A FRAMEWORK FOR THERMOHYDRODYNAMIC LUBRICATION ANALYSIS

Thermohydrodynamic lubrication is complicated by the multiplicity of h eat transfer paths from the site of dissipation to the surroundings. T his has impeded a general understanding of thermohydrodynamic phenomen a. The method of lumped variables is applied to a simple slider bearin g (as an example) to explore thermohydrodynamic lubrication. This appr oach leads to a better understanding of the interplay between the diff erent modes of heat transfer and the influence of the associated tempe rature rises on performance, and how this can be captured by the use o f appropriate non-dimensional measures. Such measures also allow the m apping of the problem into a set of regimes characterized by the relat ive importance of different heat transfer modes.