Elastic contact on a double-layered substrate

Results are given for the contact law and state of stress induced in the co ntact resulting from application of a pressure distribution on a double-lay ered half-plane, or its indentation by a body of prescribed shape. The geom etry is representative of that found widely in biomedical applications, par ticularly the knee prosthesis, and also in more general engineering problem s. The solution is given in a numerically efficient form, and the stress st ates at the surface and within the structure that are associated with a num ber of different combinations of materials are displayed.