The effect of tangential bearing acceleration on the lubrication of a finite-width slider

Abstract

The effect of tangential bearing acceleration on the pressure and load-carrying capacity of a slider of finite width is analyzed theoretically on the basis of simplified Navier-Stokes equations which include the local acceleration of the lubricant. The inertia of the lubricant is shown to cause a time lag before the pressure begins to increase at an appreciable rate. The width of the slider influences neither the duration of this time lag nor the rate at which steady or quasi-steady conditions are established.