Mixed EHL Problems: an Efficient Solution to the Fluid–Solid Coupling Problem with Consideration of Elastic Deformation and Cavitation

For transient mixed Elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) problems, a novel solution is required to predict friction loss and wear in sliding or rolling parts. However, existing solutions have numerous limitations. In general, the lower the oil film thickness is, the more serious the non-linear problem is. This paper presents an efficient solution to tackle the non-linearity of the mixed EHL problem. The elastic deformation in the fluid–solid iteration coupling problem is divided into two parts: One is induced by the hydrodynamic pressure. This part of the deformation is obtained by the unsteady EHL-FBNS (Fischer–Burmeister–Newton–Schur) solver by considering both mass-conserving cavitation and elastic deformation. The other part of the deformation is introduced by the asperity contact pressure. It can be obtained by the Newton–Raphson method. After some limited iterations, the mixed EHL problems can be solved by evaluating the residual total pressure (including hydrodynamic pressure and asperity contact pressure). The proposed methodology was validated against the results from the published literature and applied to characterize the tribological performance of point contact with moving texturing. It appears that the developed method can be effectively used for tracking the tribological behavior of friction pairs.