page_title: Contact mechanics
section_title: Contact between a rigid cylinder with flat end and an elastic half-space
hierarchical_section_title: Contact mechanics / Classical solutions for non-adhesive elastic contact / Contact between a rigid cylinder with flat end and an elastic half-space
caption_attribution_description: English: Contact between a rigid cylindrical indenter and an elastic half-space Deutsch: Kontakt zwischen einem starren zylindrischen Indenter und einem elastischen Halbraum
context_page_description: Contact mechanics is the study of the deformation of solids that touch each other at one or more points. A central distinction in contact mechanics is between stresses acting perpendicular to the contacting bodies' surfaces and frictional stresses acting tangentially between the surfaces. This page focuses mainly on the normal direction, i.e. on frictionless contact mechanics. Frictional contact mechanics is discussed separately. Normal stresses are caused by applied forces and by the adhesion present on surfaces in close contact even if they are clean and dry.
  Contact mechanics is part of mechanical engineering. The physical and mathematical formulation of the subject is built upon the mechanics of materials and continuum mechanics and focuses on computations involving elastic, viscoelastic, and plastic bodies in static or dynamic contact. Contact mechanics provides necessary information for the safe and energy efficient design of technical systems and for the study of tribology, contact stiffness, electrical contact resistance and indentation hardness.
context_section_description: If a rigid cylinder is pressed into an elastic half-space, it creates a pressure distribution described by
  where  is the radius of the cylinder and
  The relationship between the indentation depth and the normal force is given by
caption: Contact between a rigid cylindrical indenter and an elastic half-space.
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