The contact of a solid with an elastic half-space through a thin coating

More accurate equations of the deformation of thin plates, which are more c onvenient for solving contact problems for bodies with coatings and contain ing, as a special case, the equations of all known applied theories, are de rived by an asymptotic analysis of the first fundamental problem of the the ory of elasticity. The equations of the deformation of thin-walled elastic bodies are classified, their qualitative correspondence to the equations of the theory of elasticity is clarified, and the forms of the features that arise along the shift lines of the boundary conditions in the corresponding contact problems are established. A criterion for selecting approximate mo dels to describe the properties of the coatings depending on the geometrica l and mechanical characteristics of the coating and the substrate and also on their degree of adhesion is given. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri ghts reserved.