This is the first of two papers concerned with conformal contact and considers the fundamental conditions arising in non-layered configurations. This work was part of a research programme concerned with the development of a water-lubricated axial piston pump, in which the combination of contacting materials and contact conditions are critical. Finite element analysis was used to study cylindrical and spherical conformal contacts, with the models being validated by comparison with known analytical solutions. The models are shown to be extremely accurate and both types of contact are thoroughly investigated in this paper. The same models are then developed further to examine the contact conditions in conformal layered contacts, which to date has received very little attention, and this is the subject of the second paper.
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