We present an abstract framework for state space formulation and a generalized theorem on well-posedness which can be applied to a class of partial functional differential equations which arise in the modeling of viscoelastic and certain thermo-viscoelastic systems. Examples to which the theory applies include both second- and fourth-order equations with a variety of boundary conditions. The theory presented here allows for singular kernels as well as flexibility in the choice of state space.

We discuss an approximation scheme using spline in the spatial variable and an averaging scheme in the delay variable. We compare a uniform mesh to a nonuniform mesh and give numerical results which indicate that the non-uniform mesh, which gives a better approximation of the kernel near the singularity, yields faster convergence. We give a proof of convergence of the simulation problem for singular kernels and of the control problem for bounded kernels. We use techniques of semigroup theory to establish the results on well-posedness and convergence.