The load carrying capacity of textured sliding bearings with elastic deformation

A two-dimensional elastohydrodynamic numerical simulation is conducted for surface textured sliding bearings with relatively soft material. The pressure distribution in the film and the elastic deformation of the textured surfaces are obtained through a simultaneous solution of the two-dimensional Reynolds equation and the equation of the elasticity for the textured surface. The results show that the small elastic deformation has significant influence on the load carrying capacity and pressure distribution, and leads to a drastic decrease in load capacity at thin film hydrodynamic lubrication. A parametric analysis is conducted to obtain the optimal surface texture parameters in term of load carrying capacity.