Developments in high-speed electronic computers have greatly influenced the progress in fluid film lubrication over the past ten years. Static and dynamic oil film parameters have been computed for a wide range of finite geometries, for hydrostatic and hydrodynamic bearings lubricated by compressible and incompressible lubricants. These are either sufficient in themselves or else act as a yardstick against which approximate formulas may be tested. Much use has been made of iterative finite difference schemes, which are particularly well suited to digital computers, and these methods are now more fully understood. Other methods of solution include direct inversion of finite difference matrices and solution by expression of the pressure by some infinite series, a finite number of terms of which give adequate representation. Besides the increase in design data available, there has been substantial progress through a re-examination of the effects of modifying some of the assumptions inherent in most of the available solutions of the Reynolds equation. These include the assumption of constant lubricant viscosity, of rigid surfaces and of laminar flow. Major progress has been witnessed in two fields. The interaction of the lubricant film with elastic boundaries has been shown to be of prime importance in highly loaded contacts such as gears. This has led to the development of the special topic of elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory. The applicability of gas bearings in such growing industries as computers, space vehicles and nuclear reactors has resulted in great activity and progress in this field.
About the Accuracy and the Grid Convergence of the Numerical Solution of the Energy Equation in Fluid Film Lubrication
