MAE Seminar: Peridynamics: Modeling Materials Beyond Failure

Speaker: Professor Erdogan Madenci, University of Arizona

Title

Peridynamics: Modeling Materials Beyond Failure

Abstract

Peridynamics (PD) is a nonlocal reformulation of continuum mechanics in which classical spatial derivatives are replaced by integral operators defined over a finite interaction horizon. By incorporating an intrinsic length scale and expressing interactions in integral form, PD remains well-posed in the presence of discontinuities, allowing cracks to initiate, propagate, and branch naturally without the need for external criteria or tracking schemes. This addresses a key limitation of traditional local theories, which have difficulty capturing complex crack behavior and arbitrary failure paths. This work provides an overview of the peridynamic framework and highlights its application to modeling failure in structural materials subjected to complex loading conditions. In addition, it explores applications beyond failure prediction, demonstrating the broader utility of PD in analyzing complex physical systems.

Speaker Bio

Erdogan Madenci has been a professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona since 1989. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, he worked at Northrop Corporation, Aerospace Corporation, and the Fraunhofer Institute. Also, he worked at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, NASA Langley Research Center, Sandia National Labs, MIT and the University of Oxford as part of his sabbatical leaves. He is the lead author of six books on Peridynamics (available in Chinese and Persian) and Finite Element analysis. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Peridynamics and Nonlocal Modeling and an Associate Editor of ASME Open Journal of Engineering. He is a Fellow of ASME and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.

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Community event in Raleigh, Wake County, NC 27695.