A theoretical model and experiments on the nonlinear dynamics of parallel plates subjected to laminar/turbulent squeeze-film forces

Squeeze film dynamical effects are relevant in many industrial contexts, bearings and seals being the most conspicuous applications, but also in other industrial contexts, for instance when dealing with the seismic excitation of spent fuel racks. The significant nonlinearity of the squeeze-film forces which arise prevents the use of linearized flow models, and a fully nonlinear formulation must be used for adequate computational predictions. Because it can easily accommodate both laminar and turbulence flow effects, a simplified bulk-flow model based on gap-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, incorporating all relevant inertial and dissipative terms was previously developed by the authors, assuming a constant skin-friction coefficient. In this paper we develop an improved theoretical formulation, where the dependence of the friction coefficient on the local flow velocity is explicitly accounted for, such that it can be applied to laminar, turbulent and mixed flows. Numerical solutions for both the basic and improved nonlinear one-dimensional time-domain formulations are presented in the paper. Furthermore, we present and discuss the results of an extensive series of experiments performed at CEA/Saclay, which were performed on a test rig consisting on a long gravity-driven instrumented plate of rectangular shape colliding with a planar surface. Theoretical results stemming from both theoretical flow models are confronted with the experimental measurements, in order to assert the strengths and drawbacks of the simpler original model, as well as the improvements brought by the new but more involved flow formulation.