On the receding contact between a two-layer inhomogeneous laminate and a half-plane

This paper considers the smooth receding contact problem between a homogeneous half-plane and a composite laminate composed of an inhomogeneously coated elastic layer. The inhomogeneity of the elastic modulus of the coating is approximated by an exponential function along the thickness dimension. The three-component structure is pressed together by either a concentrated force or uniform pressures applied at the top surface of the composite laminate. Both semianalytical and finite element analysis are performed to solve for the extent of contact and the contact pressure. In the semianalytical formulation, Fourier integral transformation of governing equations and boundary conditions leads to a singular integral equation of Cauchy-type, which can be numerically integrated by Gauss-Chebyshev quadrature to a desired degree of accuracy. In the finite element modeling, the functionally graded coating is divided into homogeneous sublayers and the shear modulus of each sublayer is assigned at its lower boundary following the predefined exponential variation. In postprocessing, the stresses of any node belonging to sublayer interfaces are averaged over its surrounding elements. The results obtained from the semianalytical analysis are successfully validated against literature results and those of the finite element modeling. Extensive parametric studies suggest the practicability of optimizing the receding contact peak stress and the extent of contact in multilayered structures by the introduction of functionally graded coatings.