Transient elastohydrodynamic lubrication film thickness in sliding and rolling line contacts

Abstract

The contact behavior between cam and follower is greatly influenced by the kinematics and dynamics of the whole valve train system. This is the reason that both shape and thickness of the fluid film in the contact gap are mainly determined by applied loads and relative contact speeds as well as the curvatures of contacting elements. Most of the studies about lubricant film behavior between cam and follower have been performed without a consideration of transient effects in the contact gap. For the computational difficulties of transient effects, most contact conditions such as relative contacting speeds have been regarded as quasi-steady state during the whole operating cycle.