Fixed Points of Multi-valued Maps and Static Coulomb Friction Problems

The existence of solutions to the Signorini problem with Coulomb friction is a long standing open question. We prove the existence of generalized solutions that satisfy the pointwise Coulomb friction conditions on the entire interface and the normal nonpenetration condition on the complement of a subset with arbitrarily small but possibly positive measure. Furthermore, the penetration itself can also be made arbitrarily small. Although “measure zero” instead of “arbitrarily small measure” would be needed to fully resolve the issue, these generalized solutions seem to be the closest answer available to date. Their existence is proved by a suitable application of Ky Fan's fixed point theorem for multi-valued maps. The same method can be used with a number of variants involving contact of two or more elastic bodies and possible debonding phenomena. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.