Direct and inverse problems on nonlinear rods

In this paper a class of models on nonlinear rods, which includes spatial inhomogeneities, varying cross-sectional area and arbitrary memory functions, is considered. The wave splitting technique is applied to provide a formulation suitable for numerical computation of direct and inverse problems. Due to the nonlinearity of the material, there are no well defined characteristics other than the leading edge, so the method of characteristics, highly successful in the computation of linear wave splitting problems, is abandoned. A standard finite difference method is employed for the direct problem, and a shooting method is introduced for the inverse problem. The feasibility of the inverse algorithm is presented in various numerical examples. (C) 1999 IMACS/Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.