Film thickness calculation in elasto-hydrodynamic lubricated line and elliptical contacts: The Dowson,Higginson,Hamrock contribution

Abstract

Abstract

This article traces the contribution of the Dowson and Higginson work to numerical line contact elasto-hydrodynamic lubricated film thickness prediction and the Hamrock and Dowson contribution to the film thickness prediction in elliptical contacts. Considering the line contact work, this article shows that both the numerical pressure and film thickness results and the curve-fitted film thickness predictions are very accurate, even by today's standards. Concerning the elliptical results, the authors show that the original predictions remain surprisingly accurate but that the issue of the minimum to central film thicknesss ration H_m/ H_c is not yet completely settled.

The article then continues to discuss some limitations of the current models that require additional work, mainly in the area of realistic non-Newtonian lubricant rheology for film thickness predictions and pressure spike analysis.