Precursors of Material Nonlinearities in Peridynamic Plates

Load-bearing interconnected microstructured solids, such as concrete, paper, and bone, have an inherently size-dependent mechanical behavior, that is shown over specific length scales. In peridynamics, this measure is called the horizon and it controls void nucleation, coalescence, and fracture transition. Stemming from a through-thickness dimensionally-reduced bond-based peridynamic model recently proposed, this work analyzes the elastic behavior of thin plates made of highly interlaced solid materials. The internal actions, corresponding to the application of specific loading conditions, have been derived from such a model and compared with (i) FEM analyses, and (ii) with the outcomes of a previously available peridynamic approach.