Analysis of non-Newtonian and piezoviscous effects in dynamically loaded connecting-rod bearings

The dynamic behaviour of three elastic connecting-rod big-end bearings is studied. Non-Newtonian and piezoviscous behaviour of the lubricant is included. The present algorithm allows accurate analysis of film rupture and reformation during actual operation of an engine and is based on finite element discretization. The non-Newtonian effect is introduced by modifying the viscosity for each point of a three-dimensional mesh of the film and for each iteration. Using a convenient iterative solution procedure, converged solutions for lubricant flow and elastic deformation fields are obtained. The present algorithm is extended to a global thermoelastohydrodynamic model, to take into account the effects of viscosity variation with temperature. It is shown that the non-Newtonian shear-thinning and oil piezoviscous effects cannot be neglected in a complete connecting-rod bearing analysis. Furthermore, thermo-elastic behaviour can lead to different conclusions, than obtained by the elastohydrodynamic model.