The impact of a plane punch on an elastic half-plane

The transient dynamic contact problem of the impact of a plane absolutely rigid punch on an elastic half-plane is considered. The solution of the integral equation of this problem in terms of the unknown Laplace transform of the contact stresses at the punch base is constructed by a special method of successive approximations. The solution of the transient dynamic contact problem is obtained after applying an inverse Laplace transformation to the solution of the integral equation over the whole time range of the impact process, and the law of the penetration of the punch into the elastic medium is determined from a Volterra-type integrodifferential equation. The conditions for the punch to begin to separate from the elastic half-plane are formulated from the solution obtained, and all the stages of the separation process are investigated in detail. The law of the punch motion on the elastic half-plane and the width of the contact area, which varies during the separation, are then determined from the solution of the Volterra-type integrodifferential equation when an additional condition is satisfied.