On the Adiabatic Couette Flow of a Compressible Fluid

An investigation is made of the adiabatic flow of air between two parallel plates very close together in relative tangential motion with a pressure differential across the moving plate. The solution predicts the “thermal wedge” effect of hydrodynamically lubricated slider-pad bearings and gives a quantitative analysis of the more general problem where a pressure differential exists across the slider pad. The results indicate that the hydrodynamical pressure contribution is often negligible (for moderate speeds) in comparison to the hydrostatic pressures in the pressurized bearings. For the case of stationary plates, the adiabatic solution is identical with the isothermal solution and no temperature rise occurs.