A semi-analytical solution to incipient sliding contact on viscoelastic layer-elastic substrate with imperfectly bonded interface.

• A semi-analytical solution to incipient sliding contact on viscoelastic layered solids is proposed. • The spring-like interface between the coating and substrate is considered. • A two-step procedure is performed to verify the validity of the solution. • The influences of variation in parameters on the contact behaviors are analyzed. This paper presents a semi-analytical solution to the incipient sliding contact between a rigid sphere and a viscoelastic layer-elastic substrate with spring-like interface. In this solution, Papkovich–Neuber potentials in frequency domain are applied to calculate the influence coefficients (ICs) based on the surface and interface conditions; the elastic constant in the elastic solution is replaced by the creep function to cover the time-dependent characteristics of the viscoelastic layer; discrete convolution-fast Fourier transform (DC-FFT) is used to obtain the displacements and stresses caused by the external load; conjugate gradient method (CGM) is employed to compute the pressure on the top surface of the viscoelastic layer. The validity of the solution is verified by a previous method and the finite element method (FEM), where the relaxation and creep functions of the viscoelastic layer are expressed as Prony series. Influences of variations in parameters on the surface pressure, normal displacement and von Mises stress are analyzed by a parametric study of the time, relaxation time, relaxation modulus, stiffness coefficients, coating thickness and friction coefficient. The results indicate that this solution can predict the contact behaviors of viscoelastic layered half-space and may serve as a numerical experiment in research of coating materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]