Non-Linear Lubricant Behavior in Concentrated Contacts Available to Purchase

Elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) is the name given to hydrodynamic lubrication when it is applied to solid surfaces of low geometric conformity (counterformal contacts) that are capable of, and are subject to, elastic deformation. In bearings relying on EHL principles, the residence time of the fluid is less than 1 ms, the pressures are up to 4 GP, the film is thin, down to 0.1 μm, and shear rates are up to 10⁸ s⁻¹ — under such conditions lubricants exhibit material behavior that is distinctly different from their behavior in bulk at normal temperature and pressure. In fact, without taking into account the viscosity-pressure characteristics of the liquid lubricant and the elastic deformation of the bounding solids, hydrodynamic theory is unable to explain the existence of continuous lubricant films in highly loaded gears and rolling contact bearings.