On lower-dimensional models in lubrication, Part B: Derivation of a Reynolds type of equation for incompressible piezo-viscous fluids

Abstract

The Reynolds equation is a lower-dimensional model for the pressure in a fluid confined between two adjacent surfaces that move relative to each other. It was originally derived under the assumption that the fluid is incompressible and has constant viscosity. In the existing literature, the lower-dimensional Reynolds equation is often employed as a model for the thin films, which lubricates interfaces in various machine components. For example, in the modelling of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) in gears and bearings, the pressure dependence of the viscosity is often considered by just replacing the constant viscosity in the Reynolds equation with a given viscosity-pressure relation. The arguments to justify this are heuristic, and in many cases, it is taken for granted that you can do so. This motivated us to make an attempt to formulate and present a rigorous derivation of a lower-dimensional model for the pressure when the fluid has pressure-dependent viscosity. The results of our study are presented in two parts. In Part A, we showed that for incompressible and piezo-viscous fluids it is not possible to obtain a lower-dimensional model for the pressure by just assuming that the film thickness is thin, as it is for incompressible fluids with constant viscosity. Here, in Part B, we present a method for deriving lower-dimensional models of thin-film flow, where the fluid has a pressure-dependent viscosity. The main idea is to rescale the generalised Navier-Stokes equation, which we obtained in Part A based on theory for implicit constitutive relations, so that we can pass to the limit as the film thickness goes to zero. If the scaling is correct, then the limit problem can be used as the dimensionally reduced model for the flow and it is possible to derive a type of Reynolds equation for the pressure.