Thermoelastic instability with consideration of surface roughness and hydrodynamic lubrication

An idealized model consisting of a surface with high thermal conductivity s eparated by a film of liquid lubricant from a rough surface with low therma l conductivity is developed to study thermoelastic instability. The governi ng equations are derived and solved for the critical speed beyond which the rmoelastic instability leading to the formation of hot spots is likely to o ccur. A series of dimensionless parameters is introduced which characterize s the thermoelastic behavior of the system. It is shown the surface roughne ss and the lubricant film thickness both play an important role on the thre shold of instability. [S0742-4787(00)00104-1].