An orthotropic peridynamic shell model for linear elastic deformation and crack propagation

Abstract

Peridynamics is a non-local mechanics theory that can handle discontinuities such as cracks. This study presents an orthotropic peridynamic (PD) shell model based on the micro-beam bond. Under the homogenization assumption, eight PD material parameters expressed by four independent material constants are used to describe the axial, bending, and torsional deformations of the micro-beam bond. The eight PD material parameters can be derived by the rule of equating the strain energy density (SED) of the PD shell model and that of the classical continuum mechanics (CCM) shell model. To improve the computational efficiency and solve the surface effects of PD models, the morphing method is used to establish the PD-CCM shell coupling model. Several numerical examples of crack propagation in orthotropic materials are executed, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.