Frictionless contact between a rigid indentor and a transversely isotropic functionally graded layer

This article is concerned with the study of frictionless contact between a rigid punch and a transversely isotropic functionally graded layer. The rigid punch is assumed to be axially symmetric and is supposed to be pressing the layer by an applied concentrated load. The layer is resting on a rigid base and is assumed to be sufficiently thick in comparison with the amount of indentation by the rigid punch. The graded layer is modeled as a non-homogeneous medium. The relationship between the applied load P and the contact area is obtained by solving the mathematically formulated problem through using the Hankel transform of different order. Numerical results have been presented to assess the effects of functional grading of the medium and the applied load on the stress distribution in the layer as well as on the relationship between the applied load and the area of contact.