Noncontact set ($D=\{x:u(x)>g(x)\}$)

The noncontact set is where the unknown function is strictly above its obstacle. For continuous functions it is open. Every smooth variation with compact support in this set remains feasible with either sign when its amplitude is small enough. The first variation therefore vanishes there, yielding the unconstrained Euler-Lagrange equation. On the complementary contact set of an obstacle problem, only the appropriate one-sided variational inequality is available globally.