About the validity of Reynolds equation and inertia effects in textured sliders of infinite width

Abstract

Numerous recent studies focus on modelling the lubricant flow in macro-textured configurations, using the Navier-Stokes, Stokes, and Reynolds equations. Several of these studies show that important, lift generating inertia effects are present in textured configurations, and conclude that Reynolds assumptions do not hold true for such contacts. A similar analysis is performed in this paper, for parallel sliders of infinite width, but with quite different conclusions. Two main observations are made based on the results presented herein: (a) inertia effects cannot be analysed by single texture cell models - for example, in the case of partial inlet texturing, inertia shows a clear negative influence, contradicting the previously reported lift generating effects; (b) the validity of Reynolds equation in textured sliders cannot be decided by the Reynolds number ( Re) alone, and the texture aspect ratio (λ) has an equally important influence on Reynolds equation validity. Finally, charts presenting the relative difference between Reynolds and Navier-Stokes solutions in terms of λ and Re are discussed.