The solution of the Hertz axisymmetric contact problem

The main terms of the asymptotic form of the solution of the contact problem of the compression without friction of an elastic body and a punch initially in point contact are constructed by the method of matched asymptotic expansions using an improved matching procedure. The condition of unilateral contact is formulated taking account of tangential displacements on the contact surface. An asymptotic solution of the problem for the boundary layer is constructed by the complex potential method. An asymptotic model is constructed, extending the Hertz theory to the case where the surfaces of the punch and elastic body in the vicinity of the contact area are approximated by paraboloids of revolution. The problem of determining the convergence of the contacting bodies from the magnitude of the compressive force is reduced to the problem of calculating the so-called coefficient of local compliance, which is an integral characteristic of the geometry of the elastic body and its fixing conditions.