Dynamic frictionless contact of a nonlinear beam with two stops

In this work, we consider mathematical and numerical approaches to a dynamic contact problem with a highly nonlinear beam, the so-called Gao beam. Its left end is rigidly attached to a supporting device, whereas the other end is constrained to move between two perfectly rigid stops. Thus, the Signorini contact conditions are imposed to its right end and are interpreted as a pair of complementarity conditions. We formulate a time discretization based on a truncated variational formulation. We prove the convergence of numerical trajectories and also derive a new form of energy balance. A fully discrete numerical scheme is implemented to present numerical results.