Peridynamics (PD) has been introduced to account for long range internal force/moment interactions and to extend the classical continuum mechanics (CCM). PD equations of motion are derived in the form of integro-differential equations and only few analytical solutions to these equations are presented in the literature. The aim of this paper is to present analytical solutions to PD beam equations for both static and dynamic loading conditions. Applying trigonometric series, general solutions for the deflection function are derived. For several examples in the static case including simply supported beam and cantilever beam, the coefficients in the series are presented in a closed analytical form. For the dynamic case, the solution is derived for a simply supported beam applying the variable separation with respect to the time and the axial coordinate. Several numerical cases are presented to illustrate the derived solutions. Furthermore, PD results are compared against results obtained from the classical beam theory (CBT). A very good agreement between these two different approaches is observed for the case of the small horizon sizes (HSs), which shows the capability of the current approach.
INTRODUCTIONPeridynamics (PD) is a non-local theory, which operates with long-range force/moment interactions [1]. Unlike the classical continuum mechanics (CCM), the deformation gradient, its higher gradients or gradients of internal state variables are not introduced. PD equations of motion are integro-differential equations, in contrast to CCM where partial differential equations are introduced. This makes PD attractive in analysis of discontinuities such as cracks. Many numerical studies of complex fracture processes illustrate the ability of PD to capture crack initiation [2-4], crack branching [5], crack kinking [6] and crack interaction with initial heterogeneities, such as holes and pores [7,8]. PD theories for components including rods and beams [9-13], plates [14][15][16][17][18][19] and shells [20][21][22] are developed. Within the CCM, these theories provide an efficient and robust approach for the analysis of structures. Indeed many analytical solutions for beams, plates and shells are available providing a direct insight into the deformation and stress states. On the other hand, they are useful to validate the numerical methods and computer codes, such as the finite element method. However, unlike the CCM, only few analytical solutions to PD equations are available.