Peridynamic unit cell for effective properties of complex microstructures with and without defects

This study demonstrates the applicability of peridynamic unit cell (PD-UC) for predicting effective thermoelastic material properties of complex microstructures, and reduction in moduli due to the presence of defects. The comparisons for six different microstructures (i.e. Hexagonal pack, three-phase interphase, 0/90, spherical inclusions, woven-fiber, and random short-fiber) show remarkable agreement with the results from established models in the absence of defects. Unlike the existing models, the PD-UC is also capable of predicting the reduction in the presence of complex heterogeneity and defects. There exists no limitation on the number of constituent materials, and defects are introduced by simply breaking the PD bonds. Also, it permits orthotropic constituent materials. The PD-UC automatically permits the periodic boundary conditions without any constraint conditions.