Peridynamic modelling of impact damage in three-point bending beam with offset notch

The nonlocal peridynamic theory has been proven to be a promising method for the material failure and damage analyses in solid mechanics. Based upon the integrodifferential equations, peridynamics enables predicting the complex fracture phenomena such as spontaneous crack nucleation and crack branching, curving, and arrest. In this paper, the bond-based peridynamic approach is used to study the impact damage in a beam with an offset notch, which is widely used to investigate the mixed I-II crack propagation in brittle materials. The predictions from the peridynamic analysis agree well with available experimental observations. The numerical results show that the dynamic fracture behaviors of the beam under the impact load, such as crack initiation, curving, and branching, rely on the location of the offset notch and the impact speed of the drop hammer.