THE HERTZ FRICTIONAL CONTACT BETWEEN NONLINEAR ELASTIC ANISOTROPIC BODIES (THE SIMILARITY APPROACH)

Self-similarity and similarity aspects of the three-dimensional Hertz problem of contact between two nonlinear elastic anisotropic bodies are considered under various boundary conditions: frictionless, adhesive, frictional. It is assumed that in a problem with friction the contact region consists of the following parts: in the inner part the interfacial friction must be sufficient to prevent any slip taking place between the bodies and in the outer part the friction must satisfy the Coulomb frictional law. The qualitative conclusions on the character of changes to the contact region and approach of the bodies are described exactly. A formula similar to the empirical law of Meyer is drawn up exactly without solving the field equations. The results are applied in an analysis of the Hertz impact problem with friction.