A Three-Dimensional Model of Line-Contact Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication for Heterogeneous Materials with Inclusions

• Published in: International journal of applied mechanics Vol. 8; no. 2; p. 1650014
• Main Authors: Zhou, Kun, Dong, Qingbing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore World Scientific Publishing Company 01.03.2016; World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte., Ltd
• Subjects: Contact pressure; Cylindrical bodies; Deformation; Elastohydrodynamic lubrication; Film thickness; Half spaces; Inclusions; Lubricants; Lubricants & lubrication; Lubrication; Pressure distribution; Reynolds equation; Stress concentration; Three dimensional models; Time dependence; heterogeneous material; elastohydrodynamic lubrication; Three-dimensional line-contact; eigenstrains; equivalent inclusion method
• ISSN: 1758-8251; 1758-826X
• DOI: 10.1142/S1758825116500149

This paper develops a three-dimensional (3D) model for a heterogeneous half-space with inclusions distributed periodically beneath its surface subject to elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) line-contact applied by a cylindrical loading body. The model takes into account the interactions between the loading body, the fluid lubricant and the heterogeneous half-space. In the absence of subsurface inclusions, the surface contact pressure distribution, the half-space surface deformation and the lubricant film thickness profile are obtained through solving a unified Reynolds equation system. The inclusions are homogenized according to Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method (EIM) with unknown eigenstrains to be determined. The disturbed half-space surface deformations induced by the subsurface inclusions or eigenstrains are iteratively introduced into the lubricant film thickness until the surface deformation finally converges. Both time-independent smooth surface contact and time-dependent rough surface contact are considered for the lubricated contact problem.