Existence and approximation for vibro-impact problems with a time-dependent set of constraints

We consider a discrete mechanical system subjected to perfect time-dependent unilateral constraints, which dynamics is described by a second order measure differential inclusion. The transmission of the velocity at impacts is given by a minimization property of the kinetic energy with respect to the set of kinematically admissible post-impact velocities. We construct a sequence of feasible approximate positions by using a time-stepping algorithm inspired by a kind of Euler discretization of the differential inclusion. We prove the convergence of the approximate trajectories to a solution of the Cauchy problem and we obtain as a by-product a global existence result.