Isothermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Point Contacts: Part IV—Starvation Results

1977 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Hamrock ◽  
D. Dowson

Utilizing the theory and numerical procedure developed by the authors in an earlier publication the influence of lubricant starvation on minimum film thickness was investigated. This study of lubricant starvation was performed simply by moving the inlet boundary closer to the contact center. From the results it was found that for the range of conditions considered the value of dimensionless inlet distance at the boundary between fully flooded and starved conditions (m*) can be expressed simply as m*=1+3.06Rxb2Hc,F0.58 or m*=1+3.34Rxb2Hmin,F0.56 that is, for a dimensionless inlet distance (m) less than m*, starvation occurs, and for m ≥ m*, a fully flooded condition exists. Furthermore, it has been possible to express the central and minimum film thickness for a starved condition as Hc,S=Hc,Fm−1m*−10.29Hmin,S=Hmin,Fm−1m*−10.25 Contour plots of the pressure and film thickness in and around the contact are shown for the fully flooded and starved lubricant condition. From these contour plots it was observed that the pressure spike becomes suppressed and the film thickness decreases substantially as starvation increases.

1977 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Hamrock ◽  
D. Dowson

Utilizing the theory developed by the authors in an earlier publication, the influence of the ellipticity parameter, the dimensionless speed, load, and material parameters on minimum film thickness was investigated. The ellipticity parameter was varied from one (a ball on a plate configuration) to eight (a configuration approaching a line contact). The dimensionless speed parameter was varied over a range of nearly two orders of magnitude. The dimensionless load parameter was varied over a range of one order of magnitude. Conditions corresponding to the use of solid materials of bronze, steel, and silicon nitride and lubricants of paraffinic and naphthenic mineral oils were considered in obtaining the exponent in the dimensionless material parameter. Thirty-four different cases were used in obtaining the minimum film thickness formula given below as H¯min=3.63U0.68G0.49W−0.073(1−e−0.68k) A simplified expression for the ellipticity parameter was found where k=1.03RyRx0.64 Contour plots were also shown which indicate in detail the pressure spike and two side lobes in which the minimum film thickness occurs. These theoretical solutions of film thickness have all the essential features of the previously reported experimental observations based upon optical interferometry.


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.


1979 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Hamrock ◽  
D. Dowson

By using the theory and numerical procedure developed by the authors in earlier publications, the influence of lubricant starvation upon minimum film thickness in starved elliptical elastohydrodynamic conjunctions for low-elastic-modulus materials has been investigated. Lubricant starvation was studied simply by moving the inlet boundary closer to the center of the conjunction. The results show that the location of the dimensionless inlet boundary m* between the fully flooded and starved conditions can be expressed simply as m* = 1 + 1.07 [(Rx/b)2Hmin,F]0.16, where Rx is the effective radius of curvature in the rolling direction, b is the semiminor axis of the contact ellipse, and Hmin,F is the dimensionless mimimum film thickness for the fully flooded condition. That is, for a dimension-less inlet distance m less than m*, starvation occurs; and for m ≥ m*, a fully flooded condition exists. Furthermore, it has been possible to express the minimum film thickness for a starved condition as Hmin,S = Hmin,F [(m − 1)/(m* − 1)]0.22. Contour plots of the pressure and film thickness in and around the contact are presented for both the fully flooded and starved lubrication conditions. It is evident from the contour plots that the inlet pressure contours become less circular and that the film thickness decreases substantially as the severity of starvation increases. The results presented in this report, when combined with the findings previously reported, enable the essential features of starved, elliptical, elastohydrodynamic conjunctions for materials of low elastic modulus to be ascertained.


Author(s):  
A. D. Chapkov ◽  
C. H. Venner ◽  
A. A. Lubrecht

The influence of surface roughness on the performance of bearings and gears operating under ElastoHydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL) conditions has become increasingly important over the last decade, as the average film thickness decreased due to various influences. Surface features can reduce the minimum film thickness and thus increase the wear. They can also increase the temperature and the pressure fluctuations, which directly affects the component life. In order to describe the roughness geometry inside an EHL contact, the amplitude reduction of harmonic waviness has been studied over the last ten years. This theory currently allows a quantitative prediction of the waviness amplitude and includes the influence of wavelength and contact operating conditions. However, the model assumes a Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant. The current paper makes a first contribution to the extension of the roughness amplitude reduction for EHL point contacts including non-Newtonian effects.


2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Sperka ◽  
J. Wang ◽  
I. Krupka ◽  
M. Hartl ◽  
M. Kaneta

The transient film thickness and pressure distributions in point elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) contacts during start–stop–start motion are discussed based on experimental and numerical analyses. When the machine element starts to move after the stopping, where the oil is entrapped between two surfaces, the pressure at the exit area increases very much. The pressure increase depends markedly on the overall film thickness before the stopping of the motion, but is hardly controlled by the acceleration after the stopping. It can be considered that this phenomenon affects the rolling contact fatigue damage.


Author(s):  
C J Hooke

The elastohydrodynamic lubrication of point contacts is examined and results for the minimum film thickness are presented for a wide range of radius ratios and operating conditions. The results are compared with the predictions of the appropriate regime formulae. Although these formulae give a reasonable estimate of the contact's behaviour, the actual clearances are often substantially different, particularly close to the regime boundaries. Interpolation equations for seven values of radius ratio are given and these should be sufficient to allow the minimum clearance to be estimated for most isoviscous point contacts.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Salehizadeh ◽  
N. Saka

The two-dimensional thermal elastohydrodynamic equations were numerically solved for a Ree-Eyring type lubricant under pure rolling conditions. Profiles of lubricant pressure, film thickness, and temperature were obtained for medium to heavy loads and moderate to high rolling speeds. The pressure results generally show a small secondary peak near the outlet, but at the highest load considered no pressure spike is obtained and the pressure profile is almost Hertzian. The film thickness results show an increase in minimum film thickness with increasing rolling speeds, but at a lesser rate than those predicted for a Newtonian fluid under isothermal conditions. It is found that unless the lubricant becomes non-Newtonian in the inlet region, the reduction in minimum film thickness at high rolling speeds is completely due to thermal effect. The lubricant temperature profile and the amount of heat generated and dissipated in the contact region were also calculated. The lubricant temperature reaches a maximum just before the entrance to the Hertz contact region. Both shear and compression heating are found to be important in raising the lubricant temperature in the inlet. As the lubricant enters the Hertz contact zone, the temperature first drops rapidly, because of the rapid heat conduction to the rollers, and then remains almost constant for most of the Hertz contact. Near the exit where the pressure gradients are large, the lubricant temperature drops rapidly below the ambient because of lubricant expansion. The lubricant then heats up rapidly before leaving the contact area as a result of heat generated by shear stresses.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Nogi

Elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) film thickness and rolling resistance play a critical role in determining friction, wear, life, and other tribological characteristics of rolling bearings. Although film thickness formulas are widely used and experimentally verified, accurate prediction of the film thickness is still difficult under starved conditions. This paper presents a numerical study of starved EHL point contacts using a nonuniform inlet film thickness obtained from a modified Coyne–Elrod boundary condition. An experimental verification of the numerical results is also presented. Based on the results of a parametric study, inlet distance formulas are obtained as a function of the initial film thickness, the fully flooded central film thickness, and the capillary number. By using the inlet distance formulas and the Hamrock–Dowson formulas, the central film thickness, the minimum film thickness, and the viscous rolling resistance can be calculated.


1978 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard J. Hamrock ◽  
Duncan Dowson

Our earlier studies of elastohydrodynamic lubrication of conjunctions of elliptical form are applied to the particular and interesting situation exhibited by materials of low elastic modulus. By modifying the procedures we outlined in an earlier publication, the influence of the ellipticity parameter k and the dimensionless speed U, load W, and material G parameters on minimum film thickness for these materials has been investigated. The ellipticity parameter was varied from 1 (a ball-on-plate configuration) to 12 (a configuration approaching a line contact). The dimensionless speed and load parameters were varied by 1 order of magnitude. Seventeen different cases were used to generate the following minimum- and central-film-thickness relations: H˜min=7.43(1−0.85e−0.31k)U0.65W−0.21H˜c=7.32(1−0.72e−0.28k)U0.64W−0.22 Contour plots are presented that illustrate in detail the pressure distribution and film thickness in the conjunction.


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.


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