Normal and tangential contact models for mixed lubrication of mechanical interface

Lubricating oil is usually injected in the gap between mechanical interfaces to reduce the friction and wear and improve the normal bearing capacity of the interface. The state of the mixed lubrication is induced from the inadequate lubrication. However, in the investigation of this state, the irregular oil pits of rough surfaces are usually simplified to be the cylindrical or conical in traditional contact models, which is disagreed with the actual contact situations and makes errors in the contact analysis when it is used to reveal the contact performance of the mixed lubrication. To investigate the normal and tangential contact performances for the real mixed lubrication, the normal and tangential contact models reproducing the effects of both the surface roughness and the lubrication viscosity on the normal contact force as well as the tangential fraction force are proposed in this work. Based on the statistical theory, the total area of oil pits is presented to describe irregular oil pits of rough surfaces. Then, the contact performance between the solid and liquid parts involved in the mixed lubrication is analyzed referring to the elastic-plastic theory and the hydrodynamics theory. Finally, several key influencing factors (including the surface roughness, the film thickness, and the lubrication oil viscosity) on the normal and tangential contact performances of mechanical interface are revealed. The main contribution of this work is providing some guidance on the improvement of the normal and tangential contact performances of the mechanical interface by adjusting the normal pressure, the surface roughness, the relative movement speed, and the viscosity of the lubricating medium. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.