A unified approach for representing fretting and damage at the edges of incomplete and receding contacts

•Asymptotic approach for solving incomplete contact problems under partial slip is investigated.•The use of the generalised stress intensity factor is shown to be a better quantifier of crack nucleation.•It is shown that receding contact life can be found through experiments carried out on incomplete contacts.

This paper attempts to unify the analysis of fretting and damage at the edges of different classes of contact. Specifically edge asymptotes may be applied, in the same form, to both incomplete and to receding contacts. The benefit of this approach is that experiments carried out on incomplete contacts may be used to predict the life of a wide range of incomplete contact geometries, and also of receding contacts.