Peridynamic modeling at nano-scale

Peridynamic (PD) theory is a new nonlocal continuum mechanics formulation which has great advantages over the classical continuum mechanics (CCM)-based methods and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation methods. Particularly, PD theory is very advantageous in solving discontinuity-related problems such as crack propagations. This chapter shows the applications of PD theory at nano-scale. Especially, the fracture of nano-scale single layer graphene sheets (SLGS) is simulated and analyzed by employing the PD theory. By introducing a coarse-grain (CG) idea in the PD simulations of large nano-scale SLGS, a PD-CG model is presented as well. In this chapter, the results demonstrate the powerful capability and high efficiency of PD theory in the simulations of large nano-scale systems.