A Computer Thermal Model of Mixed Lubrication in Point Contacts

This paper presents a transient thermal model for mixed lubrication problems in point contacts. The model deterministically calculates pressure and surface temperature by simultaneously solving a system of equations that govern the lubrication, contact and thermal behaviors of a point contact interface. The pressure distribution on the entire computation domain is obtained through solving a unified Reynolds equation system without identifying hydrodynamic or asperity contact regions. The point heat source integration method is applied to determine the temperature distributions on contact surfaces. The interactions between pressure and temperature are considered through incorporating viscosity-temperature and density-temperature relations in the Reynolds equation, then solving the equation system iteratively. With the successful implementation of an FFT-based algorithm (DC-FFT) for calculation of surface deformation and temperature rise, the numerical analysis of lubricated contact problems, which used to involve a great deal of computation, can be performed in acceptable time. The model enables us to simulate various lubrication conditions, from full film elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) to boundary lubrication, for a better understanding of the effect of surface roughness. Numerical examples are analyzed and the results show that the present model can be used to predict pressure and surface temperature over a wide range of lubrication conditions, and that the solution methods are computationally efficient and robust.