Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an simple and efficient stiffness model for line contact under elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) and to investigate the gear meshing stiffness by the proposed model.
Design/methodology/approach
The method combines the surface contact stiffness and film stiffness as EHL contact stiffness. The EHL contact stiffness can be calculated by the external load and displacement of the load action point. The displacement is the sum of deformation of the film and contact surface and is equal to the distance of the mutual approach of two contact bodies.
Findings
The conclusion is drawn that the contact stiffness calculated by the proposed model is smaller than that by the minimum film model and larger than that by the mean film model. It is also concluded that the gear meshing stiffness under EHL is slightly smaller than that under dry contact.
Originality/value
The EHL contact stiffness can be obtained by the increment of external load and mutual approach directly. The calculation of oil film stiffness and surface contact stiffness separately is avoided.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2019-0465
In this paper, the application scope of the average flow model is extended to grease lubrication considering the non-Newtonian characteristics. First, flow factor expressions applicable to both Newtonian fluids and non-Newtonian fluids are derived. Then, a model problem is established by coupling the Reynolds governing equation, film thickness function and boundary conditions and solved for the flow factor. Fit the result into empirical relations for conveniently using in the grease lubrication analysis. Finally, the influence of several parameters on the flow factor is studied. The results demonstrate that the film thickness ratio, rheological index and surface elastic deformation have a significant effect on the flow factor, and the influence law is affected by the orientation of the surface roughness.
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