An in-depth investigation of critical stretch based failure criterion in ordinary state-based peridynamics

This study presents an in-depth investigation of the critical stretch based failure criterion in ordinary state-based peridynamics for both static and dynamic conditions. Seven different cases are investigated to determine the effect of the failure parameter on peridynamic forces between material points and dilatation. Based on crack opening displacement (COD) results from both peridynamics and finite element analysis, it was found that one of the seven cases provides the best agreement between the two approaches. This particular case is further investigated by considering the influence of the discretisation and the horizon sizes on COD and crack propagation speeds. Moreover, PD predictions of COD for PMMA material is analysed with the theory of dynamic fracture mechanics and compared with the fracture experiments. It is shown that the peridynamic model can correctly model, simulate and predict the behaviour of the crack under different loading conditions. Furthermore, the presented PD models capture accurate fracture phenomena, specifically the crack path, branching angles and crack propagation speeds, which are in good agreement with experimental results.