  In this paper, we study the single kink and the kink-antikink collisions of a
nonlinear beam equation bearing a fourth-derivative term. We numerically
explore some of the key characteristics of the single kink both in its standing
wave and in its traveling wave form. A point of emphasis is the study of
kink-antikink collisions, exploring the critical velocity for single-bounce
(and separation) and infinite-bounce (where the kink and antikink trap each
other) windows. The relevant phenomenology turns out to be dramatically
different than that of the corresponding nonlinear Klein-Gordon (i.e.,
$\phi^4$) model. Our computations show that for small initial velocities, the
kink and antikink reflect nearly elastically without colliding. For an
intermediate interval of velocities, the two waves trap each other, while for
large speeds a single inelastic collision between them takes place. Lastly, we
briefly touch upon the use of collective coordinates (CC) method and their
predictions of the relevant phenomenology. When one degree of freedom is used
in the CC approach, the results match well the numerical ones for small values
of initial velocity. However, for bigger values of initial velocity, it is
inferred that more degrees of freedom need to be self-consistently included in
order to capture the collision phenomenology.
