A non-Newtonian model based on limiting shear stress and slip planes—parametric studies

Parametric studies and corresponding results are presented using a rheological model based on the limiting shear stress and possible occurrence of slip planes. The model is applied to elastohydrodynamically lubricated line contacts with smooth surfaces and isothermal conditions. A few investigations are carried out where different parameters are varied. The first study investigates the influence on the film thickness distribution due to a variation of the maximum Hertzian pressure when the slide-to-roll ratio is constant. The second study investigates how far the non-Newtonian region propagates at low slide-to-roll ratios for a few different values of the Hertzian pressure. The results show that it is a remarkably small slide-to-roll ratio necessary to cause slip planes in a large part of the Hertzian contact zone. A third study regards the influence of the entrainment velocity on the film thickness generation at different slide-to-roll ratios. Finally some rheological parameters are varied. First, only the limiting shear stress at atmospheric pressure (τ₀) is varied, and second, a few different lubricants are studied, each with their own set of rheological parameters.