Numerical analysis of TEHL line contact problem under reciprocating motion

This paper presents a full numerical analysis to simulate the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) of steel–steel line contact problem under reciprocating motion. The equation system is solved using multigrid techniques. General tribological behaviors of TEHL under reciprocating motion are explained. Comparison between thermal and isothermal results reveals the importance of thermal effect in prediction of the traction coefficient and film thickness. The influences of frequency, stroke length, and applied load on the variations of film thickness, pressure and traction coefficient during one working cycle are discussed. Furthermore, the influence of slide–roll ratio on tribo-characteristics of oil film under same entraining velocity is revealed.