Two Dimensional Modified Reynolds Equation Including Pressure Dependent Viscosity Effect

The Reynolds equation plays an important role for predicting pressure distributions for fluid film bearing analysis, One of the assumptions on the Reynolds equation is that the viscosity is independent of pressure. This assumption is still valid for most fluid film bearing applications, in which the maximum pressure is less than 1 GPa. However, in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) where the lubricant is subjected to extremely high pressure, this assumption should be reconsidered. The 2D modified Reynolds equation is derived in this study including pressure-dependent viscosity, The solutions of 2D modified Reynolds equation is compared with that of the classical Reynolds equation for the ball bearing case (elastic solids). The pressure distribution obtained from modified equation is slightly higher pressures than the classical Reynolds equations.