On non-smooth dynamics

The fundamentals of non-smooth mechanics have been developed in Europe in the second half of the last century and since then continuously extended and improved. The inclusion into the classical multibody theory took place in the nineties allowing the treatment of large problems with unilateral contacts, which were not feasible before. One large problem still consists in the relevant computing times, which in the last fifteen years could be brought down considerably, partly by a better theoretical description of the problem and partly by better numerical algorithms. This paper describes the evolution of these processes leading today to quite powerful methods. Nevertheless progress in this matter has not yet come to an end. Industrial examples illustrate the theory.