Thermal analysis of lubricated three-dimensional contact bodies considering interface roughness

Abstract

Surface roughness and thermal action are of remarkable importance in the lubrication performance of mechanical components, especially in extreme conditions. However, available studies mainly focus on the full-film lubrication conditions without considering temperature rise and real 3D surface roughness due to the complexity of surface topography and temperature characteristics. Moreover, studies on the interfacial thermal behaviors of 3D rough surface lubricated contact in an extended range of working conditions remain limited. In this paper, a deterministic mixed thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication model considering real 3D surface roughness and thermal effects is proposed. In this model, pressure and temperature are coupled with each other, the computation of elastic deformation is accelerated through the discrete convolution and fast Fourier transform method, the temperature field is calculated with the column sweeping technique, and the semi-system method is introduced to improve convergence and numerical stability under severe conditions. The model is validated by comparing its results with available published numerical and experimental results. The thermal behaviors of the contact interface are studied in a wide range of working conditions. The influences of surface roughness and thermal effect on lubrication performance are revealed. The results show that the proposed model can be used as a powerful analysis tool for lubrication performance and temperature prediction in various heavy-load, high-speed lubricated components over a wide range of lubrication conditions.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication / surface roughness effect / thermal effect / temperature characteristics / severe conditions

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