Integration of Peridynamic Theory and OpenSees for Solving Problems in Civil Engineering

Peridynamics (PD) is a powerful method to simulate the discontinuous problems in civil engineering. However, it may take a lot of effort to implement the material constitutive models into PD program for solving a broad range of problems. OpenSees is an open source software which includes a versatile material library and has been widely used by researchers and engineers in civil engineering. In this context, the paper presents a simple but effective approach to integrate PD with OpenSees by using a Client-Server (CS) software integration technique, such that the existing material constitutive models in OpenSees can be directly used by PD. Two applications are presented to verify the new PD-OpenSees platform. The first one is a plate with a pre-crack subject to horizontal load simulated using a three-dimension (3D) multi-yield-surfaces plasticity model, and the second one is a concrete block with a rectangular hole subject to a uniaxial loading condition simulated using a 3D Cap plasticity model. It shows that the generation/propagation of cracks of the elastoplastic materials (e.g., concrete and soil) can be analyzed by combing PD and three-dimensional plasticity constitutive models without compiling/linking these complex material models into PD program. Thus, the integrated PD-OpenSees platform presented herein is potentially capable to solve a wide range of complex problems in civil engineering.