Can MechanicalSystems handle problems involving friction?
Yes. The external forces applied to each body in a MechanicalSystems model are specified as symbolic functions of position, velocity, or the reaction forces at constraints. In this environment, friction at a mechanism joint is simply an applied force that is a function of the position of the body and the reaction force at the joint (and possibly the velocity of the body). MechanicalSystems does not attempt to provide any particular friction model–the nature of the friction model is up to the user. Note that the symbolic expressions given to specify friction forces may have discontinuities, so it is possible to represent such things as the sign change in static friction upon a direction reversal.
