Peiran Yang

Formation of Steady Dimples in Point TEHL Contacts

Experimental results of steady dimples measured in elliptical glass-steel contact under pure sliding conditions are presented. It is found that two dimples connected with a shallower furrow are generated, each near an end of the major radius of the contact ellipse. The complete solution of the corresponding thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) problem is calculated numerically. Good agreement is obtained between the experimental and theoretical results. This agreement can be explained by the temperature-viscosity wedge mechanism, Correctness of this mechanism is demonstrated using additional experiments with ceramic balls in contact with glass and sapphire disks.

Non-Newtonian Thermal Analyses of Point EHL Contacts Using the Eyring Model

A non-Newtonian numerical solution system for the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) problems in point contacts has been developed. The Eyring rheology model has been used to describe the non-Newtonian flow of the lubricant. An effective viscosity has been defined for the Eyring fluid. The Newtonian solver can be applied easily to the non-Newtonian problems when the viscosity of the Newtonian fluid is replaced by the effective viscosity. A novel technique for the determination of the effective viscosity is proposed. Numerical solutions for the conventional point contact and normally crossing cylinders contact problems are presented and the effects of the entraining velocity, the load, the slide-roll ratio, and the characteristic shear stress of the Eyring fluid on the lubricating performance are discussed. The results indicate that the non-Newtonian thermal EHL theory predicts more realistic film temperatures and traction coefficients.

Effect of 3D physiological loading and motion on elastohydrodynamic lubrication of metal-on-metal total hip replacements

An elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) simulation of a metal-on-metal (MOM) total hip implant was presented, considering both steady state and transient physiological loading and motion gait cycle in all three directions. The governing equations were solved numerically by the multi-grid method and fast Fourier transform in spherical coordinates, and full numerical solutions were presented included the pressure and film thickness distribution. Despite small variations in the magnitude of 3D resultant load, the horizontal anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) load components were found to translate the contact area substantially in the corresponding direction and consequently to result in significant squeeze-film actions. For a cup positioned anatomically at 45 degrees , the variation of the resultant load was shown unlikely to cause the edge contact. The contact area was found within the cup dimensions of 70-130 degrees and 90-150 degrees in the AP and ML direction respectively even under the largest translations. Under walking conditions, the horizontal load components had a significant impact on the lubrication film due to the squeeze-film effect. The time-dependent film thickness was increased by the horizontal translation and decreased during the reverse of this translation caused by the multi-direction of the AP load during walking. The minimum film thickness of 12-20 nm was found at 0.4s and around the location at (95, 125) degrees. During the whole walking cycle both the average and centre film thickness were found obviously increased to a range of 40-65 nm, compared with the range of 25-55 nm under one load (vertical) and one motion (flexion-extension) condition, which suggested the lubrication in the current MOM hip implant was improved under 3D physiological loading and motion. This study suggested the lubrication performance especially the film thickness distribution should vary greatly under different operating conditions and the time and location that potential wear may occur was very sensitive to specific loading and motion conditions. This may provide some explanation to the large variations in wear from hip simulators and clinical studies, and also stress the importance of using more realistic loading and motion conditions in the tribological study of MOM hip prostheses.

Thermal and Non-Newtonian Numerical Analyses for Starved EHL Line Contacts

This paper focuses on the mechanism of starvation and the thermal and non-Newtonian behavior of starved elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) in line contacts. It has been found that for a starved EHL line contact if the position of the oil-air meniscus is given as input parameter the effective thickness of the available lubricant layers on the solid surfaces can be solved easily from the mass continuity condition, alternatively, if the later is given as input parameter the former can also be determined easily. Numerical procedures were developed for both situations, and essentially the same solution can be obtained for the same parameters. In order to highlight the importance of the available oil layers, isothermal and Newtonian solutions were obtained first with multi-level techniques. The results show that as the inlet meniscus of the film moves far away from the contact the effective thickness of the oil layers upstream the meniscus gently reaches a certain value. This means very thin layers (around 1 μm in thickness) of available lubricant/Urns on the solid surfaces, provided the effective thickness is equal to or larger than this limitation. are enough to fill the gap downstream the meniscus and makes the contact work under a fully flooded condition. The relation between the inlet meniscus and the effective thickness of the available lubricant layers was further investigated by thermal and non-Newtonian solutions. For these solutions the lubricant was assumed to be a Ree-Eyring fluid. The pressures, film profiles and temperatures under fully flooded and starved conditions were obtained with the numerical technique developed previously. The traction coefficient of the starved contact is found to be larger than that of the fully flooded contact, the temperature in the starved EHL film, however is found to be lower than the fully flooded contact. Some non-Newtonian results were compared with the corresponding Newtonian results.

Effects of Thermal Conductivity of Contacting Surfaces on Point EHL Contacts

With actual and virtual materials, the effects of the thermal conductivity of contacting surfaces on EHL are investigated through experimental analyses using the optical interferometry technique .and the Newtonian thermal EHL analyses in consideration of the variation of oil properties in all directions within the film. A mineral bright stock is used as a lubricant. It is found that the distributions of pressure and film thickness, including the minimum film thickness, are influenced very much by the entrainment velocity and the slide-roll ratio. One of the causes is the temperature-viscosity wedge action produced by the temperature variation across the oil film, and the other is an increase in oil temperature at the entrance of the contact due to the heat produced by the compression work and the shearing of the oil. The degree of both influences depends on the thermal properties of contacting materials.

Formation Mechanism of Steady Multi-Dimples in Thermal EHL Point Contacts

With optical interferometry technique, an interesting multi-dimple phenomenon has been discovered under pure-sliding conditions in the point contact between a glass disk and a 3-inch diameter steel ball. At low sliding speeds, two or three stable dimples can be generated in the contact, but at higher sliding speeds, such multi-dimples become unstable. At even higher sliding speeds, however, dimples become stable again, but two dimples become single dimple, or three become two. Numerical solutions of the steady-state thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) theory based on the Newtonian flow model can simulate the stable multi-dimples very well. By changing the slide-roll conditions from pure-rolling to pure-sliding, the theoretical analysis shows clearly that the stable multi-dimples are produced by the thermal effect through the familiar EHL pressure spike.

Contact mechanics and elastohydrodynamic lubrication in a novel metal-on-metal hip implant with an aspherical bearing surface

Diameter and diametral clearance of the bearing surfaces of metal-on-metal hip implants and structural supports have been recognised as key factors to reduce the dry contact and hydrodynamic pressures and improve lubrication performance. On the other hand, application of aspherical bearing surfaces can also significantly affect the contact mechanics and lubrication performance by changing the radius of the curvature of a bearing surface and consequently improving the conformity between the head and the cup. In this study, a novel metal-on-metal hip implant employing a specific aspherical bearing surface, Alpharabola, as the acetabular surface was investigated for both contact mechanics and elastohydrodynamic lubrication under steady-state conditions. When compared with conventional spherical bearing surfaces, a more uniform pressure distribution and a thicker lubricant film thickness within the loaded conjunction were predicted for this novel Alpharabola hip implant. The effects of the geometric parameters of this novel acetabular surface on the pressure distribution and lubricant thickness were investigated. A significant increase in the predicted lubricant film thickness and a significant decrease in the dry contact and hydrodynamic pressures were found with appropriate combinations of these geometric parameters, compared with the spherical bearing surface.

Influence of a Surface Bump or Groove on the Lubricating Performance and Dimple Phenomena in Simple Sliding Point EHL Contacts

The influence of a transversely or longitudinally oriented surface bump or groove on the lubricating performance and dimple phenomena in the simple sliding point contact composed of a steel ball and a glass disk has been investigated theoretically with numerical solution of the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) and experimentally with optical interferometry technique. Good agreement has been obtained between the theoretical and experimental results. It has also been discovered that the surface bump or groove is dangerously harmful to the lubricating performance and has a significant influence on the dimple phenomena.

Occurrence of a Noncentral Dimple in Squeezing EHL Contacts

Previous studies about pure squeeze elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) have disclosed a film profile with a central dimple. Two problems about pure squeeze EHL are numerically solved in this paper. One is for a very small initial impact gap, and the other is the response of a squeezed EHL conjunction under stepwise loads. None of them result in the familiar film with a central dimple, which can be attributed to the local squeeze effect generated in the periphery region. In the first problem, it has been found that when there is adequate oil present on the plate, with a decrease in the initial impact gap, a shallow circumferential dimple occurs at the periphery of the conjunction instead of the primary central dimple presented in previous studies. Correspondingly the minimum film thickness occurs at the central region. The effect of the initial impact velocity on the periphery dimple is also investigated. In the second problem, the response of a conjunction subjected to a prescribed stepwise load is studied. When the first step load is applied, a central dimple film is produced. When the applied load is increased with a second step load, a periphery dimple appears, similar to that in the first problem. The local squeeze effect for the present numerical periphery dimple has been observed in previous experiments under similar conditions.

Comparison of numerical methods for elastohydrodynamic lubrication analysis of metal-on-metal hip implants: Multi-grid verses Newton-Raphson

Abstract Elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) of a metal-on-metal hip implant was investigated under quasi-static operating conditions. Various numerical methods, such as Newton-Raphson (N-R), multi-grid (MG), multi-level multi-integration, and fast Fourier transform technique (FFT), were considered and compared in terms of the convergence and accuracy of the numerical solution. It was found that the numerical convergence for the MG method was much faster, and consequently the computational time required was significantly lower than the N-R method. This feature was particularly evident, when a tighter tolerance was specified on the pressure iteration and a high load or low viscosity was considered. Furthermore, the multi-integration method was found to be more effective, only when four-level grids were considered and compared with the FFT technique. It was concluded that the MG method has the potential to be applied efficiently and effectively for modelling realistic EHL problems of artificial hip joints such as under transient conditions of walking and when the surface topography is considered.