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Abstract In this work, the essential work of fracture (EWF) method is introduced for a peridynamic (PD) material model to characterize fracture toughness of ductile materials. First, an analytical derivation for the path-independence of the PD J -integral is provided. Thereafter, the classical J -integral and PD J -integral are computed on a number of analytical crack problems, for subsequent investigation on how it performs under large scale yielding of thin sheets. To represent a highly nonlinear elastic behavior, a new adaptive bond stiffness calibration and a modified bond-damage model with gradual softening are proposed. The model is employed for two different materials: a lower-ductility bainitic-martensitic steel and a higher-ductility bainitic steel. Up to the start of the softening phase, the PD model recovers the experimentally obtained stress–strain response of both materials. Due to the high failure sensitivity on the presence of defects for the lower-ductility material, the PD model could not recover the experimentally obtained EWF values. For the higher-ductility bainitic material, the PD model was able to match very well the experimentally obtained EWF values. Moreover, the J -integral value obtained from the PD model, at the absolute maximum specimen load, matched the corresponding EWF value.