Hot indentation of a FGM-coated thermoelastic half-space by a conical punch: Approximated analytical solution of the contact problem.

Hot indentation of a thermoelastic coated half-space by a rigid punch is considered. The coating is assumed to be functionally-graded with all group of properties arbitrary varying with depth. The deformation of the half-space caused by the simultaneous mechanical and thermal loading is considered. The punch is subjected to a normal centrally applied force and preliminary heated to a uniformly distributed temperature. The contact problem is reduced to the solution of a system of dual integral equations over two unknown functions: Hankel transform of normal stresses and heat flux in the contact area. Heat flux is obtained using the bilateral asymptotic method. This method was sufficiently generalized to take into account additional function describing the displacements of the surface caused by thermal heating and obtain contact stresses. The solution is obtained in an analytical form which clearly demonstrates the dependence of the contact characteristics from the initial physical parameters of the problem. Numerical analysis is provided to illustrate the effect of the presence of the coating and its thickness on the results. Differences between the homogeneous and functionally-graded coatings is illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]