Indentation of an incompressible elastic film

The problem of impressing a rigid flat-ended cylindrical indenter onto an incompressible elastic film is considered. An integral transform solution is developed to reduce the solution of the problem to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind with a symmetrical kernel depending on the boundary conditions (frictionless/bonded) in the areas of contact. The relationship between the applied load and the indentation depth is derived, which provides a guideline for measuring the elastic constants of thin films and determining the degree of adhesion between a thin film and a stiffer substrate.