The Pressure and Deformation Profiles Between Two Normally Approaching Lubricated Cylinders

The pressure and deformation profiles between two colliding lubricated cylinders are obtained by solving the coupled, time-dependent elastohydrodynamic equations with an iterative procedure. The analysis includes several effects which were not considered in a previous solution by Christensen [4], namely, the effect of surface velocities due to local deformation, the effect of the lubricant compressibility, and the effect of a lubricant with composite pressure-viscosity coefficients. It is found that the local approach velocity plays an important role during final stages of normal approach. It causes the lubricant to be entrapped within the contact region, and both the pressure and deformation profiles appear to converge to the Hertzian profile. The use of a smaller pressure-viscosity coefficient at high pressures reduces the sharp pressure gradient at the center of the contact, and produces a much milder variation of load with respect to the film thickness. The effect of compressibility of the lubricant is found to be relatively small.