Existence results for dynamic adhesive contact of a rod

The existence and uniqueness of the weak solution to the model for the dynamics of a viscoelastic rod which is in adhesive contact with an obstacle is established. The model consists of a hyperbolic equation for the vibrations of the rod coupled with a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) for the evolution of the bonding function. The model allows for failure, i.e., complete debonding, in finite time. The existence of the weak solution is established by using an existence result for ODEs and the Schauder fixed-point theorem. The limit of an elastic rod when the viscosity vanishes is studied, too.