Indentation of an elastic layer(s) bonded to a rigid cylinder—I. Quasistatic case without friction

A quasistatic, frictionless indentation problem for an incompressible elastic layer(s) bonded to a rigid cylinder is solved by use of a stress function in the form of a series. The method of Yau is then applied to obtain the solution of the dual series equations resulting from the mixed-type boundary condition which categorizes the problem. Although the analysis is given in detail only for a single-layered cylinder, comments on the many-layered case are made and some numerical results are given for a two-layered covering. In addition, some observations are made concerning a specific numerical example typical of rubber-covered steel rolls of the sort used in paper mills.