  An exact transformation method is introduced that reduces the governing
equations of a continuum structure coupled to strong nonlinearities to a low
dimensional equation with memory. The method is general and well suited to
problems with point discontinuities such as friction and impact at point
contact. It is assumed that the structure is composed of two parts: a continuum
but linear structure and finitely many discrete but strong nonlinearites acting
at various contact points of the elastic structure. The localised
nonlinearities include discontinuities, e.g., the Coulomb friction law. Despite
the discontinuities in the model, we demonstrate that contact forces are
Lipschitz continuous in time at the onset of sticking for certain classes of
structures. The general formalism is illustrated for a continuum elastic body
coupled to a Coulomb-like friction model.
