The contact problem in Lagrangian systems with redundant frictional bilateral and unilateral constraints and singular mass matrix. The all-sticking contacts problem

Abstract

In this article we analyze the following problem: given a mechanical system subject to (possibly redundant) bilateral and unilateral constraints with set-valued Coulomb’s friction, provide conditions such that the state, which consists of all contacts sticking in both tangential and normal directions, is solvable. The analysis uses complementarity problems, variational inequalities, and linear algebra, hence it provides criteria which are, in principle, numerically tractable. An algorithm and several illustrating examples are proposed.