Edge contact effect on thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication of finite contact lines

•Thermal lubricated edge contact problem are modeled under heavy loads.•Minimum lubricant film thickness every so often appears close to roller ends.•Stable and simple calculations establish film thickness, pressure and temperature.•Five roller profile corrections are investigated.•A large radius crowning with corner rounding modification is the best adjustment.

Minimum lubricant film thickness and maximum pressure every so often appear close to roller ends. This study combines the Boussinesq–Cerruti half-space equations with a free boundary correction procedure for precise modeling of edge contact conditions. The thermal EHL model developed associates this representation to a standard finite difference of the energy equation, and to a modified finite difference expansion of the Couette term of the Reynolds equation. To complete the model, the Carreau expression describes the shear-thinning response of the lubricant. The investigation includes different roller profile corrections. The results show that a large radius crowning modification combined with a rounding of the corners constitutes the most effective profile adjustment.

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