A novel peridynamic approach for fracture analysis of quasi-brittle materials

In the present paper, a novel peridynamic approach is proposed to simulate the fracture behaviour of quasibrittle materials. It consists in: (i) an improved bond force-stretch relationship to implement into peridynamic models, in order to simulate the fracture behaviour of quasi-brittle materials, and (ii) the proposal to consider, into the above models, the material energy release rate as a 3D random field, to take into account the stochastic nature of quasi-brittle material properties. Such a novel peridynamic approach is verified by analysing four case studies related to quasi-brittle materials, that is: rock, expanded polystyrene, and concrete.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a novel peridynamic approach for simulating the fracture behavior of quasibrittle materials. The approach includes an improved bond force-stretch relationship in peridynamic models and the consideration of material energy release rate as a 3D random field. The effectiveness of this approach is verified through case studies on rock, expanded polystyrene, and concrete.