Singularities at angular points in elastic contact problems

A new procedure is suggested for numerical treatment of elastic contact problems for non‐classical domains. The numerical procedure is based on formulae derived for an accurate computer evaluation of singular integrals. These formulae define the value of the singular integral in the neighbourhood of the singularities, while the regular part of the integral can be evaluated by any standard subroutine. The method allows practically exact solution of elastic contact problems for punches of various plan forms like, for example, rectangle, rhombus, triangle, oval, etc. The nature of the stress singularity at the boundary of the domain of contact is clarified. Numerical results presented for a rectangle indicate that the assumption of a square root singularity is wrong, and that the power of the singularity is not constant along a rectangle edge.