Analysis of a class of implicit evolution inequalities associated to viscoelastic dynamic contact problems with friction

For a class of implicit evolution inequalities, the existence of solutions is proved by using a new approach. The results are directly applied to dynamic viscoelastic contact problems with friction, using in particular the model of persistent contact with time depending Tresca (given) friction or the model of normal compliance for both contact and friction. Moreover, using a penalty method and a weaker formulation, an existence result is obtained for a unilateral contact problem with a non-local Coulomb friction law. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.