Erkan Oterkus

Abstract:

Although Classical Continuum Mechanics (CCM) is very successful in handling numerous structural mechanics problems that we encounter, it is not capable of capturing physical phenomena occurring at various length scales since it does not have a length scale parameter. Moreover, due to the differentiation in spatial term of its governing equation, it is not valid if there is any discontinuity in the structure such as a crack. Hence, it is necessary to use other techniques when CCM starts to break down. Such a technique, peridynamics (PD), has recently been introduced. PD has a length scale parameter called horizon which defines the range of the domain of influence of material points located distance apart, so that the technique can be used at different scales. The finite size of interaction domain gives PD a non-local characteristic. Furthermore, PD is based on integro-differential equations which is always valid regardless of discontinuities. Hence, it is also very suitable for failure prediction of materials and structures. In this study, the superior features of peridynamics are demonstrated by investigating the granular fracture in polycrystalline materials.