Abstract

This paper presents a variational solution to the problem of the contact between an isotropic elastic halfspace and a rigid circular indentor, where the contact is achieved through a set of ligaments modeled by a continuously distributed layer of Winkler elements. The problem is of interest to the modeling of the ligament-type contact mechanics between a rigid cylinder and a substrate. The limiting solution for Boussinesq indentation is modified to take into consideration small but finite influences of the elastic stiffness of the ligaments forming the interface layer.

Keywords

Winkler ligaments, contact problem, variational method, adhesive contact, compliance of indentor, rigid circular indentor, variational solution, elastic halfspace indentation

Authors