Thermal elastohydrodynamic analysis of circular contacts - Part 1: Newtonian model

Solutions of the thermal elastohydrodynamically lubricated point contact pr oblems are presented for both low and high Peclet number conditions. The su rface temperatures are calculated using the full expression of the moving h eat source equation given by Carslaw and Jaeger. Of interest is the potenti al of the method to predict solutions for pure sliding conditions in which one surface velocity is zero. The energy equation is treated as a two-dimen sional problem by approximating the variation in temperature across the fil m with a quadratic profile. To solve the strongly non-linear set of equatio ns which govern the problem a relaxation scheme is proposed which takes adv antage of the weak coupling between the Reynolds equation and energy equati on in the high-pressure region of the contact. The iterative process corres ponds to a two-stage process in which pressure and temperature are relaxed independently. The numerical scheme provides a stable and fast convergence and has the added advantage of allowing the isothermal relaxation schemes f or pressure previously developed to be reused.