This book describes the solution of contact problems with an emphasis on idealized (mainly linear) elastic problems that can be treated with elementary analytical methods. General physical and mathematical features of these solutions are highlighted. Topics covered include the contact of rough surfaces and problems involving adhesive (e.g. van der Waals) forces.

The author is a well-known researcher in the subject with hands-on experience of the topics covered and a reputation for lucid explanations. The target readership for the book includes researchers who encounter contact problems but whose primary focus is not contact mechanics. Coverage is also suitable for a graduate course in contact mechanics and end-of-chapter problems are included.

1 Kinematics of Contact.- 2 Three-Dimensional Frictionless Elastic Problems.- 3 Hertzian Contact.- 4 More General Problems for the Half Space.- 5 Axisymmetric Contact Problems.- 6 Two-Dimensional Frictionless Contact Problems.- 7 Tangential Loading.- 8 Friction Laws.- 9 Frictional Problems Involving Half Spaces.- 10 Asymptotic Methods.- 11 Receding Contact.- 12 Adhesive Forces.- 13 Beams, Plates, Membranes and Shells.- 14 Layered Bodies.- 15 Indentation Problems.- 16 Contact of Rough Surfaces.- 17 Thermoelastic Contact.- 18 Rolling and Sliding Contact.- 19 Elastodynamic Contact Problems.- 20 Impact.- 21 Appendices.- A Potential Function Solutions for Elasticity Problems.- B Integrals over Elliptical Domains.- C Cauchy Singular Integral Equations.- D Dundurs Bimaterial Constants.- Index.

James Richard Barber graduated in Mechanical Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1963. He then joined British Rail, who later sponsored his research at Cambridge between 1965 and 1968 on the subject of thermal effects in braking systems. In 1969 he became a Lecturer and later Reader in Solid Mechanics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.  He moved to the University of Michigan, Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1981. His current research interests are in solid mechanics with particular reference to thermoelasticity, contact mechanics and tribology. He is a Chartered Engineer in the U.K., a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and has engaged extensively in consulting work in the field of stress analysis for engineering design. Dr. Barber is author of two books and numerous articles in the fields of Elasticity, Thermoelasticity, Contact Mechanics, Tribology, Heat Conduction and Elastodynamics and he is a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Mechanical Sciences and the Journal of Thermal Stresses.