Impact of an elastic pseudo-rigid body on a rigid foundation

This paper deals with the impact behavior of elastic pseudo-rigid bodies. I t is shown that in the case of a spherically symmetric, linearly elastic ps eudo-rigid body impacting on a rigid foundation, energy conservation necess itates the existence of multiple impact events. A comparison is made with t he dynamic Hertzian theory in terms of the coefficient of restitution and t he duration of impact. In addition, the chaotic nature of the long-term dyn amics of this system is explored qualitatively. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.