INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCES, cilt.40, sa.12, ss.1281-1293, 1998 (SCI-Expanded)
An elastic-plastic contact problem in elastic-work hardening layered half-space indented by an elastic sphere was solved numerically using the finite element method. The case of a surface layer stiffer than the substrate is considered, and general solutions for the subsurface stresses and deformation fields are presented for a relatively thin elastic layer. Differences between the elastic and elastic-plastic solutions for the contact pressure distribution have been investigated for various layer thicknesses. Crack initiation and decohesion of the layer was also discussed with reference to the growth of the plastic zone. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.