Elastohydrodynamic Behavior of Rolling Elliptical Contacts: Part II: Oil Film Thickness and Contact Profile

Abstract

A spherically crowned circular disk in contact with a mating plain cylindrical one has been used in a two disk machine to conduct elastohydrodynamic (EHD) investigations with the contact zone describing elliptical shape. The oil film thickness variation has been accurately measured and herein presented under several contact situations with disks running with either pure rolling or combined rolling and sliding motion. Results confirmed that the introduction of a percentage slip over a rolling contact by either changing disks relative speed or skewing disks axes relative to each other, would affect the resultant oil film thickness by reducing it. However, the contact profile retained its shape with a mean oil film passage followed by a reduction at the trailing exit end. Compared with previous EHD theoretical and experimental findings, the present results come in line with previous predictions and confirm the importance of adopting thermal solutions in solving EHD situations.