Transient wawes in a class of random heterogeneous media

A stochastic method is developed for analysis of transient waves propagating in one-dimensional randoai granular-type media. The method is suited to study transient dynamic response of nonlinear microstructures with material randomess, of high signal-to-noise ratio, being present in constitutive moduli and grain lengths. It generalizes the classical solution techniques, based on the theory of characteristics, by taking advantage of the Markov property of the forward propagaing disturbances. Pulses propagating in bilinear elastic, nonlinear elastic, and linear-hysteretic media are studied. Additionally, a short review is given of an investigation of acceleration wavefronts making a transition into shocks in random nonlinear elastic/dissipative continua, where Markov property can again be exploited.