Abstract: A mathematical model is established to describe a contact problem between a deformable body and a foundation. The contact is bilateral and modelled with a nonlocal friction law, in which adhesion is taken into account. Evolution of the bonding field is described by a first-order differential equation. The materials behavior is modelled with a nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive law. A variational formulation of the mechanical problem is derived, and the existence and uniqueness of the weak solution can be proven if the coefficient of friction is sufficiently small. The proof is based on arguments of time-dependent variational inequalities, differential equations, and the Banach fixed-point theorem.

Key words: viscoelastic materials, adhesion, nonlocal friction, fixed point, weak solution