Thin film elastohydrodynamic lubrication—a power-law fluid model

A 1-D modified Reynolds equation for power-law fluid is derived from the viscous adsorption theory for thin film elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TFEHL). The lubricating film between solid surfaces is modeled as three fixed layers, which are two adsorption layers on each surface and a middle layer between them. The comparisons between classical non-Newtonian EHL and non-Newtonian TFEHL are discussed. Results show that the TFEHL model can reasonably calculate the pressure distribution, the film thickness, the velocity distribution and the average viscosity. The thickness and viscosity of the adsorption layer and the flow index influence the lubrication characteristics of the contact conjunction significantly. The film thickness increases with the increase of flow index. As the flow index becomes greater, the dimple in the film shape moves towards the center of the contacts. The effect of flow index produces an obvious difference in the pressure distribution. The greater the flow index, the greater the pressure spike, and the pressure spike tends to move toward the center. The larger the flow index, the more the velocity varies in both the middle layer and adsorption layers along the Z-axis. The greater the thickness and viscosity of the adsorption layer and the flow index, the greater the deviation in central film thickness versus speed between EHL model and TFEHL model produced in the very thin film regime.