Study of the Film Thickness Behaviors in the Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Circular Contact under the Dynamic Loading Condition with Multigrid Multilevel Method

Abstract

Many research of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) has been performed under the condition of steady state loading. However, mechanical elements undergo severe high loads that are in the fluctuating modes of frequency and amplitude. Conventional numerical method for the circular contact of EHL study has the difficulty in making the film thickness and pressure of EHL converged in high loads of steady state as well as fluctuating loading conditions. In this work, multigrid multilevel method are used for the stable convergence of film pressure and thickness under the conditions of high as well as varying loads, and very stable solutions of film behaviors with elastic deformation are obtained. Several results of dynamic loading condition are shown and compared with those of steady state condition in the aspects of circular EHL film thickness and pressure.