A review of partial slip solutions for elastic contacts

This review classifies contacts into their fundamental classes and provides basic properties of each type of contact. For both complete and incomplete contacts, the conditions for no-slip are identified, and the extent of slip, where it occurs, is determined. Limited data on other classes of contact are also presented. The question of ‘coupling’ – where the application of a normal load also induces interfacial shear, and a shear load modifies the contact pressure distribution – is also discussed. This study aims to provide a cohesive understanding of elastic contacts under partial slip, serving as a foundation for advancing theories and applications in the field.