Mapping Shear Stress in Elastohydrodynamic Contacts

A new method has been, devised for investigating the theological properties of lubricant films in two-dimensional EHD contacts. A lubricated, sliding contact is produced between a sapphire flat and a steel ball. Thermal infrared emission microscopy is then employed to obtain 2-D maps of the variation of temperature rise due to friction across the contact. These maps are then used in conjunction with moving heal source theory to produce maps of energy dissipation and thus shear strength, of the lubricant film across the contact.

A series of mixtures of two lubricants, one giving high traction and one with low traction, have been studied using this technique to investigate the influence of lubricant, blending on shear stress and traction.