On the compressive heating/cooling mechanism in thermal elastohydrodynamic lubricated contacts

The importance of compressive heating/cooling occurring within lubricating films in thermal elastohydrodynamic lubricated contacts has not been given sufficient attention in the literature. This paper presents a numerical investigation of this mechanism and attempts to quantify its importance as compared to shear heating under pure-rolling and rolling-sliding conditions. It is found that even under pure-rolling, compressive heating/cooling remains in most cases less important than shear heating or at best, of the same order. Under rolling-sliding conditions, as soon as the slightest sliding occurs, heat generation is governed by shear heating. The dependence of compressive heating/cooling on operating conditions is also examined. Finally, the impact of this mechanism on the lubricating performance of these contacts is considered under various operating conditions.