A mass-conservative average flow model based on finite element method for complex textured surfaces

• Published in: Science China. Physics, mechanics & astronomy Vol. 56; no. 10; pp. 1909 - 1919
• Main Authors: Xie, Yi, Li, YongJian, Suo, ShuangFu, Liu, XiangFeng, Li, JingHao, Wang, YuMing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algorithms; Astronomy; Average flow; Bearing strength; Boundary conditions; Carrying capacity; Classical and Continuum Physics; Dimpling; Finite element method; Load carrying capacity; Observations and Techniques; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Seals (stoppers); Thrust bearings; 保守; 几何形状; 平均流量; 有限元方法; 流量模型; 表面纹理; 表面质量; 质量守恒定律; JFO boundary conditions; mass-conservative average flow model; complex textured surfaces; finite element method
• ISSN: 1674-7348; 1869-1927
• DOI: 10.1007/s11433-013-5217-z

A mass-conservative average flow model based on the finite element method （FEM） is introduced to predict the performances of textured surfaces applied in mechanical seals or thrust bearings. In this model, the Jakobsson-Floberg-Olsson （JFO） bound- ary conditions are applied to the average flow model for ensuring the mass-conservative law. Moreover, the non-uniform tri- angular grid is utilized, which can deal with the problem of complex geometric shapes. By adopting the modeling techniques, the model proposed here is capable of dealing with complex textured surfaces. The algorithm is proved correct by the numeri- cal experiment. In addition, the model is employed to gain further insight into the influences of the dimples with different shapes and orientations on smooth and rough surfaces on the load-carrying capacity.