Excitation of the elastic half-space surface by normal rebounding impact of an indenter

A dynamic contact problem of the linear theory of elasticity regarding the response of the elastic half-space surface to the normal impact of an indenter is considered. If the indenter is spherical, the Hertzian theory serves to determine the impact parameters. The displacements of points on the surface remote from the contact spot are described by solving Lamb’s problem. In the case of impacts by a flexible plate indenter that transfers uniformly distributed load to the elastic half-space surface, a first order asymptotic model is applied, which takes into account the dissipative properties of the elastic base due to elastic energy transfer by waves to infinity. The main results of the work are obtained in closed form.