4. Conclusion

The elements gathered in this article enable the dimensioning in elasticity, fracture and/or fatigue of a point or line contact under the effect of a force normal to the tangent plane common to both solids; the dimension of the contact zone is little affected by the tangential forces which can be superimposed on this normal force.

It should be borne in mind that, with the emergence of materials with low Poisson's ratio, the results traditionally accepted for metallic materials can be challenged. A detailed analysis is given for linear or circular contacts. In the case of ceramics, tractions at the edge of the cavity are of particular interest.