On the compressive heating/cooling mechanism in thermal elastohydrodynamic lubricated contacts

Abstract

The importance of compressive heating/cooling occurring within lubricating films in thermal elastohydrodynamic lubricated contacts has not been given sufficient attention in the literature. This paper presents a numerical investigation of this mechanism and attempts to quantify its importance as compared to shear heating under pure-rolling and rolling–sliding conditions. It is found that even under pure-rolling, compressive heating/cooling remains in most cases less important than shear heating or at best, of the same order. Under rolling–sliding conditions, as soon as the slightest sliding occurs, heat generation is governed by shear heating. The dependence of compressive heating/cooling on operating conditions is also examined. Finally, the impact of this mechanism on the lubricating performance of these contacts is considered under various operating conditions.