The Viscous Lubrication of Rolling and Sliding Rigid Cylinders

Abstract

The general viscous lubrication of rolling and sliding rigid cylinders is examined. The flow is assumed isothermal and the fluid rheology is assumed completely defined by its compressibility as a function of pressure and by its viscosity as a function of pressure and shear stress. A general problem formulation and a general solution technique are developed. The solution technique is based on the iterative solution of a discrete representation of the problem formulation. These results are specialized for a viscosity function of the form μ=μ0eβp(1+a2(kτ)2)(1+(kτ)2)−1 Typical solutions are obtained and discussed. A dimensionless survey of design parameters is presented for the above viscosity function with (a) = 0.0. The use of such nonlinear general viscous fluids results in a significant loss of load capacity.