AXISYMMETRIC CONTACT OF AN ELASTIC LAYER UNDERLAIN BY RIGID BASE

Axisymmetric contact problems of an elastic layer are studied in this paper. The lower surface of the layer is either bonded to or in smooth contact with a rigid base. The upper surface is in tensionless smooth contact with a rigid flat cylinder, a rigid sphere, an elastic sphere or a circular plate, respectively. A general method is developed so that all these related problems are treated in a straightforward and like manner. In comparison to the other methods used in previous papers, the simplicity and high numerical accuracy are the major advantages of this method. The convergence is proved by comparing the numerical values to some available analytical solutions. Extensive numerical results for contact radii, displacements and contact pressures are provided. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd