Continuum mechanics originates with the linear elasticity model of Cauchy, developed in 1827. However, continuum mechanics fails when the displacement field becomes discontinuous and thus undiffer- entiable, as is the case with strain-softening, cementitious materials. To compensate for the inability…
Continuum mechanics originates with the linear elasticity model of Cauchy, developed in 1827. However, continuum mechanics fails when the displacement field becomes discontinuous and thus undiffer- entiable, as is the case with strain-softening, cementitious materials. To compensate for the inability of con- tinuum mechanics to model cracking behavior, the discipline of fracture mechanics was developed in the twentieth century. The cohesive crack model is currently the most commonly used fracture model for cemen- titious materials. In 1998, the peridynamic (near-force) model was presented by Silling. In the peridynamic model, which is the logical extension of the cohesive crack model to the “cohesive particle model”, a nonlocal force interaction is assumed to take place between all pairs of infinitesimal particles within a neighborhood of finite size. The peridynamic pairwise force function completely defines the material behavior. The peridy- namic model requires no derivative of the displacement field, and thus the displacement field need not be con- tinuous. Therefore, cracks and other discontinuities can emerge unhindered as the solution progresses. Large deformations can be easily accommodated, as no kinematic strain assumptions need be made. This paper compares and contrasts the applicability of the peridynamic model and the continuum mechanics model to plain and reinforced concrete, and presents simulations and laboratory results of a lap-splice experiment.