Well-posedness of a random coefficient damage mechanics model*

We study a one-dimensional damage mechanics model in the presence of random materials properties. The model is formulated as a quasilinear partial differential equation of visco-elastic dynamics with a random field coefficient. We prove that in a transformed coordinate system the problem is well-posed as an abstract evolution equation in Banach spaces, and on the probability space it has a strongly measurable and Bochner integrable solution. We also establish the existence of weak solutions in the underlying physical coordinate system. We present numerical examples that demonstrate propagation of uncertainty in the stress-strain relation based on properties of the random damage field.