Effects of Thermal Properties of Contact Materials and Slide-Roll Ratio in Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication

The effects of thermal conductivity, heat capacity, thermal inertia, and slide-roll ratio (SRR) on point elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) are discussed with engineering ceramics and steel by a non-Newtonian thermal EHL analysis. When the thermal conductivities of contacting materials are significantly different, the film thickness is greatly affected by which material has the higher velocity. However, the film thickness is dominated by the heat capacity when the difference in thermal conductivity is not large. In contact of materials with the same mechanical and thermal properties, the film thickness and friction coefficient are influenced by the thermal inertia.