Uniform Equations in the Inlet and Exit Zones of Heavily Loaded Point and Line Elastohydrodynamically Lubricated Contacts Involved in Various Steady Motions

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya I. Kudish

Heavily loaded point elastohydrodynamically lubricated (EHL) contacts involved in steady purely transitional, skewed transitional, and transitional with spinning motions are considered. It is shown that in the central parts of the inlet and exit zones of such heavily loaded point EHL contacts the asymptotic equations governing the EHL problem along the lubricant flow streamlines for the above types of contact motions can be reduced to two sets of asymptotic equations: one in the inlet and one in the exit zones. The latter sets of equations are identical to the asymptotic equations describing lubrication process in the inlet and exit zones of the corresponding heavily loaded line EHL contact (Kudish, I. I., 2013, Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication for Line and Point Contacts: Asymptotic and Numerical Approaches, Chapman and Hall/CRC). For each specific motion of a point contact, a separate set of formulas for the lubrication film thickness is obtained. For different types of contact motions, these film thickness formulas differ significantly (Kudish, I. I., 2013, Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication for Line and Point Contacts: Asymptotic and Numerical Approaches, Chapman and Hall/CRC). For heavily loaded contacts, the discovered relationship between point and line EHL problems allows to apply to point contacts most of the results obtained for line contacts (Kudish, I. I., 2013, Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication for Line and Point Contacts: Asymptotic and Numerical Approaches, Chapman and Hall/CRC; Kudish, I. I., and Covitch, M. J., 2010, Modeling and Analytical Methods in Tribology, Chapman and Hall/CRC).

Author(s):  
Ilya I. Kudish

Heavily loaded point EHL contacts involved in steady purely transitional, skewed transitional, and transitional with spinning motions are considered. It is shown that in the central parts of the inlet and exit zones of such heavily loaded point EHL contacts the asymptotic equations governing the EHL problem along the lubricant flow streamlines for the above types of contact motions can be reduced to two sets of asymptotic equations: one in the inlet and one the exit zones. The latter sets of equations are identical to the asymptotic equations describing lubrication process in the inlet and exit zones of the corresponding heavily loaded line EHL contact [1]. For each specific motion of a point contact a separate set of formulas for the lubrication film thickness is obtained. For different types of contact motions these film thickness formulas differ significantly [1]. For heavily loaded contacts the discovered relationship between point and line EHL problems allow to apply to point contacts most of the results obtained for line contacts [1,2].


Author(s):  
Eduardo de la Guerra Ochoa ◽  
Javier Echávarri Otero ◽  
Enrique Chacón Tanarro ◽  
Benito del Río López

This article presents a thermal resistances-based approach for solving the thermal-elastohydrodynamic lubrication problem in point contact, taking the lubricant rheology into account. The friction coefficient in the contact is estimated, along with the distribution of both film thickness and temperature. A commercial tribometer is used in order to measure the friction coefficient at a ball-on-disc point contact lubricated with a polyalphaolefin base. These data and other experimental results available in the bibliography are compared to those obtained by using the proposed methodology, and thermal effects are analysed. The new approach shows good accuracy for predicting the friction coefficient and requires less computational cost than full thermal-elastohydrodynamic simulations.


A technique using Newton’s rings for mapping the oil film of lubricated point contacts is described. A theoretical value for the film thickness of such contacts in elastohydrodynamic lubrication is derived. The experimental results give the exit constriction predicted by previous theory but never shown in detail. The comparison of theoretical and experimental oil film thicknesses, which is satisfactorily accurate, gives strong evidence for a viscous surface layer some 1000Å thick. This film agrees with the known ‘lubricating power’ of the various oils tested.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Abd Alsamieh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the behavior of a single ridge passing through elastohydrodynamic lubrication of point contacts problem for different ridge shapes and sizes, including flat-top, triangular and cosine wave pattern to get an optimal ridge profile. Design/methodology/approach The time-dependent Reynolds’ equation is solved using Newton–Raphson technique. Several shapes of surface feature are simulated and the film thickness and pressure distribution are obtained at every time step by simultaneous solution of the Reynolds’ equation and film thickness equation, including elastic deformation. Film thickness and pressure distribution are chosen to be the criteria in the comparisons. Findings The geometrical characteristics of the ridge play an important role in the formation of lubricant film thickness profile and the pressure distribution through the contact zone. To minimize wear, friction and fatigue life, an optimal ridge profile should have smooth shape with small ridge size. Obtained results are compared with other published numerical results and show a good agreement. Originality/value The study evaluates the performance of different surface features of a single ridge with different shapes and sizes passing through elastohydrodynamic of point contact problem in relation to film thickness and pressure profile.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung Hoon Kim ◽  
Farshid Sadeghi

A numerical solution to the problem of isothermal non-Newtonian elastohydrodynamic lubrication of rolling/sliding point contacts has been obtained. The multigrid technique is used to solve the simultaneous system of two-dimensional modified Reynolds and elasticity equations. The effects of various loads, speeds, and slide to roll ratios on the pressure distribution, film thickness, and friction force have been investigated. Results for the dimensionless load W = 4.6 × 10−6 and 1.1 × 10−6, and the dimensionless velocity U = 3 × 10−10 and 3 × 10−11 are presented. The results indicate that slide to roll ratio has negligible effect on the minimum film thickness, however, it significantly reduces the pressure spike.


Author(s):  
B K Karthikeyan ◽  
M Teodorescu ◽  
H Rahnejat ◽  
S J Rothberg

Isothermal and thermoelastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) analyses of grease lubricated bearings are presented. A grease plug flow is formed in the conjunction that, with no shear at the boundaries with the solid surfaces, adheres to them in the region of high pressures under isothermal conditions. The elastohydrodynamic lubrication grease pressure distribution conforms fairly closely to that of its base oil alone, with the exception of inlet trail and pressure spike regions. The dependency of film thickness on speed (rolling viscosity) and load parameters for the base oil agrees with previously reported findings of the research community. For grease there are subtle differences with the base oil film thickness load and speed dependencies. However, it is clear that extrapolated oil film thickness formulae for oils can be used reasonably for the prediction of grease films, at least as a first approximation. The results presented agree well with optical interferometric measurements reported in the literature for grease-lubricated contacts at low temperatures and low surface velocities. TEHL analysis shows breakdown of the plug flow and significant reduction in film thickness, which can lead to changes in the regime of lubrication to mixed or boundary conditions.


Author(s):  
Fadi Ali ◽  
Ivan Křupka ◽  
Martin Hartl

This study presents experimental results on the effect of out-of-contact lubricant channeling on the tribological performance of nonconformal contacts under starved lubrication. Channeling of lubricant was carried out by adding a slider with a limited slot for scraping the displaced lubricant on one of mating surfaces (ball). Thus, the scraped lubricant is forced to flow back into the depleted track through the limited slot resulting in robust replenishment. The measurements have been conducted using optical tribometer (ball-on-disc) equipped with a digital camera and torque sensor. The effect of lubricant channeling was compared to the original contact condition by means of measuring friction and film thickness. The results show that the out-of-contact lubricant channeling leads to a significant enhancement of film thickness and friction reduction under starved conditions. Indeed, the starved elastohydrodynamic lubrication contacts transformed to the fully flooded regime after introducing the flow reconditioning. Moreover, the film thickness decay over time, which is common with starved elastohydrodynamic lubrication contacts, has not been observed in the case of lubricant channeling. However, the beneficial effect of lubricant channeling diminishes as the original contact condition tends to the fully flooded regime. The results of this study can be easily implemented in practical applications such as radial and thrust rolling-element bearings.


1982 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cusano ◽  
L. D. Wedeven

The effects of artificially-produced dents and grooves on the elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film thickness profile in a sliding point contact are investigated by means of optical interferometry. The defects, formed on the surface of a highly polished ball, are held stationary at various locations within and in the vicinity of the contact region while the disk is rotating. It is shown that the defects, having a geometry similar to what can be expected in practice, can dramatically change the film thickness which exists when no defects are present in or near the contact. This change in film thickness is mainly a function of the position of the defects in the inlet region, the geometry of the defects, the orientation of the defects in the case of grooves, and the depth of the defect relative to the central film thickness.


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