this article. The inequalities in the proposition are also demonstrated via numerical applications. To this end, the most frequently used benchmark problems in limit analysis are revisited and discussed with respect to the results computed with these finite elements. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.