Isoviscous Lubrication of Rigid Cylinders: A Modification to Classical Theory

Abstract

Measurements of oil film thickness between lightly loaded lubricated discs show that the original theory of Martin over-estimates the film thickness by between 100 and 800 per cent, depending on the ratio of the difference of the surface velocities and their sum. Theoretical results indicate that the upstream boundary condition could account for the discrepancy between the experimental results and the Martin theory. A procedure for the calculation of load-carrying capacity of lightly loaded cylinders based upon new upstream velocity and velocity gradient boundary conditions suggested by Lauder is presented.